Former Oklahoma state employee Don Keenan is suing the state, alleging that the Oklahoma law prohibiting state contracts with financial firms that boycott oil, gas, and other types of companies violates the U.S. Constitution and federal law. Keenan says he thinks oil and gas are important economically but argues the law, in his view, imposes…
House Republicans again pushed back on the Biden administration’s rule allowing ESG considerations in investments governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). The House Ways and Means Committee held a hearing on the matter on November 7. The Republicans on the committee released a statement after the hearing arguing that, in…
The House Judiciary Committee last week subpoenaed certain organizations that support ESG to investigate whether the groups have violated antitrust laws, according to the committee. The first subpoena went to As You Sow, which the committee said did not respond to previous voluntary requests for documents and information. The committee also subpoenaed the Glasgow Financial…
The state attorneys general who sued the Biden administration to overturn its rule allowing ESG considerations in Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA)-governed pension plans filed an appeal on October 26. The case was previously thrown out in a federal district court. Ballotpedia tracks support for and opposition to the environmental, social, and…
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) publicly named ESG enforcement as one of its top priorities after President Joe Biden (D) took office and has been active on the issue ever since. But the commission’s annual priorities list for 2024 did not mention ESG, indicating the SEC is shifting its compliance priorities. Ballotpedia tracks support…
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R) sent a letter late last week to Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler saying the committee would subpoena the commission if it did not comply with congressional document requests. Ballotpedia tracks support for and opposition to the environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) investing movement. To…
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) spokesperson Mellissa Campbell Duru said last week the expected October release date for the commission’s emissions disclosure rule was a best estimate that could be inaccurate, according to a Bloomberg Law report. Campbell Duru also said the SEC—like BlackRock CEO Larry Fink and others in the capital markets—wants to limit…
House Republicans on September 14 passed four new bills opposing ESG out of the Education and Workforce Committee, bringing the total number of ESG bills passed out of committee this year to seven. The move followed the lead of the House Financial Services Committee, which advanced its own slate of bills opposing ESG in August.…