June 1, 2026

SEC Proposes to Rescind its Controversial Climate-Related Disclosure Rules

What a long, strange trip it has been with the SEC’s climate-related disclosure rules!

On Friday, the SEC announced that it is proposing to rescind its own climate related disclosure rules, just a little over two years after those rules were adopted by the Commission. The SEC’s adoption of those rules back in March 2024 marked the culmination of well over a decade of active debate as to what role the SEC’s public company disclosure requirements could play in requiring companies to describe their climate-related risks and opportunities, but the contemplated disclosures never actually materialized as the disclosure rules were bogged down in litigation.

Over the course of the past two years, the fate of the SEC’s climate disclosure rules was far from certain. The litigation challenging the rules was consolidated in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, and in March 2025, the SEC announced that it had voted to discontinue its defense of the climate-related disclosure rules. But the litigation did not go away, and the SEC subsequently provided a status update to the Eighth Circuit indicating that the Commission did not intend to review or reconsider the climate-related disclosure rules, and instead the Commission wanted the Court to continue the proceedings so that it could address the SEC’s authority to adopt the climate-related disclosure requirements. In September 2025, the Eighth Circuit ruled that the litigation should continue to be held in abeyance, noting that it was the SEC’s responsibility to determine whether the climate-related disclosure requirements should be rescinded, repealed, modified, or defended in litigation. Now the SEC has determined to go down the route of rescinding the rules, which requires the full notice and comment rulemaking process to strike the requirements from the SEC’s rulebook.

It is very clear from the proposing release and the statements of the Chairman and Commissioners that the current Commission is very much opposed to the climate-related disclosure requirements. The proposing release notes:

The Final Rules were a dramatic overreach of the Commission’s statutory authority and, independently, unsound as a matter of policy. Based on an incorrect view of the scope of its authority, the Commission determined that it was appropriate to prescribe dozens of pages of highly specific disclosure rules solely about climate-related matters and apply the bulk of those rules to virtually all public companies, regardless of size, industry, or specific circumstances.

The Commission’s Fact Sheet describing the proposed amendments summarizes the key policy reasons that the Commission is relying on to propose rescission of the rules now, including:

– They are unnecessary and inconsistent with a registrant-specific, materiality-based approach to disclosure.

– They stray well beyond the policy concerns of the federal securities laws.

– They impose substantial costs that are not justified by the informational benefits they may provide to some investors.

– They are at odds with the Commission’s policy objectives of facilitating capital formation and promoting public company status.

Chairman Atkins described his concerns with the climate-related disclosure requirements in his statement in support of the rulemaking:

I have been concerned about the 2024 Climate Rules for some time because of questions raised about the Commission’s authority to adopt them and the soundness of the policy basis to support them. Careful compliance with the statutes governing the exercise of the Commission’s authority and a comprehensive effort to review and reshape the current SEC public company disclosure requirements are key components of my agenda, and I believe serious consideration must be given to rescission of the 2024 Climate Rules to help accomplish both of those goals.

We must re-examine the costs, burdens, and benefits of disclosure mandates to make becoming and remaining a public company more attractive again. SEC disclosure obligations should comply with the Commission’s statutory authority, be guided by materiality as the North Star, avoid the practical effect of dictating corporate behavior, and be imposed only when the expected benefits justify the likely costs and burdens.

In his statement supporting the action, Commissioner Mark Uyeda noted:

The Climate Rule should serve as a cautionary tale to financial regulators that their expertise is narrow and their authority is not without limit. We should focus our regulations on matters within our areas of core competency and not attempt to interject our subjective judgment on topics minimally related to that which the legislature has tasked us to oversee. If Congress had wanted the Commission to regulate environmental emissions and other non-financial issues, then Congress knows how to direct the Commission to do so.

In her statement in support of the proposal, Commissioner Hester Peirce notes that “[a]dhering to a merit-neutral, materiality-centric disclosure framework is not only consistent with the SEC’s statutory authority, but also good for the health of our capital markets.”

