SEC to Hold Meeting on Investor Rule

The Securities and Exchange Commission will meet with union, pension and corporate representatives Monday to explore possible changes to its proposed shareholder resolution rule, corporate and social welfare lobbyists said.

The SEC rule, proposed in September, would change the way companies decide which investor resolutions to submit to a shareholder vote.

While the SEC says it wants to strike a balance between company and shareholder interests, some labor and social welfare groups say the proposed rule would make it tougher for shareholders to submit resolutions on issues such as corporate pollution and worker abuse.

Monday’s meeting in New York will be attended by half a dozen groups from both sides as well as SEC officials and two outside experts enlisted by the commission to try to forge an agreement. Those two corporate-governance experts are Ira Millstein, a partner with the Weil, Gotshal & Manges law firm in New York, and Harvey Goldschmid, a Columbia University law professor.

The SEC is soliciting public comments on the proposal through Jan. 2. After that, it will decide whether to submit a revised rule proposal or adopt the current plan.

“We are gathering information from lots of different people, and any meeting that takes place before the end of the comment period might be used in the rule process,” SEC spokesman Chris Ullman said.

Among the groups invited to the meeting are the American Bar Assn., the AFL-CIO, the American Society of Corporate Secretaries, the Business Roundtable and the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility.

“We hope there will be a constructive discussion of issues and that interests of all parties will be reflected in any changes proposed,” said Gwenn Carr, spokeswoman for the American Society of Corporate Secretaries, an industry group.