On March 15, 2010, Senator Chris Dodd introduced the Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010, now commonly referred to as the “Dodd Bill.” The legislation is primarily aimed at reform of the United States financial system to prevent future financial crises, but among its 1,300 pages are significant proposals to change executive compensation and corporate governance rules for all public companies. The Dodd Bill is under consideration by the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, along with a House bill known as H.R. 4173, or the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2009 (which we refer to as the “House Bill”). For summaries of earlier legislation, please refer to our December 18, 2009 Corporate Securities Update and our August 5, 2009 Executive Compensation Alert.