Wyoming

Title

Key Dates

Nature of
Action

ESG Category

Summary

■ Relates to public funds; amends specified statutory funds to remove their inviolate status in order to enhance their investment potential; establishes spending policies for specified statutory funds; provides for the investment of specified statutory funds; redirects the deposit of investment earnings into the corpuses of specified statutory funds; removing specified statutory funds from the pool A investment account; makes conforming amendments; repeals inconsistent and obsolete statutory provisions.

HB0069: Foreign adversary ownership or control of business entities

Adopted and in effect
2/27/2024

■ On February 27, 2024, Governor Mark Gordon line-item vetoed amendments to Chapters 2, 4, 5, and 10 of the Wyoming Secretary of State’s Securities Rules, which required disclosure and consent to ESG investment strategies by requiring investment advisers, broker-dealers, and securities agents to disclose to their customers or clients whether they are incorporating a social objective, i.e. whether they are considering social criteria, in the investment or commitment of customer or client funds, and obtain their consent.

■ Following the Governor’s line-item veto, the rules limit the definition of a social objective, and will require written disclosure for some ESG-related investments, but will not require customer or client consent.

 ■ On August 3, 2023, the State Loan and Investment Board unanimously adopted a new investment policy that condemns the use of ESG investment criteria. As revised, those managing the state’s roughly $26 billion worth of investments are reminded that they must seek “the highest total return on a risk adjusted basis.” If the treasurer’s office learns that an investment partner is “acting in a non-pecuniary manner,” and if they’re hurting the state’s returns or general revenue, the office will reach out and take some form of action. That could be as low-key as asking a firm to modify its policies or as severe as dumping them for a competitor.

■ The new policy specifically provides that "all Individuals are fiduciaries bound by the Prudent Investor Rule. Accordingly, all Individuals shall act in the best financial interest of beneficiaries while evaluating managers, vendors, asset allocations and investment potential in order to obtain the highest total return on a risk adjusted basis while adhering to applicable rules of law. Fiduciary decisions can only be based on pecuniary factors, meaning they have been prudently determined and are expected to have a positive effect on the risk-adjusted return of investments, based on appropriate investment horizons consistent with the funds’ objectives and investment policies while adhering to compliance, statutory and regulatory guidance. Pecuniary factors do not include the furtherance of environmental, social, governance, political, or ideological interests. These investment criteria have crippled, corrupted, disadvantaged, subverted, damaged, or otherwise harmed the children, citizens, industry, and financial well-being of Wyoming and America and we expect they will continue to do so. Non-pecuniary factors do not provide confidence in increased returns or lower risk; conversely, they may be cause for alarm and concern. Non-pecuniary diversions from fiduciary responsibilities will most likely result in lower returns and increased risk, resulting in less funding being available to the State of Wyoming in general. In addition, all vendors must adhere to the laws of Wyoming and the United States."

Treasurer’s Office updates ESG policy

Adopted and in effect 5/3/2023

Treasurer Position

Restrict Use of ESG Factors; Focus on Pecuniary Characteristics

■Wyoming State Treasurer Curt Meier's office has updated its policy on ESG policies as applied to the State’s investment managers. It states that "the goal of Wyoming’s investment managers should be to maximize Wyoming’s risk-adjusted return, not be the government or act like nonelected representatives for cultural change."

HB0236: Firearms Transactions-Financial Discrimination

Effective date
7/1/2023

Adopted 4/7/2021

Introduced

3/4/2021

Legislation

Target Entities That Boycott Certain Industries

■Prohibits financial institutions from discriminating against firearm entities because of such status.

■Does not apply to financial institutions that choose not to provide services to a firearm entity for a business or financial reason, as a regulatory requirement, or when a financial institution has a written policy against discrimination against firearms businesses.

■It also authorizes the Wyoming Attorney General to bring an action to request a declaratory judgment, an injunction or a civil penalty not to exceed $20,000.00 per violation. The Attorney General also shall inform the Governor and request the state terminate any business relationship with any financial institution found to have violated the act.

Title

Key Dates

Nature of
Action

ESG Category

Summary

■ The state treasurer, the state loan and investment board, the Wyoming retirement board, the Wyoming retirement system and any other entity responsible for the investment or management of the investment of state funds (fiduciaries) shall take into account only financial factors when discharging its duties in investing state funds. "Financial" means having been prudently determined to have a material effect on the financial risk or return of an investment, and does not include any action taken, or factor considered, by a fiduciary with any purpose whatsoever to further social, political or ideological interests.

