While mostly Republican Attorneys General, including Oklahoma Attorney Gentner Drummond, are investigating the ESG policies of 25 national financial firms, a group that worked with GOP officials to target ESG policies might be under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The probe was sought at the urging of the left-leaning watchdog group Campaign for Accountability which complained to the SEC, alleging the State Financial Officers Foundation was perhaps involved in a “pay for play” scheme.
The Oklahoman reported the Foundation was “a major player in statelevel efforts to target companies with active ESG policies, which weigh factors such as greenhouse gas emissions in investment decisions.”
ESG policies against the oil and gas industry were the target of a 2022 Oklahoma Energy Discrimination Elimination Act which has been challenged in a December 2023 lawsuit in Oklahoma County District Court. A district judge ruled last spring to suspend enforcement of the act and the addition of any more firms on a blacklist created by the State Treasurer.
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