States have passed 100 ESG bills since 2020

By

Ballotpedia staff

Welcome to the Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024, Brew. 

By: Ethan Rice

Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:

  1. States have passed 100 ESG bills since 2020
  2. Signatures submitted for two Colorado ballot measures
  3. Upcoming voter participation deadlines

States have passed 100 ESG bills since 2020

More than 100 bills opposing or supporting ESG investing have been enacted since 2020. 

Quick background on ESG—in case you are not familiar, ESG investing refers to an asset management approach that considers factors besides the maximization of shareholder value. Specifically, it considers the environment, social issues, and governance practices. ESG investing is a form of stakeholder capitalism. Stakeholder capitalism argues that maximizing the risk-adjusted rate of return on a company’s stock (known as shareholder capitalism) should not be the only goal of investing.

Overall, most Republican trifectas and states with divided governments have tended to support legislation opposing ESG. Most Democratic trifectas have tended to make laws supporting ESG investing. 92% of all bills passed on ESG since 2020 have come from:

  1. Republican trifectas opposing ESG (55 bills),
  2. Democratic trifectas supporting ESG (24 bills),
  3. Divided government states with Republican-controlled legislatures and Democratic governors opposing ESG (13 bills).

Today, we’re going to take a deeper look at the specific policy approaches enacted in Republican and Democratic trifectas and examine which states have been the most and least active in supporting or opposing ESG.

Republican trifectas opposing ESG

Twenty-three states currently have Republican trifectas, and 21 have made laws opposing ESG in five categories. Of those 21 states:

  1. 14 have enacted sole fiduciary legislation prohibiting or discouraging the consideration of ESG factors in public investments (like pension funds).
  2. 13 have enacted anti-boycott legislation prohibiting public contracts with or investments in companies that intentionally boycott certain companies or industries without a business purpose.
  3. 12 have enacted anti-discrimination legislation prohibiting banks and government agencies from using ESG scores (also known as social credit scores) to determine eligibility for financial services.
  4. 8 have enacted public disclosure requirement legislation requiring additional transparency surrounding the ESG policies, investments, and considerations of state investment boards and other government agencies.
  5. 6 have enacted legislation opposing federal ESG mandates that promote ESG investment standards.

The map below shows which Republican trifecta states have made the most laws opposing ESG since 2020:

Democratic trifectas supporting ESG

Seventeen states have Democratic trifectas, and nine have made laws supporting ESG in five categories. Of those states:

  1. 5 enacted non-financial criteria consideration legislation requiring or allowing public fund managers to consider ESG data and other non-financial criteria in their investment strategies.
  2. 4 enacted industry divestment legislation prohibiting public investments in companies or industries that the government or agency considers environmentally or socially harmful.
  3. 4 enacted legislation requiring ESG criteria in state contracts.
  4. 3 enacted corporate board diversity legislation requiring publicly held companies to appoint a certain number of women, people of color, or people from other underrepresented groups to corporate boards of directors.
  5. 3 enacted corporate disclosure legislation requiring corporations to disclose certain types of ESG data, such as net emissions from business operations and climate-related risk factors.

The map below shows which Democratic trifecta states have made laws supporting ESG since 2020:

Ballotpedia has an extensive library of material related to ESG. 

  • To view our project home page about ESG, click here. 
  • For more information on areas of disagreement and inquiry related to ESG, click here.
  • For comprehensive analysis and details on divided governments click here to read on.
  • Additionally, Ballotpedia’s Economy and Society newsletter covers developments in the world of ESG and hits inboxes every Tuesday.

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Signatures submitted for two Colorado ballot measures

There’s usually a flurry of ballot measure certification activity in July and August. Here’s an update from Colorado.

Supporters of two Colorado measures recently submitted signatures to qualify the initiatives for the ballot. One would create a ranked-choice voting system. The other would establish a new law enforcement fund in the state.  

RCV measure

Colorado Voters First submitted signatures for an initiative that would establish top-four primaries and ranked-choice voting for Congress, statewide offices, the University of Colorado Board of Regents, the state board of education, and the Legislature. 

Supporters submitted nearly 213,000 signatures for verification. If 124,238 signatures are found valid, the initiative will appear on the ballot on Nov. 5.

The initiative would establish top-four primary elections and ranked-choice voting general elections for the following offices: U.S. Senate, U.S. House of Representatives, governor, attorney general, secretary of state, treasurer, Colorado University board of regents, state board of education, and state legislature.

Three states use ranked-choice voting statewide. Alaska uses a top-four RCV electoral system, and Maine uses RCV in federal and statewide elections. Hawaii uses RCV in certain statewide elections.  

