SEC nears decision on requiring businesses to disclose donations

[Geee]

The Hill:

The Securities and Exchange Commission under new chief Mary Jo White is approaching a crucial decision on whether to require publicly traded corporations to disclose their campaign spending to shareholders.

If pursued, new disclosure rules could have major ramifications for both political spending on elections and the increasingly influential regulator.

 

Roughly half a million public comments about the proposal have poured into the agency, the overwhelming majority of which argue that shareholders have a right to know how companies involve themselves in politics.

Opponents dismiss the outcry as the handiwork of a few partisan groups, and they contend the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is ill equipped to wade into the campaign finance issues, which are usually the jurisdiction of the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

Enter White, a former federal prosecutor who took the helm of the SEC at a time when the agency already faces a daunting set of responsibilities.