Charter Shareholders to Vote on Lobbying Disclosure Requirements

Charter Communications shareholders are being advised to vote down a proposal that would require the company to annually report on lobbying policies, including an itemized list of what it spends annually on direct and indirect lobbying, and its membership in and payments to any tax-exempt group that writes or endorses model legislation. It's one of four shareholder proposals on the agenda for the company's April 25 shareholder vote, it said in a proxy statement filed Thursday with the SEC. It said the proposals were made by the New York State Common Retirement Fund and New York State Local Retirement System. Advising a "no" vote, the Charter board said the lobbying information it makes publicly available "strikes the appropriate balance between transparency and excessive burden and cost." A similar shareholder proposal is also part of AT&T's proxy vote in April (see 1803130003).