Illinois had some fantastic news for the world of small businesses and entrepreneurs today as House Bill 3429 was accepted by the Senate. Small businesses are responsible for the creation of 80% of new jobs each and every year and this news is a huge step ahead for this group who often struggles to raise money to expand their businesses or take their products to the next level.

House Bill 3429 will allow accredited investors, those with a net worth of $1 million or higher, to invest more than $5000 in small business ventures. This bill will also allow non-accredited investors to invest $5000 per year. Businesses affected who provide audited statements of finance are now able to sell up to $4 million in stocks per year and those without the documents could sell up to $2 million per year in company stock in exchange for investment. A similar practice used to be accepted but was constrained due to speculation in the 1930s that excesses in investment had helped to create the conditions of the Great Depression.

The legislation makes Illinois a more favorable place to do business through its exemptions on intrastate crowdfunding. Previous Acts through Congress in 2012 resulted in the passing of the JOBS Act (Jumpstart Our Business Start-ups) which allowed businesses of smaller sizes to crowdfund without the need to file an S-1 registration with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Illinois’ Bill 3429 has measures contained within to protect involved parties through the limits which impact non-accredited investors as they face more impacts when trying to absorb losses. This bill will allow people from Illinois to invest in Illinois businesses much more efficiently and at higher amounts.

Crowdfunding in general, and equity crowdfunding in particular, is a very useful method of fundraising for small businesses looking to diversify their products or services, expand their business by opening new locations, and improve their methods of production through the purchase of equipment. These increases in small businesses can mean increases in the number of jobs available, which is already where the majority of new jobs are created.

These new regulations will provide investors with incentives to invest in local Illinois businesses which will have impacts on job development which also has impacts on the stimulation of the economy. House Bill 3429 passed the Senate and House with bipartisan support making it one of only 16 states to have passed legislation thus far to allow crowdfunding for entrepreneurs in larger amounts in exchange for equity.

Changes in other states, as well as in other countries, have led to millions in funds raised for use by entrepreneurs for expansion and diversification. Start-up companies are able to launch their businesses much more quickly with this form of fundraising, get their products or services out to the public, and provide jobs to the unemployed or underemployed. Allowing for larger investment in exchange for equity makes managing much less complicated a process and can make future investors less leery about wanting to jump in and contribute for equity.

It appears an early entrant in to the Illinois intrastate crowdfunding marketplace will be LBZM Securities working as . This represents a jump forward in the adoption of intrastate crowdfunding as LBMZ Securities is an affiliated company of Zacks.com, one of the largest independent equity research firms in America.