State Treasurer sued over records of Oklahoma’s anti-ESG law

 

 

A lawsuit alleging violation of the Oklahoma Records Act has been filed against Oklahoma Treasurer Todd Russ and his Chief of Staff, Jordan Harvey.

The two are accused of failing to comply with the Open Records Act by withholding information and documents under the controversial Oklahoma Energy Discrimination Elimination Act which was suspended earlier this year by an Oklahoma County District Court Judge.

The lawsuit, (CV-2024-2935) was filed in Oklahoma County District Court by FOIA Professional Services, LLC, an organization based in Alabama. It describes itself as an SBA Certified Woman-Owned Small Business that assists businesses by requesting Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests on their behalf.

The Treasurer’s Office responded to an inquiry by OK Energy Today with a statement.

“The Treasurer’s office works diligently with multiple organizations in an effort to provided thousands of documents on a regular basis. It is deeply disappointing that an out-of-state company is using Oklahoma’s Open Records Act, a sunshine law designed to ensure transparency for the people of Oklahoma for the benefit of unknown out-of-state entities.”

According to the petition filed in Oklahoma County on October 17, the Oklahoma Treasurer’s office is refusing to release key emails and likely extensive communications between the Treasurer’s office and outside groups related to anti-ESG activities and the state’s permanently blocked Oklahoma Energy Discrimination Elimination Act of 2022 – items subject to disclosure under the Oklahoma Open Records Act.

The Oklahoman previously reported “The State Financial Officers Foundation, a nonprofit headquartered in Kansas, has been supplying talking points and opinion columns to Russ and fellow Republican state treasurers and financial officials. The materials critique the climate policies endorsed by shareholders of publicly traded banks and financial firms, part of a broader effort waged by conservative groups against environmental, social and governance policies.”

The complaint suggests that the documents the Oklahoma Treasurer’s office has refused to release may uncover the extent to which out-of-state interests like the State Financial Officers Foundation and others are influencing the policy decisions of Oklahoma Treasurer Todd Russ and his staff – particularly Chief of Staff and Deputy Treasurer Jordan Harvey.

The State Financial Officers Foundation, one of the groups mentioned in the complaint, has similarly faced a letter to the SEC calling for an investigation into the Foundation’s potential “pay for play” schemes, of which Jordan Harvey serves on the leadership team and both Treasurer Russ and Auditor Cindy Byrd are members of – raising further questions about the Foundation’s access and influence among Oklahoma elected officials.

Several open records requests since July of last year show that Harvey sent several documents she received from unknown individuals related to the state’s Energy Discrimination Elimination Act of 2022 from her person gmail email account to her official work email account as Chief of Staff and Deputy Treasurer.

One of these documents was then forwarded to Treasurer Russ and others from her official Treasurer’s office email address saying the attachment was produced by someone else, writing “These are from our friends in DC that came about 2 months ago to meet with Treasurer Russ…”

Another document from an unknown group appears to have been shared with Harvey via her personal gmail account while she was physically attending an out-of-state State Financial Officers Foundation conference, which she subsequently forwarded to her official Treasurer’s office email address days before the Treasurer’s office sent a letter to the Oklahoma Public Employees Retirement System (OPERS) Executive Director criticizing the Board’s vote to exercise their fiduciary exemption and not divest from multiple companies on the Treasurer’s list of restricted financial companies because OPERS’ analysis concluded that divestment would cost the retirement system tens of millions of dollars.

Reports submitted by Treasurer Russ and Deputy Treasurer Harvey to the Oklahoma Ethics Commission detail sponsored trips taken by the pair to events held by the State Financial Officers Foundation, Consumers Research, and Heritage Action – all known for their anti-ESG advocacy and sharing of information with financial officers like state treasurers and auditors as well as their respective staff/offices.

The attorneys who filed the suit were S. Douglas Dodd of Tulsa and Emily E. Williams of Oklahoma City. Their suit asked the court to declare the Treasurer’s office refusal and failure to provide the requested records a violation of the Oklahoma Open Records Act and that Harvey’s alleged destruction or disposal of public records is a violation of the Oklahoma Records Management Act.

The suit further asked for an order for the Treasurer’s Office to promptly provide all requested reccords and do so without charging a fee. It also wants the Treasurer’s Office to pay for th attorneys’ fees.

Read the full formal complaint.