Skip to content
  • MyNewMarkets.com
  • Claims Journal
  • Insurance Journal TV
  • Academy of Insurance
  • Carrier Management
Insurance Journal - Property Casualty Industry News

Featured Stories

  • Cat Bond Investors Told to Brace for Jamaica Payout
  • Berkley Explains Property Market, Company Appetite
  • Articles
  • Jobs
  • Markets

Current Magazine

current magazine
  • Read Online
  • Subscribe
  • Login
  • Front Page
    • National
    • International
    • Most Popular
    • Magazine
    • Forums
    • Blogs
    • Videos/Podcasts
    • Newsletters
  • News
    • Most Popular
    • National
    • International
    • East
    • Midwest
    • South Central
    • Southeast
    • West
  • Magazines
  • Research
  • Directories
  • Jobs
  • Features
    • Events
    • Forums
    • Market Directories
    • Quotes
    • Polls
    • Rankings & Awards
    • Insurance Giving Back
  • Subscribe

Texas Officials Sued Over Anti-ESG Law Targeting Wall Street

By Amanda Albright and Madlin Mekelburg | August 29, 2024
Email This Subscribe to Newsletter
  • Article

The American Sustainable Business Council sued Texas officials in an effort to block a law that restricts state investments with certain financial firms because of their energy policies.

The lawsuit filed Thursday in federal court in Austin, argues the 2021 state law is unconstitutional and it seeks to “coerce and punish” businesses seeking to reduce reliance on fossil fuels.

The group — a nonprofit that represents thousands of businesses and advocates for environmentally-friendly policies — sued Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar and the state’s Attorney General Ken Paxton, who have been vocal supporters of the measure. In the lawsuit, it argued that the law overstepped and went against the First Amendment.

“It impermissibly infringes rights of free speech and association under a scheme of politicized viewpoint discrimination, based on no legitimate state interest,” lawyers for the group said in the lawsuit.

Representatives for the comptroller and attorney general did not respond to an email and phone call requesting comment.

As part of the law known as Senate Bill 13, Hegar publishes and maintains a list of companies and investment funds that he considers to engage in boycotts of the oil and gas industry. Currently Hegar has more than a dozen firms listed as offenders, most recently adding NatWest Group Plc earlier this month. He also includes several hundred individual funds.

The American Sustainable Business Council says its members have been harmed by the law. Flagship funds offered by investment companies Etho Capital LLC and Our Sphere Inc. were included on Hegar’s list of funds that pensions can’t invest in.

“While SB 13 is in effect, ASBC members like Etho Capital, Sphere, and others are unable to compete for business with Texas entities solely due to the content and viewpoint of their speech and the associations they choose to make,” the lawsuit says. “The law also denies them any avenue for challenging their exclusion from this major market.”

Earlier this year, the Texas Permanent School Fund announced it would divest $8.5 billion from BlackRock Inc., which is on the energy boycott list. The law has also affected Wall Street banks’ public finance work in Texas.

Led by Texas’ legislation, so-called anti-ESG laws have been enacted in a number of states in the past three years. But the laws are starting to face headwinds in court.

A judge in Oklahoma blocked enforcement of an anti-ESG law similar to Texas’s Senate Bill 13. And this month a federal judge barred Missouri from enforcing 2023 rules restricting environmental, social, and governance investing after finding them unlawful.

Skye Perryman, chief executive officer of Democracy Forward, which represents plaintiffs challenging the legislation, said the lawsuit was prompted by growing concern that the Texas law hurts both local governments and businesses in the state. She cited studies showing that the measures had increased borrowing costs for Texas municipalities.

“This is a state that has long said that it’s the business-friendly state — this law is anti-business plain and simple,” she said.

The case is American Sustainable Business Council v. Hegar, 1:24-cv-01010, US District Court, Western District of Texas (Austin).

Photo: The downtown skyline in Austin, Texas, US, on Friday, Sept. 8, 2023.

Copyright 2025 Bloomberg.

Topics Lawsuits Texas

Was this article valuable?

