Oklahoma bill to exempt locals from ESG firm blacklist advances

Oklahoma Legislature

Oklahoma bills to remove local governments from a state law prohibiting contracts with companies that "boycott" the fossil fuel industry and to enact a similar ban for "discriminating" against the firearm industry advanced ahead of a legislative deadline last week. 

Another measure that would have exempted municipal bond issuance from the blacklist in 2022's Energy Discrimination Elimination Act died after it did not get to a full-Senate vote by Thursday's deadline for bills to move out of their chamber of origin.

In addition to removing the sale of municipal bonds and notes from the act's contract provisions, Senate Bill 714, which advanced out of a Senate committee in February, would have transferred the act's enforcement to the Oklahoma attorney general from the state treasurer.  

The act, which is similar to Texas laws enacted in 2021, prohibits state and local government contracts worth $100,000 or more with companies determined by the treasurer's office to be "boycotting" the fossil fuel industry. A permanent injunction blocking the law's enforcement issued by a state district judge in July has been appealed to the Oklahoma Supreme Court.

Before the law was halted, state Treasurer Todd Russ had placed Barclays, Bank of American, JP Morgan, and Wells Fargo on a "boycotters" list, which made them ineligible to underwrite governmental bonds in the state.

House Bill 2043, which headed to the Senate after House passage on Thursday, would apply the contract provision only to state agencies. A similar bill was introduced in the 2024 session, but did not pass.

The bill aims to provide local governments with "easier financing options," said its sponsor, Republican State Rep. Nick Archer.

"We're talking about cities, municipalities who don't always have the means to shoulder the additional financing costs by not being able to simply just choose the best rate," he said ahead of the House vote.

Republican State Sen. Casey Murdock's bill to apply the contact ban to "discrimination" against the firearm industry is back for another attempt after failing to win final passage in previous sessions. Senate Bill 500 advanced out of the Senate and was sent to the House in a 38-8 vote on March 26.

"Taxpayer dollars should not be spent with a company that is discriminating against our Second Amendment rights," Murdock said ahead of the Senate vote.

The bill requires a written verification from a company that it does not have "a practice, policy, guidance, or directive that discriminates against a firearm entity or firearm trade association" and will not engage in in discrimination during the term of a contract.