House passes bill easing stock valuation rules for employee-owned companies, 401–14
The House on Sept. 16, 2026, passed the Retire through Ownership Act, S. 2403, by a vote of 401 to 14, with 18 members not voting. The vote came on a motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, a fast-track procedure that requires a two-thirds majority and is typically reserved for measures with broad, bipartisan support. The bill had already passed the Senate; House passage sends it toward final action.
The measure deals with employee stock ownership plans, known as ESOPs — retirement plans in which employees build up shares of their employer's stock in individual accounts as part of their compensation, and receive the cash value of those shares when they leave or retire.
Under the bill, when a company's stock is not publicly traded, the plan's fiduciary may rely on a valuation from an independent valuation expert or business appraiser to set the shares' fair market value, provided the expert follows specified methods. Those methods must follow the standard set out in Internal Revenue Service Ruling 59-60, which lays out the factors an appraiser should weigh in valuing stock in a closely held business. The bill's official title describes it as amending the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to provide a clear definition of adequate consideration for certain closely held stock.
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