The comment period on the proposal will remain open until 60 days after publication of the proposing release in the Federal Register. The rules themselves continue to be stayed and presumably the litigation challenging the rules will be held in abeyance while the rulemaking process plays out.

– Dave Lynn

June 1, 2026

What Should Companies Do Now While the SEC Reconsiders its Climate-Related Disclosure Requirements?

Public companies and their advisors have been struggling with what to disclose about climate-related matters in their SEC filings for decades now, and the SEC’s action on Friday to propose to rescind the 2024 climate-related disclosure requirements will not necessarily change anything about that struggle. While the line-item disclosure requirements of the SEC’s climate-related disclosure rules would have brought some certainty to that ongoing struggle, it was obviously never meant to be, as litigation and a change in Administration doomed any chance of those requirements seeing the light of day.

It is important to note that the SEC’s action to rescind the climate-related disclosure rules will take some time. The proposing release indicated that there will be a 60-day public comment period following publication of the proposing release in the Federal Register, and then it will inevitably take time for the Commissioners and the Commission Staff to consider those public comments and prepare an adopting release. All told, that process could take another six to nine months or so, such that adoption of the amendments rescinding the rules may not even happen this year.

In the meantime, one important thing for companies and advisors to note from the proposing release is that the Commission relied on the 2010 guidance about climate-related disclosures as a basis for rescinding the new rules, stating:

When climate change or other environmental issues, including transition risk, have materially affected the operations or financial performance of a specific company, existing disclosure rules require discussion of the effects. Indeed, the Commission’s Guidance Regarding Disclosure Related to Climate Change lists a variety of specific existing disclosure obligations that, depending on the particular circumstances of a company, could require disclosure of climate change matters. For example, Item 303 of Regulation S-K requires, among other things, a company to disclose and discuss any known trend or uncertainty that has had a material positive or negative consequence for the company’s results of operations. The fact that existing disclosure obligations already serve to provide investors with material information about climate-related matters reinforces the conclusion that the Final Rules are not “necessary” to protect investors. Indeed, they may even serve to harm investors by eliciting information about climate-related matters that goes well beyond what a reasonable investor needs to make an informed investment decision.

The proposing release goes on to note:

Similarly, the Final Rules contrast with the approach taken by the Commission in the 2010 Guidance, when it explained that, in certain circumstances and for some companies, regulatory, legislative, and other developments related to climate change “could have a significant effect on operating and financial decisions.” 2010 Guidance at 6291. As such, the Commission’s existing disclosure requirements—like those that require disclosure of a registrant’s description of its business, legal proceedings, risk factors, and management’s discussion and analysis—might apply to climate-related issues. In contrast to the Final Rules, these prior initiatives are consistent with the Commission’s long-held recognition that types of information “which are of importance only in certain circumstances have generally not been made the subject of specific disclosure requirements.”

With these and other statements in the proposing release, the Commission clearly signals that the 2010 climate change guidance remains in effect (and likely will continue to remain in effect), such that consideration of climate-related issues is still an important element of the overall disclosure process. For example, the 2010 guidance highlighted four disclosure areas where climate-related disclosure issues may arise for public companies:

– Item 101 of Regulation S-K, which requires a company to disclose material effects of compliance with environmental laws that have been “enacted or adopted.”

– Item 103 of Regulation S-K, which requires a description of “any material pending legal proceedings, other than ordinary routine litigation incidental to the business, to which the registrant or any of its subsidiaries is a party.”

– Item 105 of Regulation S-K, which requires a company to discuss risk factors.

– Item 303 of Regulation S-K, which requires disclosure of “known trends, events, demands, commitments, and uncertainties” that are reasonably likely to have a material effect on a company’s “financial condition or operating performance.”

This leads us to conclude that while the SEC’s action to rescind the rules is pending – and probably even after the rules are rescinded – the status quo of the past 16 years will continue to prevail, and we will be left to our own devices to consider the materiality of climate-related matters under the existing framework of the SEC’s line item disclosure requirements, unless of course those line items also change as part of the SEC’s efforts to revamp the disclosure system.

