House Votes to Nullify SEC Resource Extraction Rule

By a vote of 235 to 197, the House of Representatives passed a joint resolution (H.J. Res. 41) to nullify an SEC final rule regarding the disclosure of payments by resource extraction issuers, Exchange Act Rule 13q-1 (the “Resource Extraction Rule”). The Resource Extraction Rule was mandated under Section 13(q) of the Securities Exchange Act, which was added by Section 1504 of the Dodd-Frank Act. The rule requires issuers to disclose certain payments made to government entities for the commercial development of oil, natural gas or minerals.

Lofchie Comment: For a long time, the Resource Extraction Rule had been criticized by Republicans as inadequate to achieve its intended purpose and irrelevant to the mission of the SEC. Seee.g.SEC Commissioner Gallagher Speaks on the Priorities and Mispriorities of the SEC (with Lofchie Comment).