RJ and Makay

Despite its long battle for a much larger budget to cover current activities and comply with new financial reform laws, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) only received a modest budget increase that's not nearly as much as it says it needs.

In the budget agreement finalized late Friday night to avoid a government shutdown, the SEC is slated to receive a $74 million increase to its current budget for the rest of the fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30. The House and Senate are scheduled to vote on the budget measure this week.

It could soon be easier for start-up companies to raise capital, the Wall Street Journal reports. According to the Journal, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is moving toward easing decades-old constraints on share issues by private companies like Facebook and Twitter. The steps being considered would help such companies raise money without the increased reporting and other requirements of becoming a public company, the Journal reports.

One likely change would be to raise the number of shareholders private companies can have without being required to open their books (the limit now is 499). Another likely change would be to make it easier for private companies to publicize share offerings.

For the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to be able to do its job next year, it'll need all $1.4 billion of its proposed 2012 budget, SEC Chair Mary Schapiro told a House financial services subcommittee on Tuesday.

That $1.4 billion would cover the 780 new hires necessary for the SEC to perform its core functions and comply with Dodd-Frank, according to Schapiro. “Not only does the Dodd-Frank Act create significant additional work for the SEC, both in the short and long term, but the agency must also continue to carry out its longstanding core responsibilities,” she explains.