May. 09, 2022
Dear Commissioner Gary Gensler, I am writing to submit comments to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s proposed rule on the Enhancement and Standardization of Climate-Related Disclosures for Investors. The proposed rule is an example of overreach by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Farmers and ranchers are already heavily regulated by multiple agencies at the local, state and the federal level. The proposed rule's focus on the value chain for climate-related risks and impacts under Scope 3 means the start of the value chain, like farms and ranches, will face a disproportionate burden in having to provide unknown costs. Farmers play a leading role in climate sustainability. It is the job of elected lawmakers, not unelected regulators at the SEC, to adopt policies related to farms and ranches. According to SEC Commissioner Hester M. Peirce, she writes that “We are Not the Securities and Environment Commission - At Least Not Yet.” Commissioner Peirce, on the minority side of 3-1 vote to publish the rules, writes “This proposal steps outside (the SEC) statutory limits by using the disclosure framework to achieve objectives that are not ours to pursue and by pursuing those objectives by means of disclosure mandates that may not comport with First Amendment limitations on compelled speech.” I urge you to stay within your jurisdiction. Regards, Gaye Ellis 607 Overbrook Cir Fort Walton Beach, FL 32547