Majority vote and executive compensation proposals will be the most frequently filed shareholder proposals for the 2007 proxy season, based on early indications. ISS' Governance Research Service is currently tracking over 400 governance-related resolutions already filed for the 2007 annual meeting season, including 107 majority vote proposals and 135 proposals related to executive compensation practices. Labor funds have filed 91 of the compensation proposals, including 40 "pay for superior performance proposals." This proposal - first filed by the Carpenters' funds in 2006 - calls for a closer link between compensation and performance, and includes stipulations that bonuses not be paid if a company does not perform as well as its peers.

Another popular compensation proposal was also initiated by a labor fund last year: AFSCME's request for a non-binding advisory vote on compensation issues, dubbed by some proponents as the "say on pay" proposal has been filed by a number of different proponents for 2007. GRS is tracking 30 of those resolutions so far, including 10 filed by labor funds and others by individuals, public pension funds and social responsibility funds.

A more in-depth look at proposals for the 2007 season will appear in the forth-coming edition of ISS' Corporate Governance Bulletin. Stay Tuned.