– Dave Lynn

June 1, 2026

SEC Announces MOU with NFA

Back in March, I blogged about the SEC’s historic memorandum of understanding with the CFTC, which was intended to guide coordination and collaboration between the two agencies. Last month, the SEC announced that it had entered into a memorandum of understanding with the National Futures Association (NFA), which is the industrywide, self-regulatory organization for the U.S. derivatives industry. The NFA has been designated by the CFTC as a registered futures association.

The SEC’s announcement of the MOU notes:

The MOU will enhance SEC and NFA staff’s ability to share information on matters of mutual regulatory interest such as emerging risks, examination planning, and financial markets’ conditions. The MOU will also provide for periodic meetings between staff. This improved coordination will further enhance the SEC and NFA’s ability to promote compliance with derivatives and securities laws, maintain the highest level of oversight quality, and minimize duplicative efforts.

“Regulatory bodies working together should not be a novel concept. It should be the norm. Coordination between regulatory organizations provides businesses a predictable, straightforward path to compliance and comprehensive protections for investors that build trust in our markets,” said SEC Chairman Paul S. Atkins. “This memorandum is another step in furthering the SEC’s efforts to streamline cooperation with other regulatory organizations and alleviate the potential for duplicative or conflicting oversight.”

“We look forward to continuing our coordination efforts with the SEC under this formal framework,” said NFA President and CEO Thomas W. Sexton. “We believe this memorandum represents an important milestone for NFA and will allow us to further foster our mission of protecting customers and ensuring market integrity.”

– Dave Lynn

May 29, 2026

How the Offering & Filer Status Proposals Would Make Being Public More Attractive

We’ve now posted a bunch of memos on last week’s two major rule proposals in our “Filer Status” Practice Area (for the Enhancement of EGC Accommodations and Simplification of Filer Status proposal) and our “Securities Act Reform” Practice Area (for the Registered Offering Reform proposal). These memos are always good at helping you get up to speed quickly, but even if you already went ahead and read the two releases in full, they also have some immediate practical takeaways, thoughts on the potential impact of the rule proposals and useful examples.

Speaking of impact and examples, I think we all have a general sense of just how impactful both proposals will be if adopted. But when you start thinking about the ‘Specifics, Bob,’ I think the benefits to public companies are even more evident. For example, this Davis Polk alert identifies these examples:

IPO companies. Say you are a biotech that is an EGC and an SRC, and you just went public. Under the proposal you are already eligible to use Form S-3 to raise additional capital. And a year out, you have the ability to file a Form S-3 that is automatically effective. If there is an open market window at the beginning of March and you don’t have audited financials yet for the prior fiscal year – you can still go out and do an offering, subject to banks being comfortable with the comfort package, since those would no longer be required that early for a NAF.

Non-WKSIs. An existing public company that’s been reporting for 12 months but currently does not qualify as a WKSI because it does not meet the required thresholds under the current definition would be able to file an automatically effective shelf, immediately raise capital and pay the SEC registration fees at the time of a takedown as opposed to when it files the registration statement. If that same company also shifts from accelerated filer to NAF status under the filer status proposal, it would combine expanded capital-raising flexibility with scaled disclosure obligations, including executive compensation-related disclosures.

ICFR auditor attestation cost savings. For current accelerated filers that would transition to NAF status under the proposed filer status reform, the elimination of the ICFR auditor attestation requirement alone could yield meaningful compliance cost savings. A newly public company would not become subject to the section 404(b) ICFR auditor attestation requirement until at least 5 years after its IPO, regardless of the size of its public float.

deSPACed companies. A company that goes public through a deSPAC transaction would no longer be considered an “ineligible issuer” under Securities Act Rule 405, which means it would be eligible to use Form S-3 like a traditional IPO company provided it meets the other eligibility criteria under the form. It would also benefit from other flexibility, including the ability to use free writing prospectuses like traditional IPO companies and be eligible for SELI and ELI status just like traditional IPO companies, unlike the current framework where WKSI status is not available until at least three years after closing of the deSPAC transaction. Notably, the proposals do not seek to amend either Rule 144(i) or Rule 145. Rule 144(i) currently imposes a rolling 12-month current public information requirement for persons seeking to rely on Rule 144’s safe harbor in reselling securities issued by a deSPACed company, and that requirement never falls away no matter how long the company has been an SEC registrant. Rule 145 currently deems statutory underwriter status on certain parties involved in a deSPAC transaction. So, deSPACed companies would continue to be treated differently in these two respects.

