FILE PHOTO: The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission logo adorns an office door at the SEC headquarters in Washington, June 24, 2011. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday proposed changing the rules governing how publicly-traded companies disclose business, legal, and risk factors in regulatory filings in a bid to ease their compliance burden.

The proposal aims to improve readability of disclosures companies provide investors in regulatory filings while discouraging companies from including repetitive or non-material information, the SEC said.

The proposed changes to so-called Regulation S-K are subject to a 60-day public comment period. They are part of a broader effort by SEC Chairman Jay Clayton to modernize and in places ease the agency’s regulatory regime for listed companies.

“The world economy and our markets have changed dramatically in the more than 30 years since the adoption of our rules for business disclosures by public companies,” Clayton said in a statement. “Today’s proposal reflects these significant changes.”