Ron DeSantis signs a law that makes it illegal in Florida for the state to invest based on ‘ESG’ strategies

Share
ESG investing
ESG: Environmental, Social and Governance investing. By Akash Sain via iStock for WMNF News.

Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday signed a bill that will prevent government investment strategies that consider “environmental, social and governance” standards, which Republicans have deemed “woke.”

The bill (HB 3) has been a priority of House Speaker Paul Renner, R-Palm Coast.

It expands on actions taken earlier by DeSantis and members of the state Cabinet to require investment decisions in the Florida Retirement System Defined Benefit Plan to prioritize the highest returns without consideration of the standards known as “ESG.”

Critics contend the proposal will cost the state money and hinder investment decision-making.

The law, which will take effect July 1, doesn’t stop fund managers from investing in companies that use such standards.

But fund managers won’t be able to base investment decisions on issues such as climate change and social diversity.

Republicans across the country have criticized ESG as an “agenda-driven” effort against investments in fossil fuels, arms manufacturers and prisons.

Renner, who joined DeSantis at a bill-signing event Tuesday in Jacksonville, said the law stands up against “a far-left extreme agenda.” The bill also will prohibit financial institutions from doing such things as applying a “social credit score” when offering services. They won’t be able to deny or cancel services to people based on political opinions, affiliation or speech. In December, state Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis announced that Florida would pull $2 billion from BlackRock, the largest asset-management firm in the world, because of ESG practices.

©2023 The News Service of Florida

One Response to “Ron DeSantis signs a law that makes it illegal in Florida for the state to invest based on ‘ESG’ strategies”

  1. Philip Hester

    The last governor that attacked the investments that our retirement system could use was Jeb Bush. I understand it cost the system millions

    Reply

Leave a Reply

  • (will not be published)

XHTML: You can use these tags: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>

You may also like

Genetics and Your Health

MidPoint explored genetics testing and the challenges of receiving a...

The Scoop: Thurs. Nov. 21st, 2024, Tampa Bay and Florida headlines by WMNF

Stay updated on the St. Petersburg city leaders' vote on...

City of Zephyrhills and FEMA will hold a hurricane assistance meeting Friday

There will be a town hall-style meeting in Zephyrhills regarding...

Florida Capitol
Here are the 2025-26 Florida Senate committee leaders

Senate President, Republican Ben Albritton, named lawmakers who will lead...

Ways to listen

WMNF is listener-supported. That means we don't advertise like a commercial station, and we're not part of a university.

Ways to support

WMNF volunteers have fun providing a variety of needed services to keep your community radio station alive and kickin'.

Follow us on Instagram

The Dorm Room
Player position: