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The SEC has submitted to OIRA its list of anticipated rulemakings over the next twelve months for inclusion in the Unified Agenda. See OIRA Website (“Fall editions of the Unified Agenda include The Regulatory Plan, which presents agency statements of regulatory priorities and additional information about the most significant regulatory activities planned for the coming year.”).
A second list of “long term” projects was also submitted. Id. (“to keep users better informed of opportunities for participation in the rulemaking process, an agency may list in the ‘Long-Term Actions’ section of its agenda those rules it expects will have the next regulatory action more than 12 months after publication of the agenda.”).
Much of the press has focused on the SEC’s decision to withdraw from the list of an item that had appeared earlier in the year titled “Disclosure Regarding the Use of Corporate Resources for Political Activities”. According to the SEC: “The Commission is withdrawing this item from the Unified Agenda, which currently covers the period from November 2013 through October 2014, because it does not expect to consider this item within the next 12 months, but the Commission may consider the item at a future date.”
The interesting thing about the change is that, while disappearing from the 12 months agenda, it did not reappear on the list of “long term” projects. This suggests that the Commission does not intended to turn to the item in the foreseeable future. Of course, the absence of a provision does not prevent the Agency from changing its mind. At least for now, however, disclosure of political contributions is off the table.
The Unified disclosure, however, says other things about the SEC’s agenda. We will pick them up in the next post