FILE PHOTO: The seal of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission hangs on the wall at SEC headquarters in Washington, DC, U.S. on June 24, 2011. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission proposed rules on Wednesday to simplify the disclosures that publicly traded companies must file with the agency when communicating with investors.

Republican U.S. President Donald Trump has vowed that his administration will cut red tape for businesses and SEC Chairman Jay Clayton endorsed the proposed rules at his first open meeting on Wednesday.

Under the new rules, aimed at lightening the compliance burden, companies may omit some references to risk factors and incorporate online references like hyperlinks that could reduce paperwork.

The new rules were conceived under the presidency of Barack Obama, a Democrat, and have broad support.

“I am supportive of today’s proposal because it would make some modest and marginal changes to our disclosure framework,” said Commissioner Kara Stein, the only Democrat on the three-person SEC panel.

The public has 60 days to comment on the proposal.

In a statement, the SEC said the changes are “intended to improve the readability and navigability of disclosure documents and discourage repetition and disclosure of immaterial information.”