Environmental, Social & Governance Briefs

Update: SEC up and running … for now

January 30, 2019

(Editor’s note: Gary Larkin recently blogged about the potential impact of a long federal government shutdown on the upcoming proxy season. Later in the day after the post, President Trump signed legislation that continued funding the federal government for at least three more weeks.)

Following the announcement of an agreement to end the 35-day federal government shutdown on Jan. 25, 2019, the SEC reported that it was open for business.

The SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance announced that it has returned to normal operations.

The Jan. 27, 2019, statement read:

”In general, we anticipate addressing filings, submissions, and requests for staff action based on when an item was submitted. In other words, absent compelling circumstances, we expect to address matters in the order in which they were received.

“Staff members in the Division are available to answer questions relating to filings and other federal securities law matters, but their response time may be longer than ordinary. If you require assistance on an expedited basis, please submit your request, contact information and the reason you believe expedited treatment is necessary to CFEmergency@sec.gov.

“The Division’s normal activities include providing no-action guidance under Exchange Act Rule 14a?8 with respect to shareholder proposals. We generally expect to respond to these requests in the order received. We recognize that companies may have impending print deadlines or that negotiations may have changed the need for the staff’s views. Please notify the staff at shareholderproposals@sec.gov as soon as possible of any timing constraints or changes in circumstances that could help us prioritize our responses. The Division received a number of other requests for guidance or regulatory relief during the lapse in funding and response times may be longer than ordinary… we will generally respond to all requests in the order received.”