■ A fiduciary may reasonably be determined to have taken an action, or considered a factor, with a purpose to further social, political or ideological interests based upon evidence showing a fiduciary commitment to further, through portfolio company engagement, board or shareholder votes or other actions as a fiduciary or a trustee of: (A) Eliminating, reducing, offsetting or disclosing greenhouse gas emissions; (B) Instituting or assessing corporate board or employment, composition, compensation or disclosure criteria that incorporates protected characteristics; (C) Divesting from, limiting investment in or limiting the activities or investments of any company for failing or not committing to meet environmental standards or disclosures; (D) Providing or increasing access to abortion, sex or gender changes, transgender surgery; (E) Divesting from, limiting investment in or limiting the activities of any company that engages in, facilitates or supports the manufacture, import, distribution, marketing, advertising, sale or lawful use of firearms, ammunition, components, parts or accessories of firearms or ammunition.

■ State funds shall not be entrusted to a fiduciary unless the fiduciary has a practice of, and commits in writing to, follow guidelines when engaging with portfolio companies and voting shares or proxies that match the investment entity's obligation to act solely upon financial factors as required by this section.

■ Violations -- If the attorney general believes that a person has engaged in or is engaging in a violation of this section, the attorney general may require the person to file a statement or report in writing, under oath, as to all of the facts and circumstances concerning the violation and to provide any other data and information deemed necessary. In addition to any other remedies available at law or equity, any person who serves as a fiduciary and who violates this section shall be liable for damages to the state investment entity in an amount equal to three (3) times the amount paid to the person by the board for the person's services. All amounts collected under this subsection shall be deposited into the applicable state fund against which the violation was committed.

■ Prohibits the categorization of firearms and ammunition merchants separately from general merchandise or sporting goods retailers as specified; creating a penalty; making conforming amendments; specifying applicability; and providing for an effective date.

Title

Key Dates

Nature of
Action

ESG Category

Summary

HB291: An Act relating to banks, banking and finance; authorizing the secretary of state to prepare and maintain a list of financial institutions engaged in discrimination against energy companies;

Introduced 1/27/2025

Legislation

Target Entities That Boycott Certain Industries

■ Requires the secretary of state to prepare and maintain a list of financial institutions that are engaged in a boycott of energy companies. The list prepared under this  subsection shall be known as the "restricted financial institution list." The legislation provides details on what sources can be used for compiling the restricted financial institution list. The state treasurer and the state auditor shall refuse to enter into a new banking contract or renew an existing banking contract with a restricted financial institution. The state treasurer and the state auditor shall require, as a term of any banking contract, an agreement by the financial institution not to engage in a boycott of energy companies for the duration of the contract.

HB0234: An Act Relating to the Protection of Constitutional Rights; Prohibiting the Disclosure or Use of Information relating to Firearms and Ammunition Sales

Introduced 1/16/2025

Legislation

Target Entities That Boycott Certain Industries

■ No merchant servicer shall discriminate against a merchant or customer located in Wyoming by declining a lawful payment card transaction, limiting or declining to do business with a firearms retailer or customer for a lawful transaction or charging a higher transaction or interchange fee to any merchant or customer for a lawful payment card transaction based solely on the assignment or nonassignment of a firearms code or any other merchant category code that distinguishes a merchant from a general merchandise retailer or a sporting goods retailer, or otherwise take any action against a merchant or customer located in Wyoming that is intended to prohibit or suppress lawful commerce involving firearms, firearm accessories or components or ammunition.

SF0172: Stop ESG-State funds fiduciary duty act

Introduced, but did not pass in the 2023 legislative session

Legislation

Restrict Use of ESG Factors; Focus on Pecuniary Characteristics

■Requires an investment fiduciary to discharge his or her duties in the interests of beneficiaries of state funds for the exclusive purpose of providing financial benefits and paying reasonable expenses for administering the investment of state funds. Additionally, requires an investment fiduciary to take into account only financial factors when discharging fiduciary duties.

■All shares of stock held directly or indirectly by or on behalf of an investment entity or on behalf of the
investment entity's beneficiaries shall be voted solely in the financial interest of the beneficiaries.

SUBSEQUENT DEVELOPMENTS

Tracks the Heritage Foundation's "State Pension Fiduciary Duty Act"

SF0159: Stop ESG-Eliminate economic boycott act

Introduced, but did not pass in the 2023 legislative session

Legislation

Target Entities That Boycott Certain Industries

■Requires parties to state contracts to certify that they do not engage in boycotting or discrimination against fossil fuel production, agriculture, timber production and firearms companies.

HB0210: Financial institution discrimination against energy companies

Introduced, but did not pass in the 2023 legislative session

Legislation

Target Entities That Boycott Certain Industries

■Authorizes the state treasurer to prepare and maintain a list of financial institutions engaged in discrimination against energy companies. Requires the state treasurer and state auditor to refuse to enter into a banking contract with a financial institution on the list once published.