State legislative activity against ESG investing

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See also: Opposition to environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) investing

This article documents state legislative activities opposing environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) and the ESG investing movement.

To read about the different types of opposition to ESG, see the links below:

• State government activity opposing ESG investing

• Gubernatorial activity against ESG investing
• State financial officer activity against ESG investing
• State administrative board activity against ESG investing
• Attorney general activity against ESG investing
• State legislative activity against ESG investing

• Noteworthy legislative activity against ESG investing
• State legislative approaches opposing ESG investing

• State government litigation

• Federal government activity opposing ESG investing
• Intellectual and scholarly opposition to ESG and the ESG investing movement

• Books
• Editorials, op-eds, and columns
• Scholarly articles
• Think tank activity

• Notable media coverage of opposition to the ESG investment movement
• Asset Management Companies established in opposition to ESG and the ESG investing movement

State legislative activity against ESG investing

See also: State legislative approaches opposing ESG investing, Enacted state ESG legislation by trifecta status, 2020-2025

This section lists noteworthy examples of legislative activity opposing ESG investing. To learn more about the six types of legislative approaches opposing ESG and for a full list of bills since 2020, click here.

Click the links below to read the full stories.

• Texas legislature passes bill requiring proxy advisor disclosures: The Texas legislature passed a bill June 2, 2025, requiring proxy advisory firms to disclose when their shareholder vote recommendations at Texas-based companies incorporated ESG or other non-financial considerations.

• Florida bill would prohibit ESG discrimination against farmers: Florida Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson (R) highlighted provisions in the state’s farm bill that he said would protect farmers and ranchers from discrimination based on ESG factors.

• North Carolina bill would bar banks from denying farmers over ESG: North Carolina Rep. Neal Jackson (R) introduced a bill February 12, 2025, that proposed prohibiting financial institutions from denying services to farmers based on ESG considerations.

• Ohio House passes bill prohibiting ESG in public pensions: The Ohio House passed a bill December 10, 2024, that proposed prohibiting ESG considerations in state public pension and college and university endowment fund investments. The state Senate passed the bill in May 2023.

• Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs argues for anti-ESG law: The Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs ran an article arguing Oklahoma’s anti-ESG law financially helped the state and its pension beneficiaries.

• ESG critics testify in favor of Texas anti-ESG law: Two ESG opponents—William Hild (the executive director of Consumers’ Research) and Eric Bledsoe (a senior fellow at the Foundation for Government Accountability)—gave testimonies before the Texas Senate on October 17, 2024. They argued the state’s anti-ESG laws produced positive results and said non-ESG investment funds tended to outperform investments that considered other factors.

• South Carolina lawmakers consider bill to prohibit ESG discrimination against agriculture companies: South Carolina lawmakers were considering legislation that proposed prohibiting financial services institutions from discriminating against agricultural businesses on the basis of ESG criteria. The bill passed the state House on March 29, 2024, and was amended in the state Senate April 18.

• New Hampshire bills could prohibit ESG investing in public funds: Republican legislators in New Hampshire introduced two bills—one in the state House, one in the Senate—in early January 2024 that proposed prohibiting ESG considerations in the management of public funds.

• Arkansas laws opposing ESG take effect: Two new state laws in Arkansas creating an oversight committee to develop a list of companies using ESG in investment or boycott decisions took effect August 1, 2023.

• Texas Legislature passes bill prohibiting insurers from considering ESG factors: The Texas Legislature passed a bill in May 2023 prohibiting insurance companies from setting rate policies using ESG factors.

• Alabama governor signs legislation opposing ESG in state contracts: Alabama Governor Kay Ivey (R) signed legislation on June 6, 2023, banning state contracts with companies that engage in ESG-related boycotts.

• North Carolina becomes latest state to challenge ESG: The North Carolina State Senate on June 13 passed a bill banning the use of ESG in state investments and sent it to the desk of Governor Roy Cooper (D). The bill previously passed the state House.

• Alabama anti-ESG legislation heads to Governor’s desk: On May 31, 2023, the Alabama House followed in the footsteps of the state Senate, passing a far-reaching bill restricting the use of ESG in the investment of public funds.

• Alabama Senate advances bill opposing ESG boycotts: The Alabama State Senate on May 18, 2023, passed a bill that proposed prohibiting state contracts with businesses that boycotted certain companies and industries (like fossil fuel or mining companies) based on ESG criteria.

• Alabama Senate committee advances bill opposing ESG: The Alabama Senate Committee on Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Development overrode objections from the state’s bankers and Democrats and advanced an ESG bill that proposed preventing state entities from doing business with financial companies that boycotted specific sectors of the economy.

