Regulation A+ sought to update a rarely used provision Regulation A. Regulation A was ineffective because it forced a company to register with each state it was to raise money in, and capped the potential raise at $5M, and the cost of complying with state law nationwide just didn't add up.
Under the SEC’s new rules for Regulation A+, the amount that could be raised increases to $50 million and the need for state compliance has been eliminated. More importantly, Regulation A+ allows those funds to be raised from the general public, not just accredited investors like with Regulation D offerings.