So Long To Mandatory Universal Proxy?

In this Reuters article, the author delivers the scoop that the SEC has shelved its 2016 proposal to mandate the use of universal proxy cards in contested elections of directors. In case you were thinking that anything from 2016 was probably old and cold anyway, keep in mind that the just-adopted rules changing the definition of "smaller reporting company" were proposed back in 2016. (See this PubCo post.) In fact, the proposed rule mandating the use of universal proxies was still on the SEC's Spring 2018 agenda for long-term actions, and Reuters reports that "SEC officials have said publicly in recent months that the proposed rule-change remains a priority." However, "several people familiar with the matter" have now advised Reuters that SEC Chair Jay Clayton "has in fact shelved the proposal."