WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Rep. Scott Fitzgerald, R-Clyman, introduced the Performance on Politics Act on Friday in an effort to curb the number of repeated environmental, social and corporate governance investment proposals from ” activist shareholders” in publicly traded companies.
According to Fitzgerald, “activist investors have increasingly transformed boardrooms across America into partisan platforms where political agendas overshadow good financial management.”
“This bill would allow issuers to set aside for three years the resubmission of shareholder proposals that are substantially similar to proposals that received less than 10% of the vote once in the previous five years, and that received less than 20% twice in the previous five years. or received less than 40% three times in the previous five years,” the statement said. “A 2009 study noted that the costs directly incurred by companies due to these proposals were estimated at $87,000 per proposal, totaling $90 million annually.”
The goal of the Politics Action Act is to encourage more, not less, public companies by respecting the decisions of the majority of shareholders and taking politics out of the boardroom.
“I introduced the Performance Over Politics Act to rein in overzealous actors and to empower shareholders focused on the company’s strategic direction and long-term goals,” Fitzgerald said in the statement.