Filer status determination. While companies would continue to assess their filer status annually, they would not be at risk of falling in or out of a particular category based on where their public float was on June 30 of a given year, given the requirement that the relevant threshold be met for two consecutive years. This would give a company visibility into any changed reporting obligations in advance and more time to prepare for any internal controls or other changes it would need to put in place. And it would effectively just need to determine whether it is a LAF or not, a binary choice which in itself brings welcome simplification.

That last one is huge! And on Form S-3 eligibility, no baby shelf! That alone is a game-changer for a lot of companies and their bankers and advisors.

Meredith Ervine 

May 29, 2026

SEC to Host Investor Advisory Committee Meeting June 4

The SEC has announced the agenda for its next Investor Advisory Committee (IAC) meeting, to be held on June 4 at 10 a.m. ET at the SEC’s headquarters and via webcast. The meeting will consist of two panels:

– Avoiding Retail Confusion Regarding Private Market Assets

– Passive Index Funds and Shareholder Voting

They will also discuss a potential recommendation regarding fund proxy voting and another regarding quarterly versus semi-annual reporting.

Speaking of quarterly v. semiannual reporting, we will be hosting a webcast later that day at 2 pm ET: “The SEC’s Semiannual Reporting Proposal: Considering the Alternatives.” Our panel of SEC experts – Skadden’s Brian Breheny, WilmerHale’s Meredith Cross, Gibson Dunn’s Tom Kim and Goodwin’s (and our own) Dave Lynn – will discuss the SEC’s semiannual reporting proposal and explore the practical implications of a shift to semiannual reporting for issuers, auditors, underwriters and the markets.

Meredith Ervine 

May 29, 2026

Uyghur Forced Labor Disclosures Proposed in House

Here’s something Zachary shared last week on PracticalESG.com:

A bipartisan coalition of lawmakers is looking to crack down on Chinese forced labor by exposing Uyghur forced labor in public company supply chains. A new bill proposed in the House of Representatives will require public companies to provide new SEC disclosures listing the following documentation:

“With respect to an issuer, the documentation described under this paragraph is documentation showing whether the issuer or any affiliate of the issuer, directly or indirectly, contains within its supply or production chain—

(A) goods, wares, articles, or merchandise sourced from or through the XUAR, or mined, produced, or manufactured wholly or in part by forced labor identified by mandate of section 2(d)(2)(B)(iv) of Public Law 117–78, including:

(i) the industries contained on the ‘Illustrative List of Industries in Xinjiang in which Public Reporting has indicated Labor Abuses may be Taking Place’ in Annex 2 of the ‘Xinjiang Supply Chain Business Advisory’ (published July 13, 2021) and any successor list; and

(ii) all products listed within ‘high-priority sectors for enforcement’ by the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force pursuant to Public Law 117–78; or

(B) goods, wares, articles, or merchandise that are mined, produced, or manufactured by an entity engaged in labor transfers from the XUAR or forced labor.”

The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) was a major piece of human rights legislation in the U.S. It imposed a rebuttable presumption that certain categories of goods produced in China’s Xinjiang region were produced using forced labor. This presumption made these materials very difficult to import into the U.S.

The new disclosure regime pulls the same categories identified in the UFLPA and extends disclosure obligations to companies with such goods in their supply chains. Notably, this law does not limit disclosures to the supply chains of goods imported into and sold in the U.S. This means that multinationals will be obligated to disclose their forced labor exposure globally, even if those supply chains don’t touch U.S. markets. Additionally, the law will require companies sourcing high-risk products to obtain third-party verification of their disclosures.

