SEC Chair Paul Atkins Continues His Focus on Reforming SEC Rule 14a-8 (the Shareholder Proposal Rule): Part I

On the need to avoid endless cycling

Bloomberg reports that Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Paul Atkins announced Thursday that the agency will reconsider SEC Rule 14a-8, which mandating companies to include qualified shareholder proposals in their proxy statements.

Speaking at the University of Delaware, Atkins criticized the SEC’s previous stance, saying it had contributed to the “politicization of shareholder meetings.” Atkins specifically took aim at proposals driven by environmental, social, and governance (ESG) concerns.

The SEC will now review whether shareholders should be allowed to compel companies to circulate their proposals—if deemed appropriate under state law—without incurring significant costs.

This move is part of a broader effort by Atkins—who has frequently vowed to “make IPOs great again”—to roll back initiatives advanced by former SEC Chair Gary Gensler, aligning instead with policies favored by former President Donald Trump.

I reported on an earlier part of the effort, in which the SEC withdrew a rulemaking proposal made by Biden SEC chair Gary Gensler to make it easier for shareholders to get their proposals onto the proxy statement.

Paul Atkins' SEC Rejects Gary Gensler's Plan to Encourage Shareholder Proposals

In this post, I focus on the need for Atkins to carve any changes into stone instead of leaving them vulnerable to SEC chairs chosen by future Democratic Presidents.