WASHINGTON -- Treasurers and state officials from the states of Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, California, and Illinois today sent a letter to Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair nominee Jay Clayton and senior members of the Senate Banking and House Financial Services Committee urging them to keep in place a SEC rule requiring disclosure of the ratio between CEO and median worker pay at publicly traded companies.
Clayton will likely receive a confirmation vote on the Senate floor in the next week. During his confirmation hearing in March, Clayton was vague about whether he would keep the SEC rule intact. The state officials consider the rule pivotal in making smart investments with state funds, expressing their opposition to any efforts by Congress or regulators to “repeal, weaken, or delay implementation” of the rule.
The letter was signed by California State Treasurer John Chiang, Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs, Pennsylvania State Treasurer Joe Torsella, Rhode Island State Treasurer Seth Magaziner, and Pennsylvania Auditor-General Eugene DePasquale.
House Republicans have also indicated they would like to eliminate the disclosure regulation as part of a broader Dodd-Frank repeal effort. Corporations are supposed to begin reporting their pay ratios in early 2018.
National economic justice organization Center for Popular Democracy helped coordinate the signing of the letter. “During a massive economic recession and amidst deep economic inequality, Congress required the SEC to put a rule in place that allows state officials, taxpayers, and the public to know which companies are paying their workers fairly and which are not,” said Jordan Haedtler, campaign manager at the Center for Popular Democracy.
“It’s unconscionable that Republicans are targeting this rule, and we are glad to see state officials from around the country speaking out to defend it. The Senate should continue to press Clayton for answers and insist on nominees to the SEC who will be vigilant watchdogs of Wall Street,” he said.