Arizona Senate Bill 1503: The “Sole Economic Interest” Standard and State-Level Intervention in Proxy Voting and Fiduciary Governance, Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance

Partner Elizabeth Goldberg and associate Yara Ismael co-authored an article for the Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance examining Arizona Senate Bill 1503 and its proposed “sole economic interest” standard, which would reshape proxy voting obligations for public pension fiduciaries and impose new regulatory duties on proxy advisory firms.

The authors analyze how SB 1503 would require fiduciaries to base proxy votes exclusively on risk-adjusted financial returns, create reporting and back-testing obligations, and establish a rebuttable presumption favoring issuer board recommendations. The article also assesses the bill in the context of parallel federal and state developments, including executive actions, proposed ERISA amendments, and similar legislation in Texas and other states.

Read the full Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance article >>