THE STATE / ALSO

State Senate Bill 1205, which would repeal the state’s 1913 “merit review” law that gives the state Department of Corporations a gatekeeper role in deciding which companies can sell stock, cleared a major hurdle and is on its way to the Senate floor for a vote, the bill’s authors said. The bill, sponsored by the Department of Corporations, would make it easier for small companies to sell stock. It was unanimously approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee. . . .Live Picture Inc., the Campbell-based Internet imaging company, said it has raised $22.2 million from Eastman Kodak Co. and several other companies to expand its sales and marketing.