Texas and Oklahoma anti-ESG laws defended amid attacks
2 min readThe wagons are circling around anti-environmental, social, and governance laws enacted in Texas and Oklahoma amid a flurry of studies on their financial impact and congressional scrutiny.
The two states were early enactors of laws that led to the blacklisting of more than 20 financial firms, including municipal bond underwriters, for “boycotting” or “discriminating” against the fossil fuel or firearm industries. The laws call for divestment of public pension and other assets and prohibit governmental contracts worth $100,000 or more with banned firms.
The passage of a wide-variety of anti-ESG bills slowed dramatically this year with Pleiades Strategy, a research and advisory firm,
Oklahoma Treasurer Todd Russ, who has blacklisted seven companies, including Barclays, Bank of America, JP Morgan, and Wells Fargo,
“This practice can have severe consequences for Oklahoma industries, limiting their access to capital and financial services,” he said in a June 28 statement. “By resisting policies that lead to de-banking, Oklahoma can safeguard its key industries from financial exclusion and ensure that businesses have the necessary resources to thrive.”
Enforcement of the Energy Discrimination Elimination Act was
The pro-ESG movement is fighting back.
Unlocking America’s Future, a nonprofit advocacy group that works to counter attacks against ESG,
As part of its 2024-25
The group adopted a policy in July urging “Congress and the administration to support policies that provide for local governments’ ability to invest and borrow as they self-determine, which must include continued access to free capital and credit markets.”