In recent years, some states have enacted laws restricting RCV, while others have passed laws to establish or expand it. Five states have banned RCV so far in 2024, bringing the total number of states banning RCV up to 10. Ballot measures concerning ranked-choice voting and primary elections are already on the 2024 ballot in six states. In Alaska and Missouri, measures to prohibit RCV are on the ballot. Measures on the ballot in Idaho, Missouri, Nevada, and Oregon would establish or expand RCV. 

Law enforcement fund

On July 31, Advance Colorado Action submitted signatures to the secretary of state for another initiative that would create a new law enforcement fund. 

Supporters submitted 199,067 signatures for verification. If 124,238 signatures are found valid, the initiative will appear on the ballot on Nov. 5, 2024.

The initiative would direct the Legislature to appropriate $350 million to the newly created Peace Officer Training and Support Fund. This fund would provide money for law enforcement training, retention, and hiring, as well as for training on the use of force. It would also provide death benefits for surviving spouses and children of officers or first responders killed in the line of duty.

The Colorado Department of Public Safety (CDPS) would distribute the $350 million in funds. In Colorado, local law enforcement agencies are funded through county and municipal budgets. The state legislature also appropriates funds within the Colorado State Patrol and Colorado Bureau of Investigation in the CDPS.

Currently, there are 10 statewide measures on the 2024 ballot in Colorado: three citizen initiatives and seven legislatively referred measures. Two measures appeared on the ballot in 2023, and eleven were on the ballot in 2022.

Signatures were submitted for five additional initiatives, which are pending verification. Another nine initiatives have been approved for signature gathering and face a signature due date of Aug. 5.

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Upcoming voter participation deadlines

Fifteen states have important primary election voter participation deadlines in the next two weeks. Voter participation deadlines include voter registration deadlines, early voting end dates, and deadlines to request and return absentee/mail-in ballots.

The following states have voter participation deadlines between Aug. 6 and Aug. 20, 2024: 

  • Alaska: Deadline to request an absentee/mail-in ballot Aug. 10. Deadline to return an absentee/mail-in ballot (in person or postmarked) Aug. 20. 
  • Connecticut: Early voting ends Aug.11. Deadline to request an absentee/mail-in ballot in person Aug. 12. Deadline to return an absentee/mail-in ballot in person Aug. 12. Voter registration deadline (in-person) Aug. 13. Deadline to return an absentee/mail-in ballot by mail Aug. 13. 
  • Delaware: Voter registration deadline Aug. 17.
  • Florida: Deadline to request an absentee/mail-in ballot Aug. 8. Early voting ends Aug. 17. Deadline to return an absentee/mail-in ballot Aug. 20. 
  • Hawaii: Voter registration deadline Aug. 10. Deadline to return an absentee/mail-in ballot Aug. 10.
  • Kansas: Deadline to return an absentee/mail-in ballot (in person or postmarked) Aug. 6.  
  • Michigan: Voter registration deadline (in-person) Aug. 6. Deadline to return an absentee/mail-in ballot Aug. 6.
  • Minnesota: Early voting ends Aug. 12. Voter registration deadline (in-person) Aug. 13. Deadline to return an absentee/mail-in ballot Aug. 13. 
  • Missouri: Deadline to return an absentee/mail-in ballot Aug. 6. 
  • Oklahoma: Deadline to request an absentee/mail-in ballot Aug. 12.
  • Rhode Island: Voter registration deadline Aug. 11. Deadline to request an absentee/mail-in ballot Aug. 20.
  • Vermont: Early voting ends Aug. 12. Deadline to request an absentee/mail-in ballot Aug. 12. Deadline to return an absentee/mail-in ballot by mail Aug. 12. Voter registration deadline Aug. 13. Deadline to return an absentee/mail-in ballot Aug. 13. 
  • Washington: Voter registration deadline (in-person) Aug. 6. Deadline to return an absentee/mail-in ballot (in person or postmarked) Aug. 6.
  • Wisconsin: Deadline to request an absentee/mail-in ballot online or by mail Aug. 8. Deadline to request an absentee/mail-in ballot in person Aug. 11. Early voting ends Aug. 11. Voter registration deadline (in-person) Aug. 13. Deadline to return an absentee/mail-in ballot Aug. 13. 
  • Wyoming: Early voting ends Aug. 19. Deadline to request an absentee/mail-in ballot Aug. 19. Voter registration deadline (in-person) Aug. 20. Deadline to return an absentee/mail-in ballot Aug. 20. 

Looking ahead

We’ll bring you all the voter participation information you need for the 2024 election cycle, so stay tuned!
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