OFFICIALS LEGISLATION INTEREST GROUPS PUBLIC STATEMENTS COMMITTEES VETOES

Enhancing Multi-Class Share Disclosures Act

Floor Speech

Date: July 21, 2025
Location: Washington, DC


Mr. Speaker, Mr. Meeks' bill closes documented gaps around multiclass governance structures. Multiclass governance structures are those where corporate insiders or beneficial owners retain an outsized amount of voting power relative to their shares.

These structures, while they may add value, pose significant risk, making transparency ever more important for investors. Specifically, these structures pose significant risks for investors, including limiting investors' ability to influence management, direct strategy, and hold misaligned boards accountable.

Under current rules, the difference between a corporate insider's voting power and their ownership interest, regardless of how large that gap may be, is often disclosed in ways that are difficult for an ordinary investor to comprehend.

Accordingly, the SEC Investor Advisory Committee recommended that the Commission amend its rules to ensure that this gap is better identified and quantified for investors via disclosed ratio.

This commonsense bill adopts this recommendation to ensure that investors have the clearest information available to make the best decisions for themselves. This bill is supported by the Council of Institutional Investors, whose members manage trillions in working families' assets.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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Ms. WATERS.

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Meeks' bill clarifies for investors the truth around multiclass shares--specifically, the difference between a corporate insider's ownership interests versus their true voting power. These two things are generally disclosed in ways that are hard for everyday investors to understand.

This bill solves that problem by ensuring that this gap is quantified for investors via a clearly disclosed ratio, as was recommended by the SEC Investor Advisory Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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