"Last week, the SEC ruled that companies must allow shareholder proposals that seek an annual review and vote on corporate political expenditures. NorthStar Asset Management filed a shareholder proposal at Home Depot (HD) asking the company to disclose its political spending policies and anticipated spending for the next year. Shareholders would also get to cast a non-binding vote on whether they supported these policies and spending plans."
Sanford Lewis, who represented NorthStar in defending the proposal, writes, With the SEC decision, the annual corporate meeting process can now become a battleground, not only on disclosure of spending, but also the financial risks to the company from that spending, the congruency of the spending with a company’s stated values, and with investors’ interests both as shareholders and as citizens.
Shareholders United: SEC Rules That Political-Spending Proposal Must Go to a Vote
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