Jan. 31, 2020
Dear SEC Rule Comments, I write in opposition to the SEC’s proposal to further shield corporations from accountability to their investors. Every year, investors use shareholder proposals to sound the alarm on emerging issues that not only impact the corporations they own, but also affect how companies interact with our communities and the planet. Now, the Commission is trying to make it more difficult for shareholders to bring these critical proposals up for a vote. Years before Boeing’s 737 MAX aircraft killed hundreds of people, the company’s shareholders filed proposals raising concerns about the company’s influence over regulators. Under the new rules, those shareholders’ efforts to hold Boeing’s management accountable would have been blocked. The federal agency tasked with protecting American investors should be encouraging a robust system of checks and balances between the owners of corporate wealth and corporate management, not shutting down the main path for providing shareholder input. But these new rules would make it harder for investors to raise emerging issues with managers, meaning that it would halt progress toward addressing critical issues impacting companies and our communities over the long term. The SEC should be facilitating shareholder democracy, not undermining it. This new set of rules should not be advanced. Thank you for considering my comment. Sincerely, Mark Steckloff 29271 Glencastle Ct Farmington Hills, MI 48336