Who knows where this will go, but if passed, the SEC would have 180 days from the law’s effective date to implement new rules for Uyghur forced labor disclosures.

Meredith Ervine 

May 28, 2026

SEC Enforcement: Another Reminder About the Whistleblower Protection Rule

Last Friday, the SEC announced settled charges against Foot Locker (which has since been acquired) for allegedly violating Rule 21F-17 – the whistleblower protection rule – by including problematic language in separation agreements. Without admitting the findings in the order, Foot Locker consented to the entry of a cease-and-desist order and to pay a $148,000 civil penalty.

According to the SEC’s order, from at least July 2020 through June 2024, approximately 148 departing Foot Locker employees, who were senior executives, directors, and employees in finance, legal, supply chain, and operations, signed separation agreements in order to receive severance payments. The order finds that the agreements contained a provision that purported to waive employees’ rights to receive whistleblower awards from the Commission.

The order includes the offending language:

This Agreement and General Release does not prevent you from filing a charge or participating in an investigation or proceeding conducted by a government agency, including the Securities & Exchange Commission, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Department of Justice, or comparable state or local agency. However, by signing this Agreement and General Release, you understand and agree that you are waiving the right to receive any award of monetary or other benefits or any other legal or equitable relief whatsoever resulting from any such charge or proceeding by you, anyone else on your behalf, or otherwise, unless this Agreement and General Release is invalidated. You agree to waive such personal relief even if it is sought on your behalf by an agency, governmental authority or a person claiming to represent you and/or member of a class.

Like in prior enforcement actions, the action was brought despite no indications that Foot Locker ever sought to enforce the provision or that it actually did impede reporting, and Foot Locker phased out the award waiver provision in its separation agreements in 2024.

This Debevoise alert says this enforcement action “continues a line of enforcement actions against public and private companies for including language in employment agreements, company policies, and other materials that the Commission has interpreted as having a chilling effect on potential whistleblowers in violation of Section 21F of the Dodd-Frank Act and Exchange Act Rule 21F-17(a) thereunder.” We’ve seen a lot of those actions during other administrations, but the alert continues:

The action serves as a reminder that while the current Commission may be less active in bringing cases involving violations of Rule 21F-17(a), the enforcement staff will continue to pursue instances in which companies include language in their agreements that the staff views as clearly violative.

Public and private companies should review their current employment contracts, separation agreements, and other documents across their businesses to ensure they do not contain language that could be read as prohibiting, discouraging or otherwise interfering with any protected SEC whistleblowing activities. Companies should also ensure that any prior versions of documents with such language are no longer in use.

Check out our Timely Takes Podcast “10 Tips for Whistleblower-Compliant Agreements” from 2023 for more information.

Meredith Ervine 

May 28, 2026

Proposed SpaceX IPO Makes ‘Moonshot’ Literal

John and I both delight in unicorn IPO filings. Normally, I have the S-1 up almost immediately. Not so with the SpaceX S-1. There was just so much reporting leading up to it, I was feeling a bit overwhelmed. But then I read an article suggesting it was a good beach read, saying “this thing slaps,” and I finally got up the courage to take a look and wade through the second wave of articles about it. For those feeling similarly fascinated but overwhelmed, here are some highlights in no particular order:

– Layout: The number of color photos throughout is impressive (including an “artist visualization of life on Mars”). There’s also a 7-page glossary of terms (this is rocket science, after all).

– Market & Mission: SpaceX quantifies its addressable market at $28.5 trillion. That sounds less ‘out of this world’ when you read its mission.

Our mission is to build the systems and technologies necessary to make life multiplanetary, to understand the true nature of the universe, and to extend the light of consciousness to the stars. [. . .] For the entirety of its existence, human civilization has lived on a single celestial body: Earth. The current paradigm, in which human civilization is confined to one planet, exposes humanity to existential threats that are unpredictable and uncontrollable on a planetary scale. By moving beyond the only home we have ever known, we ensure species- level redundancy and that the light of consciousness will not be tied to a single planet subject to the inevitable hazards of a harsh and vast universe. We do not want humans to have the same fate as dinosaurs. We want to give them a reason to look ahead with excitement, with the prospect that we are entering an age of abundance with an endlessly prosperous and exciting future.

