There is a longstanding claim that social and environmental (E&S) shareholder proposals are beneficial for investors. However, a new study found that neither public companies nor their shareholders see financial benefit from a shareholder proposal process that is used to promote a political agenda.
The Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) is a critical component of NAFTA that must be preserved to protect over the border investments. There needs to be a binding and credible mechanism with which any dispute can be handled.
To call U.S. power sector developments of the last couple weeks “interesting” would be an understatement. Two weeks ago, the Department of Energy issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) that aims effectively to bring back or keep online some of the less competitive coal and nuclear power plants. That proposed rule was followed this week by the announcement of a proposal to repeal the Clean Power Plan, a centerpiece of President Obama’s climate agenda. Obviously, if one or both of these plans reach the finish line, in one form or another, it will mean big changes for the sector. But for time being, let’s focus on the first item, which has been called by experts a “grenade lobbed into competitive energy markets.” The NOPR to the Federal Regulatory Energy Commission suggests the adoption of a rule that would require utilities in competitive energy markets to pay each eligible resource its fully allocated costs (their fixed investment costs plus their electricity production) and a fair return on equity if these plants have 90 days of fuel supply on-site. On the surface, requiring 90 days of fuel supply favors nuclear and coal, since natural gas plants receive fuel through pipelines. It’s…
The Regulatory Accountability Act incorporates many bipartisan solutions to problems that have plagued the expansion of the federal regulatory system. The ideas expressed in the bill are certainly worthy of continued analysis and discussion. Read more in the Bloomberg View column by Cass Sustein: A Regulatory Reform Bill That Everyone Should Like Look! Bipartisanship is alive, and cranking out good ideas. More stories by Cass R Sunstein June 22, 2017, 8:30 AM EDT The executive branch under President Donald Trump is not issuing a lot of new regulations, but congressional Republicans, joined by some Democrats, have been thinking seriously about regulatory reform. They’ve produced an intelligent, constructive, complex, imperfect bill – the Regulatory Accountability Act of 2017 – that deserves careful attention. Over the last 30 years, Republican and Democratic presidents have converged on three excellent ideas. The first is that before issuing expensive new regulations, agencies should catalogue their costs and benefits, and should proceed if (and only if) the benefits justify the costs. The second is that before issuing new regulations, agencies should allow ample time for public participation, and should pay close attention to what members of the public have to say. The third is…
Thursday is the final day for the Senate to make use of the Congressional Review Act’s expedited procedures to repeal the Bureau of Land Management’s venting and flaring rule. Members of the Senate are expected to vote Wednesday on a disapproval resolution to nullify the rule. That’s cutting it close for a resolution requiring only a simple majority of those present to pass. Republican leaders have been working for weeks to round up the necessary 51 votes (less if not all Democrats happen to be in town for the vote). The effort has been made more challenging by the early defections of Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. The absence from Washington of Republican Sen. Johnny Isakson of Georgia, who has been recovering from back surgery, has also complicated the logistics of holding a vote. A handful of GOP senators has also kept a close hold on how they would vote on a disapproval resolution. Whether to avoid outside pressures or as leverage in negotiations on other legislative priorities, nearly all Republicans are now expected to support repeal of the methane rule. And then there’s ethanol. Bloomberg reported last week that four Midwest Republicans, led…
Alaska received a C-minus for the general condition of its infrastructure on its most recent report card from the American Society of Civil Engineers, and even lower grades for the shape of its ports, marine highways, and other facilities. The report highlights one of the biggest challenges facing state leaders grappling to close a nearly $3 billion budget deficit – how to rebuild the economy while simultaneously reducing government outlays. The mediocre marks are doubly troubling given the essential role of infrastructure in providing a strong foundation for economic growth. In the Arctic – a region quickly emerging as a new theater of economic importance – the report underscores the near lack of infrastructure altogether. It’s an open question where the funding will come from to rehabilitate and replace aging infrastructure, while also underwriting the deep-water ports, bridges, roads, pipelines, telecommunications, schools, water treatment facilities and other infrastructure necessary to support an emerging Arctic. Legislators, already tied up in knots over proposals to increase taxes on the oil industry as well as on individual Alaskans, show little appetite for major capital expenditures. Federal coffers are a potential source – particularly if President Trump can be convinced of the national economic…
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