Bice pushes back against SEC’s proposed climate-related disclosure requirements

U.S. Rep. Stephanie Bice (R-OK) recently launched a legislative pushback against a controversial proposed rulemaking underway by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Rep. Bice on Jan. 12 sponsored the Stop Environmental Calculations Act of 2023, H.R. 317, with three original cosponsors — U.S. Reps. Dan Newhouse (R-WA), Dusty Johnson (R-SD), and Buddy Carter (R-GA) — to prohibit the SEC from requiring an issuer to make climate-related disclosures that are not material to investors.

The GOP bill is in response to a March 2022 proposed rule by the SEC that would require public companies to report details on climate-related risk and greenhouse gas emissions in their public disclosure filings. 

The deadline for comments on the SEC’s 490-page proposed rule, which includes Scope 3 reporting that is not required by the Environmental Protection Agency, was Nov. 1, 2022. It could take months for the SEC to finalize its work on the rule, which is estimated to cost public companies $420,000 to $530,000 annually in compliance costs, according to Rep. Bice’s office. 

“The SEC’s recently proposed rule would add nearly half a million dollars in compliance costs for publicly traded companies every year,” said Rep. Bice on Jan. 15. “The SEC is tasked with overseeing financial markets and does not have the authority to require public companies to report Scope 3 emissions, climate risks, or greenhouse gas emissions.”

If enacted, H.R. 317 would prevent the SEC from moving forward with its proposed rule. The bill has been referred for consideration to the U.S. House Financial Services Committee.  

Rep. Bice also advocated against the SEC’s proposed rule in a Dec. 15, 2022, letter sent to SEC Chairman Gary Gensler, and requested answers to several questions, including what gave the SEC authority to create additional regulatory burdens, how the rule fits in with the SEC’s mission statement, and why climate disclosures are necessary for investors, according to the letter. 

“After the SEC’s failure to respond to my letter, I introduced the Stop Environmental Calculations Act, which will prevent the federal government from adding burdensome regulations on businesses and halt this blatant government overreach,” Rep. Bice said. “Amidst stock market uncertainty, ongoing inflation, and supply chain shortages, the last thing we should do is add costs and make it harder for businesses to grow.”