New Guidance On Rule 14a-8 Shareholder Proposals And No Action Letter Process
On February 12, 2025, shortly after the inauguration, the SEC Division of Corporation Finance (“Corp Fin”) issued Staff Legal Bulletin 14M (“SLB 14M”) rescinding SLB 14L which had in turn rescinded prior SLBs 14I, 14J and 14K. As an aside, SLB 14L was issued under then new Chair Gary Gensler in 2021 following Biden’s election, and the prior three SLB’s had been issued under then Chair Jay Clayton, following President Trump’s first election. For more on SLB 14L see HERE.
New SLB 14M provides more of a middle ground to the prior 14L which had been designed to make it easier for environmental, social and governance (ESG) advocates to include their various proposals in company proxy materials.
Background – Rule 14a-8
The regulation of corporate law rests primarily within the power and authority of the states. However, for public companies, the federal government imposes various corporate law mandates including those related to matters of corporate governance. While state law