• Florida enacts bill opposing ESG: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) signed legislation on May 2, 2023, prohibiting the use of ESG criteria in the investment of public funds.

• Indiana House passes bill opposing ESG in state investments: The Indiana House passed a bill on April 24, 2023, that proposed restricting the use of ESG funds in state investments, following the lead of the state Senate.

• Kansas bill opposing ESG becomes law: Governor Laura Kelly (D) announced on April 24, 2023, that she would not veto a bill aimed at opposing the influence of ESG in state investments, meaning the law would be enacted.

• Florida advances bill opposing ESG: The Florida Senate passed a bill on April 19, 2023, that proposed prohibiting the state and local governments from using ESG in debt financing and investing. The bill advanced to Governor Ron DeSantis (R) for consideration.

• South Carolina House advances bill opposing ESG: A bill in South Carolina that proposed requiring the state pension system to consider only pecuniary factors in its investments and to exercise its shareholder proxy rights passed the state House on April 13, 2023, and advanced to the Senate.

• Kansas bill opposing ESG passes legislature: Kansas lawmakers approved a bill on April 6, 2023, prohibiting ESG considerations in public pension investments. Some measures that were proposed, like certain restrictions on private ESG investing and on public investments in foreign companies, did not make it into the final bill. The bill was sent to the governor for consideration.

• Anti-ESG bill advances out of Indiana Senate committee: The Indiana Senate Pensions and Labor Committee advanced a bill April 5, 2023, that proposed prohibiting ESG considerations in public investments. The Senate bill contained several exemptions that did not appear in the bill when it was first introduced. Some suggested the changes would water down the legislation.

• Kentucky’s Democratic governor signs law opposing ESG in state investments: Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear (D) signed a law on March 24, 2023, banning ESG considerations in state investments.

• Kansas passes legislation opposing ESG: The Kansas House passed a bill on March 23, 2023, that proposed prohibiting the use of ESG factors in state and local pension contracting and investments.

• Florida House passes legislation opposing ESG: The Florida State Legislature on March 24, 2023, took the first step toward passing a law banning the use of ESG in all state and local investments. The Florida House passed the bill 80-31.

• Kansas legislature considers proposals to restrict ESG considerations in public pensions: A report suggesting that banning ESG would hurt Kansas public pensioners slowed down state lawmakers' consideration of a bill that proposed restricting ESG considerations in public pensions.

• Idaho House votes three times against ESG: The Idaho House of Representatives passed three bills on March 2, 2023, intended to restrict the use of ESG investments.

• Utah legislators discuss plans to oppose ESG: The Salt Lake Tribune reported on February 24, 2023, that Utah legislators last week voiced their frustrations with ESG investment tactics and pledged to oppose what Rep. Ken Ivory (R) described as “an effort to weaponize capital.”

• Indiana lawmakers join ESG pushback: Members of the Indiana General Assembly’s House Financial Institutions Committee on February 2, 2023, passed a bill to require the state to remove all pension funds from management by financial firms that supported ESG or considered ESG criteria in investments.

• Texas state senators hold hearings for two of the three biggest ESG asset managers: The Texas Senate held hearings on ESG, fossil fuel boycotts, and other related investment and banking matters. The hearings featured, among others, representatives from BlackRock and State Street, two of the three largest passive asset management firms. Kevin Stocklin, a writer at the Epoch Times, penned a news analysis arguing that the memberships of both asset managers in organizations like the Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative require them to use their shares to compel companies towards environmental goals, even though representatives from both companies said in the hearings that they did not participate in such activities:

• Texas legislators subpoena BlackRock and other financial firms in ESG investigation: PJ Media reported December 8, 2022, that a Texas legislative committee subpoenaed BlackRock and other asset managers, plus proxy advisory service Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), as part of an investigation of ESG policies at the companies. The companies ignored the committee’s previous request for documents.

• Idaho legislature prepares bills to prohibit ESG investing with public money: Republicans in Idaho’s legislature were preparing to join a group of state-level elected officials seeking to insulate their states against ESG, according to the Idaho Capital Sun.

• Texas state Senate committee seeks documents from funds, including BlackRock, in ESG probe: State senators in Texas jumped into the ESG battlespace, demanding documents from large asset management firms about their ESG investment strategies in the state and those strategies’ effectiveness.

• Idaho legislature considers bill to prohibit ESG considerations in state investments: In March 2022, it was reported that Idaho looked to join Florida, Texas, and West Virginia in prohibiting ESG in state investments, according to KTVT in Twin Falls, Idaho.

See also

• Opposition to environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) investing
• State legislative approaches opposing ESG investing

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