The Texas legislature passed a bill on June 2 requiring proxy advisory firms to disclose when their shareholder vote recommendations at Texas-based companies incorporate ESG or other non-financial considerations. If Gov. Greg Abbott (R) signs the bill, it would become the first law of its kind and give Texas companies new legal recourse when proxy…
What’s the story? Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar announced last week that his office removed BlackRock from the state’s list of firms barred from managing public investment funds over their treatment of fossil fuel companies. Hegar said BlackRock’s recent shift away from public ESG support made the firm eligible to do business with the state again.…
The U.S. Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission filed a statement of interest last week in an 11-state, Texas-led lawsuit alleging BlackRock, State Street, and Vanguard colluded to suppress coal production, violating antitrust laws. The statement argued ESG-related coordination among asset managers could raise valid antitrust concerns. Republican-led, energy-producing states like Texas have long…
A Texas bill that sought to shift the legal burden in shareholder lawsuits involving ESG policies failed in committee last week. The House Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence Committee voted it down 9–1. If enacted, the bill would have been the first to make it easier for shareholders to challenge ESG-related decisions by requiring companies to…
What happened? The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments May 15 in Trump v. CASA, Inc., a case challenging President Donald Trump’s (R) executive order restricting birthright citizenship. The case was consolidated with Trump v. Washington and Trump v. New Jersey, in which four and 18 states, respectively, filed lawsuits against the administration. The legal…
The House Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets held a hearing last week on proxy advisory firms, which guide institutional investors on how to vote their shares. Opponents say proxy firms promote ESG priorities in shareholder votes—especially Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass Lewis, which control a combined 90% of the proxy advisory market. Critics…