SEC adopts final rules for securities crowdfunding

The Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday voted 3-1 to adopt final rules for crowdfunding, providing guidance on how small businesses and startups can raise capital online and through social media from investors in their home states.

The commission also voted to propose amendments to existing Securities Act rules to facilitate intrastate and regional securities offerings.

The new crowdfunding rules and forms will be effective 180 days after they are published in the Federal Register.

The rules clarify an amendment — The Crowdfund Act co-authored by Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet — to the JOBS Act that became law in 2012 and opened the…