SEC chairman backs Texas Stock Exchange as part of plan to cut IPO barriers and shift governance power to states

More southern-based companies are now choosing to list on the Texas Stock Exchange or Nasdaq Texas, reducing reliance on New York-based exchanges influenced by ESG and other 'woke' policies criticized by exchange founders. The shift follows the SEC's October approval of the Texas Stock Exchange (TXSE) as a national securities exchange headquartered in Dallas—a decision aligned with Chairman Paul Atkins' broader plan to return 'first principles' to public markets. Atkins aims to reverse a 40% decline in U.S.-listed public companies since the mid-1990s, when over 7,800 firms were listed on U.S. exchanges. His plan rests on three pillars: modernizing disclosure reports so they are meaningful and not repellant to investors; ensuring states, not the SEC, regulate corporate governance; and allowing public companies litigation alternatives while preserving meritorious shareholder claims. The TXSE is positioned to attract businesses from the 'Boom Belt'—eleven Republican-led southern states seeing above-average GDP growth, job creation, population growth, and private market activity. By ceding corporate governance regulation to states and reducing regulatory friction, the SEC's new approach lowers the cost and complexity of going public for companies in fast-growing regions. The result is a structural realignment in U.S. capital markets, where geographic competition among states shapes access to public capital and investor protection frameworks.