Under certain conditions described in Rule 14a-8 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, a public company must include in its proxy materials a qualifying proposal from a shareholder at no expense to that shareholder. The rule provides a means for shareholders to seek shareholder consideration of actions not otherwise proposed by the board of directors. If the proposal does not meet the procedural and substantive requirements outlined in Rule 14a-8, the company may seek "no-action" relief from the SEC to exclude the proposal from its proxy materials (see No-Action Letter Request). There are several requirements that a proponent/shareholder must meet before a proposal can be included in the proxy statement, including minimum share value and share ownership duration requirements.