Corporate annual reports for 2022 now available
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Tuesday, January 4, 2022 Contact: Emily Cook 207-441-0405 [Bellows] Jackie Merrill 207-812-1111 [Galgay Reckitt]
AUGUSTA — The Secretary of State’s Corporations Division has made the 2022 corporate annual reports available online. For the first time, under a new law, domestic publicly held corporations reporting with the Secretary of State will be asked to include how many women and men are serving on their board of directors in the interest of increasing information about gender equity in corporation leadership.
All business and nonprofit entities that were on file with the Secretary of State’s office as of December 31, 2021 must file by the June 1, 2022 filing deadline. The annual report fee is $85 for domestic business entities, $150 for foreign business entities and $35 for domestic or foreign nonprofit corporations.
“With the new year here and the forms available online, entities can easily file anytime over the next several months,” said Secretary of State Shenna Bellows. “Keeping an accurate record of those doing business or nonprofit work in Maine is an important part of transparency and public accountability, and we’re excited for the opportunity to increase information to the public about gender representation on corporate boards.”
Filers will notice a change to the information being collected on the annual report for domestic business corporations due to a new law that was enacted on June 30, 2021, (Public Law 2021 Ch. 385, “An Act to Bring Gender Parity to Corporate Boards”.) A domestic corporation is required to indicate whether it is a publicly held corporation and if the corporation is publicly held the number of female directors on the board of directors is required. Beginning in 2023, domestic publicly held corporations will have gender parity requirements:
- No later than June 1, 2023, a domestic publicly held corporation shall have a minimum of one female director on its board of directors.
- No later than June 1, 2024, a domestic publicly held corporation shall have:
- If the number of directors on its board of directors is 6 or more, the corporation shall have a minimum of 3 female directors.
- If the number of directors on its board of directors is 5, the corporation shall have a minimum of 2 female directors.
- If the number of directors on its board of directors is 4 or fewer, the corporation shall have a minimum of one female director.
“By passing An Act To Bring Gender Parity to Corporate Boards, we took an important step towards balancing who holds decision-making roles in Maine. Currently we have no idea how many women are serving on corporate boards, but this bill will bring that information forward and give us the ability to take action to bring gender parity to Maine’s corporate boards,” said Rep. Lois Galgay Reckitt, D-South Portland. “It’s about time more women, including trans women, have a seat at the table.”
To file online, go to https://www10.informe.org/aro/index_on.html. Payment can be made by Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express, or with a subscriber account.
For those who prefer to file a paper annual report, a preprinted form can be downloaded at: http://www10.informe.org/aro/form_download.html.
The Secretary of State’s Corporations Division can assist with questions regarding annual report filing or changing an address. The division can be reached at (207) 624-7752 or by email at cec.corporations@maine.gov.
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