– Risk Factors: This will not be easy, as detailed in almost 40 pages of risk factors. “We face a number of challenges relating to our business and growth strategy and, ultimately, the achievement of our mission to make life multiplanetary, understand the true nature of the universe, and extend the light of consciousness to the stars.” And there are very ‘down to earth’ disclosures here, since a lot of those challenges are everyday things like FAA licenses.

– CEO Pay: Musk was awarded 1 billion performance-based restricted shares in January 2026. You’ve probably already read that they are contingent upon the company establishing a permanent colony of 1 million inhabitants on Mars. I thought, ok, sure, some part is based on that, then I read: “For any tranche of the award to vest, both the applicable market capitalization milestone for such tranche and the human colony milestone must be met” subject to his continued employment through the date achievement is certified by the board (no time limit). The market cap milestones are staggering, but still . . . (Will this create a new term? ‘Marsshot’ award? In defense of this blog title, the moon also features prominently in the S-1.)

Also, Musk’s xAI award assumed in the merger was canceled and replaced with an award of 300 million performance-based restricted shares based on market cap milestones and 100 terawatt data centers in space. 

– Capitalization & Control: SpaceX will have three authorized classes of common stock upon completion of the IPO: Class A (1 vote per share), Class B (10 votes per share) and Class C, which will be authorized but unissued (no voting rights). Musk’s combined voting power disclosed in the Beneficial Ownership Table is 85% (this is pre-offering, but won’t change much). A WSJ article has a nice interactive graphic on SpaceX’s capitalization. Plus, those 1.3 billion restricted shares I mentioned above come with voting rights, and Musk can only be removed as CEO/Chair by a vote of Class B holders, which he controls.

– Protections Against Shareholder Lawsuits: As highlighted by law prof Ann Lipton, Texas law immunizes officers and directors from liability absent a showing of “fraud, intentional misconduct, an ultra vires act, or a knowing violation of law,” and allows companies – as SpaceX has done – to bar derivative claims unless the plaintiff holds 3%. Also, SpaceX has an expansive forum-selection bylaw that names the Texas Business Court, otherwise requires mandatory arbitration and bars class actions, which should either prevent or discourage most state and federal suits. Separately, SpaceX has opted into Texas’s shareholder proposal limitations.

– Conflicts: Through the charter, as permitted by Texas (and Delaware) corporate law, SpaceX renounces certain corporate opportunities that may be presented to Musk and certain directors, and they have no duty to present such opportunities to the company. (On the other hand, the related person transaction disclosure is mostly just what was previously reported and may even be underwhelming compared to some other unicorns.)

– IPO Process: SpaceX is making a sizable allocation of shares available to retail investors. In addition to the underwriters’ retail investor allocations, SpaceX plans to offer shares to retail investors through brokerage platforms, including Charles Schwab, Fidelity, Robinhood, SoFi Securities and E*TRADE.

The IPO also uses a staggered approach to lockup releases and expiration.

Activist investor and advisor Mike Levin and Colorado Law professor Ann Lipton had a detailed conversation about some of these points in the latest episode of the Shareholder Primacy podcast.

Meredith Ervine 

May 28, 2026

SEC Renames Three DERA Offices

On Friday, the SEC’s Division of Economic and Risk Analysis (DERA) announced that it has changed the names of three of its offices:

– The Office of Data Science has been renamed the Office of Advanced Analytics and Artificial Intelligence to more accurately represent its dedication to enhancing analytical and artificial intelligence capabilities across the Commission. Its initiatives augment Commission staff’s ability to extract insights from data and incorporate evidence-based decisions into mission-critical work.

