Last week, SEC Commissioner Peirce delivered a lengthy speech at the American Enterprise Institute, in which she extensively criticized the climate disclosure rules proposed by the SEC. Her critique deliberately extended...more
Public companies initiating the year-end reporting process will need to consider, and in many cases take steps to address, a number of significant developments and issues. To assist companies in this process, Mintz has...more
12/9/2022
/ Annual Meeting ,
Breach of Duty ,
Clawbacks ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Protection ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Insider Trading ,
Privacy Laws ,
Proxy Advisors ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholders ,
Stock Markets ,
Supply Chain ,
Ukraine
Regulatory Developments. During the past month, there have been two notable developments in connection with the SEC’s proposed climate disclosures rule — “The Enhancement and Standardization of Climate-Related Disclosures for...more
Last Thursday, the Biden Administration proposed that all federal contractors (except those receiving less than $7.5 million annually in contracts) be required to, among other things, disclose their GHG emissions....more
It has been publicly reported that the SEC is considering dropping “Scope 3” GHG emissions from the mandatory climate disclosures that were proposed last March. Such a development--a major change to the key policy initiative...more
Regulatory Developments Among State AGs. Over the past few weeks, various state attorneys general have either issued guidance or initiated enforcement actions in connection with ESG ratings. Specifically, among other things,...more
Last Friday, the SEC re-opened the comment period on its climate disclosures rule--"The Enhancement and Standardization of Climate-Related Disclosures for Investors"--for a period of "14 days following publication of the...more
In remarks delivered today to the SEC Investor Advisory Committee, SEC Commissioner Pierce--one of the Republican appointees to the Commission--offered a critique of the proposed SEC rule re: "greenwashing," which is the...more
Today, SEC Chairman Gensler testified before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. His remarks were wide-ranging, and touched upon a number of different SEC priorities--but Chairman Gensler made sure...more
During the Senate Judiciary Committee's hearing on the nomination of Delaware Supreme Court Justice Montgomery-Reeves to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, certain Republican Senators, including Grassley (R-Iowa) and Lee...more
Recently, the SEC issued its five-year strategic plan for public comment. This strategic plan covers a wide variety of topics, ranging from adapting to new technology to plans for increasing internal SEC workforce...more
8/31/2022
/ Climate Change ,
Comment Period ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Investors ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Public Comment ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Strategic Planning
Last week, the two Republican Commissioners of the SEC availed themselves of the opportunity presented by the ability to comment on the Financial Accounting Foundation's Strategic Plan Draft for Public Comment to again voice...more
The AMF, the stock market regulator in France, recently reiterated its call for stricter regulation on a Europe-wide basis of the entities providing ESG ratings and other services. Specifically, the AMF stated that the...more
Today, the SEC issued two complementary press releases announcing certain proposed rules. First, the SEC announced "proposed amendments to enhance and modernize the Investment Company Act 'Names Rule'" that would "extend the...more
A non-profit research group, First Street Foundation, recently released data that calculates the wildfire risk for each property in the United States (excluding Alaska and Hawaii). Notably, according to First Street...more
In a speech delivered on May 6, 2022 to the Annual Conference on Financial Market Regulation, SEC Chairman Gensler again re-affirmed his support for the SEC's recent proposed mandatory climate disclosures.
...more
The SEC has received two comment letters from members of Congress--one from the House of Representatives and one from the Senate--criticizing its proposal for mandatory climate disclosures....more
SEC Chairman Gensler delivered a set of prepared remarks at the Ceres Investor Briefing on April 12, 2022, in which he defended the SEC's newly proposed rule concerning climate disclosures.
As expected, Chairman...more
According to Paul Donofrio, the head of sustainability at Bank of America, the SEC's proposal for climate disclosures is "constructive and headed in the right direction." Donofrio voiced further support for the SEC's...more
Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) has issued a public letter criticizing the SEC's recent proposal for mandatory climate disclosures. Specifically, Manchin questions the need for such a rule based on the fact that a majority of...more
Following-up on the extensive new mandatory climate disclosures the SEC issued last week, the SEC has now announced that "ESG" will be the second enforcement priority of its examination division during 2022. Specifically,...more
On March 21, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) unveiled its long-anticipated proposed rules on climate disclosures, entitled “The Enhancement and Standardization of Climate-Related Disclosures for...more
3/31/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
GHG Auction ,
Proposed Rules ,
PSLRA ,
Risk Management ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD)
On March 21, 2022, the SEC finally issued a proposed rule on mandatory climate disclosures. This proposed rule has been expected for some time--it was widely anticipated to be a centerpiece of the Biden Administration's...more
Yesterday, Sarah Bloom Raskin, who had previously served as a Federal Reserve governor and deputy Treasury secretary during the Obama administration, withdrew her nomination to be the Federal Reserve's vice chair of...more
According to media reports, the SEC has announced that it will "propose rules mandating disclosure from publicly traded companies about climate change and associated risks" on March 21st....more