Summary
At the state level, political leaders are taking varying approaches to overseeing investment decisions made by their retirement systems and companies. These approaches are discussed and summarized in greater detail.Sign up to join our State Retirement Plan ESG Investment Updates mailing list
Recent Developments
Federal ESG Activity- **U.S. Department of Labor: Final Rule to Remove Barriers to Considering ESG Factors in Plan Investments
(Released November 22, 2022; Published in Federal Register on December 1, 2022)* - Republican State Attorneys General: Texas AG Sues Biden Administration to Stop It From Risking American Workers’ Retirements by Promoting Woke ESG Goals (January 26, 2023)
- Utah: Proposed legislation SB96: Addressing Fiduciary Duties for Management of Government Funds (January 19, 2023)
- South Carolina: Proposed legislation HB3690: ESG Pension Protection Act (January 19, 2023); HB3393: Prohibiting Discrimination against Certain Manufacturers and Retailers of Firearms (January 17, 2023)
- Indiana: Proposed legislation SB372: Fiduciary duties of pension system administrators (January 19, 2023); HB1008: Pension investments (January 12, 2023) ; SB292: INPRS investments (January 11, 2023)
- Missouri: Proposed legislation HB824: New Section Relating to Investment Disclosures (January 19, 2023); HB769: Modifies provisions related to proxy voting and fiduciary investment duties for certain public employee retirement and pension systems (January 19, 2023)
- Nebraska: Proposed legislation LB743: Adopting the Investment Neutrality in Public Funds Act (January 18, 2023)
- Virginia: Proposed legislation HB2335/SB1437: Restrictions on Virginia Retirement System ESG Investing (January 18, 2023); SB1437: Prohibiting ESG Investing by the Retirement System (January 11, 2023)
- Republican State Attorneys General: Letter to ISS and Glass Lewis regarding ESG and Proxy Voting (January 17, 2023)
- New York: Proposed legislation S1953: Requiring SUNY and CUNY Fossil Fuel Divestment (January 17, 2023); SB899/A1101: Establishes the Teachers’ Fossil Fuel Divestment Act (January 9, 2023)
- Oregon: Proposed legislation HB2601: Requiring State Treasurer to Divest from Certain Carbon-Intensive Investments (January 16, 2023)
- Washington: Proposed legislation HB1283: Requiring ESG Investment Options for Self-Directed Investment Funds (January 13, 2023)
- Massachusetts: Proposed legislationSD1234 / HD1539: An Act Relative to the Divestment of State Pension Funds from Nuclear Weapons (January 13, 2023); SD377 / HD2335: An Act Requiring Public Pension Fund Divestment from Ammunition and Firearms (January 13, 2023)
- Connecticut: SB42: An Act Concerning The Climate Sustainability Scores Of Companies Invested In By The State Treasurer (January 12, 2023)
Navigating State Regulation of ESG
Recent Thought Leadership & Podcasts
- In Bloomberg Law, Josh Lichtenstein Discusses ESG 401(k) Rule Challenges
(January 31, 2023) - In Bloomberg Law, Attorneys Explore 2023 Key ESG Regulatory Developments
(January 4, 2023) - Joshua Lichtenstein Shares Insight Into ESG Investing Opposition in Bloomberg
(January 4, 2023) - Podcast: The DOL’s Latest Guidance on ESG Investing and Proxy Voting—Key Implications for Plan Fiduciaries
(December 16, 2022) - Reuters Quotes Josh Lichtenstein on Texas’s Blacklist of Certain Financial Firms
(December 6, 2022)