Thank you! Please tell us what we can do to improve this article.

Thank you! % of people found this article valuable. Please tell us what you liked about it.

Here are more articles you may enjoy.

Progressive Now 4th Largest Global Insurer; RenRe Fastest Growing in ’24
CyberCube: Insured Loss Estimate From AWS Outage Likely About $40M
New York Hospital Insurer Files for Bankruptcy, Citing Child Sex Abuse Claims
Hurricane Melissa Churns Toward Jamaica as Category 5 Storm

Written By Amanda Albright

More From Author

Written By Madlin Mekelburg

More From Author

Interested in Lawsuits?

Get automatic alerts for this topic.

Email This Subscribe to Newsletter
  • Categories: Texas / South Central NewsTopics: American Sustainable Business Council, anti-ESG laws, environmental social and governance (ESG)
  • Have a hot lead? Email us at newsdesk@insurancejournal.com
More News
Starr Acquiring IQUW; Starr Managing Agency to Be Among 10 Largest at Lloyd’s
Breaking: Florida Appeals Court Reverses $200M Jury Verdict in Maya Kowalski Case
Florida Jury Awards $20 Million in J&J Talcum Powder Mesothelioma Lawsuit
Rebuilding Begins After Drenching Rains Flood Parts of Central, South Florida
More News Features

Read This Next

  • Texas Officials Sued Over Anti-ESG Law Targeting Wall Street
  • Walmart Sued for Disability Discrimination at Wisconsin Location
  • Why Eating a Burger in Houston Is Less Climate-Friendly Than in Chicago
  • Best Agency to Work For – West Region: Kulchin Ross
  • North Carolina Supreme Court Lets Stand Greg Lindberg's Civil Fraud Liability

Insurance Jobs

  • Senior Underwriter - Denver, CO ( Hybrid)
  • Business Development Representative - Remote/Pittsburgh, PA/Allentown, PA
  • Property Liability Claims Supervisor - Wilsonville, OR
  • Insurance Account Executive - Remote/ Brooklyn, NY
  • Regional Sales Manager - Irving, TX
MyNewMarkets
  • Bigger Piece of the Pie: Surplus Lines Market Hits New Record as Specialty Lines Continue to Grow in Prominence, Market Share
  • Death and Insurance (Not Taxes): Part One
  • AI for Agents
  • How to Attract the Next Generation to Insurance
  • 5 Evolving Trends Shaping Architects and Engineers Coverage
Claims Journal
  • NHTSA Says Ford Recalling 175,000 Vehicles in US for Moonroof Defect
  • Hurricane Melissa Takes Aim at Bahamas After Battering Cuba
  • Gallagher Bassett Acquires Safe T Professionals
  • What's Happening in The Claims Profession? Read This, Then Tell Us
  • Truck Driver in Fatal Crash Repeatedly Failed Driving Tests, Florida AG Office Says
Academy of Insurance education
  • October 21 E&S Property Underwriting
  • October 23 Gotchas That'll Getchya - Latest Policy Language That'll Get You Sued
  • October 30 Challenges in Agency Mergers – Reducing Staff Flight and Avoiding E&O Claims
  • November 6 Risk and Insurance for Digital Nomads

Insurance News

  • News by Region
  • News by Topic
  • Yesterday

Site Search

Features

  • Insurance Markets Directory
  • Forums
  • A.M. Best Company Ratings
  • Industry Events
  • Agencies For Sale
  • Newswire
  • Insurance Jobs
  • Rankings & Awards

Connect with us

  • Email Newsletters
  • Magazine Subscriptions
  • For Your Website
  • RSS Feeds
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Do Not Sell My Info

Insurance Journal

  • Submit News
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Reprints
  • Link to Us
  • Contact Us

Wells Media Group Network

  • Insurance Journal
  • MyNewMarkets.com
  • Claims Journal
  • Insurance Journal TV
  • Academy of Insurance
  • Carrier Management
© 2025 by Wells Media Group, Inc. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Site Map