– The Office of Structured Disclosure has been renamed the Office of Data Standards and Innovation to underscore its work on innovative initiatives and its engagement with data across multiple formats. The name change also highlights a strategic commitment to applying data standards to the information collected by the Commission, making the data more accessible and easier to use.

– The Office of Data Science and Innovation has been renamed the Office of Innovative Data Engineering Analytics and Standards to reflect its subsidiary offices’ name changes and represent the Division’s focus on innovation around data analytics and standards to advance mission capabilities and provide data to the public for easier use.

While we’re on the subject, John and I were recently discussing how the ‘Economic Analysis’ sections of the three recent rule proposals have taken on heightened importance since the rules are focused on supporting capital formation and encouraging more companies to go public. We lawyers can easily find our eyes glossing over as we read those sections (this includes yours truly, which I’m a bit ashamed to say because I majored in Econ and seriously considered continuing in Econ instead of getting a J.D.), but they probably deserve more time and attention right now, especially if you’re submitting a comment letter and can can provide information on compliance costs and other barriers to going public.

Meredith Ervine 

May 27, 2026

Chairman Atkins Seeks Comments on IPO Modernization

Yesterday, during remarks at the Stanford Rock Center for Corporate Governance, SEC Chairman Atkins kicked off the Commission’s request for comments on modernizing the IPO process. Noting that the Staff is “well underway” in its efforts to rationalize public company disclosure requirements (including with respect to executive compensation!), the Chairman noted, “Of course, the incentives for going public are only as effective as the process that companies must navigate to capitalize on them. With that in mind, I have asked the Commission staff to prepare recommendations to modernize the IPO process itself.” That includes the gun-jumping rules:

I routinely hear from companies and their advisors that one of the challenges of the IPO process is navigating the communication—or gun-jumping—rules under the Securities Act of 1933. In light of this, I would like to see any rulemaking in this area include considerable reforms to these rules. When Congress originally enacted the Securities Act, a company could not make any written or oral “offers” to sell securities before a registration statement became effective. But as Linda Quinn—a former director of the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance—once questioned, “[d]o we need to continue to register offers?”

Over time, both Congress and the Commission eased the prohibition on offers. However, the Commission’s spider web of gun-jumping prohibitions and exceptions remains difficult to maneuver. Moreover, the last time that the Commission implemented significant reform in this area was more than 20 years ago. The ways in which businesses communicated with employees, customers, and potential investors at that time bears little resemblance to how they do so now. As the Commission staff prepares its recommendations, I look forward to constructing a more harmonized set of rules that offer clarity, simplicity, and congruity with today’s technology.

It also includes reassessing the method by which companies go public – including de-SPACs and (perhaps especially) direct listings.

As we look for ways to improve the process and method of becoming a public company, regulators and market participants might consider revisiting how direct listings are conducted and the associated legal requirements. As part of this consideration, it behooves us to ask questions such as: following the 2023 Supreme Court decision, does the market really believe that a Securities Act registration statement continues to offer meaningful investor protections in the direct listing context? Is the requirement to prepare a Securities Act registration statement—as opposed to an Exchange Act one—a hindrance for companies contemplating a direct listing? And beyond the form of the registration statement, are there other regulatory frictions in the direct listing process that the Commission or its staff can reduce through rulemaking or guidance, respectively, while preserving investor protections?

If you have thoughts on IPO modernization, Chairman Atkins stressed, “All ideas are most welcome. I have just one request—that you be bold and creative. And as you share your ideas, you have my word that we are listening.”

After the remarks, there’s information on how to submit comments:

Members of the public who wish to provide their views on ways to improve the SEC’s communication or other rules related to IPOs, or how the agency can remove roadblocks to methods of going public unrelated to a “traditional” IPO, may submit comments electronically or on paper . . . All submissions should refer to File Number CLL-16, and the file number should be included on the subject line if email is used. Please submit your comments as soon as possible and by no later than July 27, 2026.

Yes, July 27 is the same day comments on the Registered Offering Reform proposal are due, and you may have a number of comment letters in the works already. Thankfully, Chairman Atkins noted they will still consider comments received after that date.

Meredith Ervine