The California Secretary of State's online Business Search is easy to use and provides quick access to key corporate documents. According to the Secretary of State, Business Search provides free access to PDF copies over 17...more
On occasion, someone might perceive that they have been improperly appointed as a director or officer of a corporation. If this unfortunate circumstance occur, is there any mechanism for publicly disclaiming the...more
The word "emoji" is the romanization of two Japanese words (絵 and 文字) that together mean picture character. Emojis essentially marry an ancient form of writing, pictography, to a modern technology, smart phones....more
A little over a year ago, I wrote that California Superior Court Judge Terry Green had found that AB 979 facially violates the Equal Protection Clause of the California Constitution, Cal. Const. Art. I, § 7. Crest v....more
Earlier this week, Senator Melissa Hurtado amended her placeholding bill, SB 738, to flesh out her proposed Corporate Transparency Act. As amended, the bill would require foreign corporations that register to transact...more
On Monday, four California state senators introduced a bill, SB 261, that would require businesses to prepare and submit climate-related financial risk reports. The bill would apply to any corporation or other business...more
This spring, John Jenkins reported that the Securities and Exchange Commission staff now declines to declare effective a registration statement if the issuer does not provide a physical address on the cover page of its...more
As a result of the recent enactment of California's 2022-2023 Budget Bill, the California Secretary of State's office as announced a temporary waiver of many business entity filing fees. This waiver will last until June 30,...more
On April 1, 2022, a Superior Court judge in Los Angeles struck down California's landmark legislation requiring representation of "underrepresented communities" on the boards of publicly held companies based in California....more
This afternoon, Judge Terry Green granted the plaintiff's summary judgment motion in a case challenging the constitutionality of AB 979. Crest v. Padilla, LA Super. Ct. Case No. 20STCV37513...more
The Business Programs Division is the largest division of the California Secretary of State's office. Each year, the Business Programs Division processes millions of business filings and information requests each year. ...more
The California Secretary of State has recently published her report under California's statutes imposing gender and racial/ethnic quotas on the boards of directors of publicly held corporations having their principal...more
In consequence of the enactment of AB 3025 in 2020, the California Secretary of State has added a new question to the Statement of Information (Form SI-550) required to be filed annually by California stock, agricultural...more
On Monday, I noted that because California's female director quota law uses the word "shall", it is mandatory. Confused? Here's how I break down the law...more
As the trial of of the constitutionality of SB 826, California's female director quota, law continues, the question of the plaintiffs' standing remains in contention. As I reported in June of last year, Judge Maureen...more
SB 826 is scheduled to go on trial today before Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Maureen Duffy-Lewis. Crest v. Weber, Cal. Super. Ct. Case No. 19STCV27561. SB 826 requires all publicly held corporations headquartered in...more
It should be a surprise to no one that California's laws imposing strict gender and diversity requirements on publicly held corporations continue to attract legal challenges. Tomorrow, a trial is scheduled to begin in...more
California's female and underrepresented community board quota statutes apply to publicly held corporations having their principal executive offices in California "according to the corporation's SEC 10-K form". Cal. Corp....more
In seeking dismissal of a federal court challenge to California's director quota mandates, the California Secretary of State argues "SB 826 and AB 979 guarantees that a corporation can appoint new directors through a race-...more
As noted in prior posts, the Secretary of State has filed a motion to dismiss a federal court challenge to California's director quota laws (SB 826 and AB 979). The Secretary's brief includes several remarkable and...more
In July, a Texas non-profit membership association filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the Central District (Western Division) of California, Alliance For Fair Board Recruitment v. Weber, Case No....more
California Superior Court Judge Maureen Duffy-Lewis issued her ruling yesterday on the parties' respective motions for summary judgment in Crest v. Padilla (Cal. Super. Ct. Case No. 19STCV27561). In this case, the plaintiffs...more
Readers may recall that there are at least two challenges to California's female director quota mandate (aka SB 826). In June, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals resurrected one suit by holding that the challenger has...more
Gertrude Stein's 1933 book The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas is well known. Her 1937 sequel, Everybody's Autobiography, is not. Despite the relative obscurity of Everybody's Autobiography, one line of the book is known...more
Earlier this month, a Texas non-profit membership association filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the Western District of California, Alliance For Fair Board Recruitment v. Weber, Case No....more