Fifth Circuit Probes Costs of SEC Proxy Vote Reporting Rules (1)

A federal appeals court appeared receptive to a challenge brought by Texas and other Republican states to Securities and Exchange Commission rules that boost disclosures about fund votes on ESG proposals at company annual meetings.

The states argue the SEC overstepped its authority and didn’t justify the costs of the rules, which the challengers view as designed to discourage investing in oil companies and other businesses disfavored by environmental, social, and governance activists.

Judges on a three-member panel for the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in Tuesday arguments zeroed in on the expenses, including those states ...