Two days after the SEC proposed to rescind Rule 14a-8, the Council of the Corporation Law Section of the Delaware State Bar Association announced that it is folding the potential repeal into its annual review of Delaware’s corporate statutes — the first formal signal that the state law framework for shareholder proposals may be revisited.
The SEC seeks to eliminate the Rule 14a-8 shareholder proposal framework, reform the voting framework applicable to shareholder proposals submitted under state law, and modernize several aspects of the proxy solicitation process. On September 16, 2026, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued two rule proposals[1] — one addressing the shareholder proposal rules (the Rule 14a-8…
The new CFIs (103.13, 103.14 and 103.15) address whether certain forms of shareholder engagement are consistent with the requirement under Exchange Act Rules 13d-1(b) and 13d-1(c) that a Schedule 13G filer certify that the subject securities “were not acquired and are not held for the purpose of or with the effect of changing or influencing the control of the issuer.” ,,, The new guidance, which arrives at the start of the fall engagement season, may help restore some of the dialogue between issuers and shareholders that has diminished over the past two proxy seasons.
This update provides an overview of shareholder proposals submitted to public companies during the 2026 proxy season, including statistics and notable developments from the staff (the Staff) of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC) on noaction requests and exclusion notices submitted under Rule 14a-8(j) (together, exclusion requests).
Companies continue to be required under Rule 14a-8(j) to notify the SEC when they intend to exclude Rule 14a-8 shareholder proposals from their proxy materials.
