(The Center Square) - Oklahoma Treasurer Todd Russ said most of the 13 companies banned from doing business with the state because of their environmental, social and governance policies responded.
The Oklahoma Legislature passed a law in 2022 requiring the treasurer to divest from financial institutions that boycott the energy industry. Russ published the list of companies in May. The law gives the companies 90 days to respond.
"We've heard from, I'd say, almost all of them, maybe all of them," Russ said. And they're kind of trying to work through what they want to do or not do. And I think that some of them aren't as interested and have no intention of changing their positions. They're trying to argue maybe new positions to go along with it to justify what they do."
Some companies were on the list because they didn't reply to the questionnaire., Russ said The law states that companies that don't respond are automatically placed on the list.
"The statute only requires it to be update every year," Russ said. "But I can update it as often as quarterly and we'll, we expect to update it this quarter."
Russ sent the letter to 160 companies in February. In an interview with The Center Square, he said he didn't think it was appropriate to single out specific companies.
JPMorgan Chase responded to an inquiry from The Center Square in May and called the list "baseless, saying the financial institution provided "over $2 billion in financing and other services to 40 Oklahoma companies in the oil and gas space."
Blackrock told The Center Square the company invested more than $300 billion in traditional energy companies.
The law gives Oklahoma six months to divest itself of 50% of its investments with the financial company and a full year to divest 100%.
Other states have enacted similar laws. Florida, Louisiana, Arizona, Texas, Missouri, South Carolina, Arkansas, Utah and West Virginia withdrew their assets from Blackrock alone, according to Americans for Tax Reform. The cumulative total of the assets is $4.8 billion.
Some states have discussed ESG laws but have not enacted them. The North Dakota House of Representatives rejected a bill that would have required the North Dakota Department of Financial Institutions to monitor banks for ESG policies. The bill would have cost the state about $1.7 million, with most of that going to salaries for additional bank examiners, according to testimony.
via Oklahoma's Center Square News