A Texas lawmaker is seeking to broaden the fight against ESG (environmental social governance) policies by imposing further limits on the types of investments state pension managers can make and restricting shareholder proposals that would dictate insurance companies’ business with oil and gas firms.
Senator Bryan Hughes, a Republican, filed a bill this week that would allow pensions that manage billions of dollars for state employees to work with external asset managers only if those companies agree to make investment decisions based solely on financial factors. In addition, the legislation applies to proxy advisers that give recommendations on shareholder votes for the pensions.
