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H.R. 4491 116th Congress House

Shareholder Protection Act

Official title: To amend the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to require shareholder authorization before a public company may make certain political expenditures, and for other purposes.

Introduced: September 25, 2019 See on congress.gov
Finance and Financial Sector Administrative law and regulatory proceduresCivil actions and liabilityCongressional oversightCorporate finance and management
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Elections, voting, political campaign regulationFinancial services and investmentsGovernment information and archivesGovernment studies and investigationsSecuritiesSecurities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
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This bill died when the 116th Congress ended
It never became law before the 116th Congress (2019–2020) adjourned, and bills don't carry over to the next Congress. It would have to be reintroduced. You can still save it for reference, but it won't receive updates.
 Everywhere this bill has been 2 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Sep 25, 2019
Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.
Sep 25, 2019
Introduced in House
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 Latest action September 25, 2019

Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.

 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Shareholder Protection Act

This bill requires shareholder authorization of certain political expenditures by an issuer. A violation of this requirement shall be considered a breach of fiduciary duty, and the officers and directors who authorized the expenditure shall be subject to joint and several liability. An issuer must require a board vote with respect to political expenditures in excess of $50,000 and, within 48 hours, make publicly available the individual votes of each board member.

 Related & companion bills 2
  • HR 5929 Shareholder Political Transparency Act of 2020
  • S 1630 Shareholder Protection Act of 2019
 Bill text 1 version

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 1
 Cosponsors 1
All 1 Democratic 1
D
Cleaver, Emanuel
Missouri · Sep 25, 2019
Cite this page click to expand
APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). H.R. 4491: Shareholder Protection Act. 116th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/116-HR-4491/
MLA
"H.R. 4491: Shareholder Protection Act." 116th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/116-HR-4491/.
Bluebook (legal)
H.R. 4491, 116th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/116-HR-4491/.
Markdown link
[H.R. 4491: Shareholder Protection Act](https://openamerica.io/bill/116-HR-4491/)
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