On July 9, 2026, SEC Chairman Paul S. Atkins delivered remarks at the Society for Corporate Governance Conference.  In remarks that build on his previous speeches describing the “new day” at the SEC, Chairman Atkins described his views of our country’s founders’ basic principles, stating:

“Two hundred and fifty years ago, our Founders embraced basic principles.  That government must be limited. That its purpose is to set the conditions for prosperity, not to engineer it.”

He then went on to say:

“Presented with a 40 percent decline in public companies over the past few decades, we are summoned not to create more complexity nor reinvent our mandate, but to restore it to its foundation: that is, disclosure of material information.”

His remarks addressed a number of areas where he believes appropriate SEC rulemaking will encourage more companies to access our capital markets.  The first was reforming disclosure rules to be focused on materiality and perhaps including a “materiality overlay” in all disclosure requirements.  The second was reforming the shareholder proposal process.

As always, your thoughts and comments are welcome!