States are winning against ESG

Officials and legislators in more than half the states have taken actions to protect workers, savers, and retirees from misguided ESG policies. It is critical to keep that pressure on.

In 2023, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed legislation that prohibits state and local agencies from using ESG factors when investing, contracting, or issuing bonds. It also prohibits banks from discriminating against customers based on religious or political beliefs or using any kind of “social credit scores.”

That same year, attorneys general from 21 states threatened legal action against 53 financial firms if they put their own politics ahead of the interests of their clients. Oklahoma State Treasurer Todd Russ took action to ban 13 giant banks, like BlackRock and Bank of America, for their boycotts of energy companies. And Russ along with 33 other state finance officials are opposing the Biden administration’s move to penalize homebuyers with good credit in the name of “equity.”