SEC to Largely Refrain From Shareholder Proposal Refereeing (2)

The SEC will stop advising companies on whether they can block investor proposals from annual meeting ballots in most cases, the agency said Monday.

The Securities and Exchange Commission now will only respond to companies’ requests for non-binding guidance on whether they can bar shareholder resolutions under Delaware law. All other corporate inquiries on exclusion won’t receive an SEC response.

The move came after SEC Chairman Paul Atkins said in October the agency was looking to curb shareholders’ environmental and social proposals. Caroline Crenshaw, the agency’s sole Democratic commissioner, called the policy shift on Monday an “act of hostility toward ...