Back at the end of March, Liz blogged about the introduction of a resolution calling for repeal of last year’s Rule 14a-8 amendments under the Congressional Review Act (CRA). Although the resolution has been introduced, a Congressional webpage for the resolution shows the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing & Urban Affairs hasn’t taken any action on the bill since it was introduced.
The lack of action on the resolution may be partially what led about 200 investor advocates to reportedly write to every member of Congress urging support of the CRA resolution to nullify the shareholder proposal rule amendments. It’s unclear whether this investor campaign will have any impact and move the resolution forward. Among those that want the amendments nullified there’s a sense of urgency because time is limited for the Senate to act without the threat of a filibuster.
The CRA’s “fast track” procedures for the Senate to act and approve the resolution nullifying the amendments can be complicated but the folks at the GW Regulatory Studies Center provided some insight to help explain:
There is a deadline as far as the Senate still having access to its “fast-track” authority (which makes the resolution filibuster proof). This is referred to as the Senate action period.
As of yesterday, there were about 10 Senate session days left until that deadline. The calculation is somewhat bothersome, but it’s essentially the 75th day of session in the Senate for this Congress. After this date, the Senate could theoretically still vote on it, but it would be subject to all of the usual delay tactics (the filibuster) and would be unlikely to get through.
-Lynn Jokela, TheCorporateCounsel.net May 5, 2021
