Publications

Three years after the first anti-ESG law was passed in Texas, states continue to propose and adopt both anti- and pro-ESG measures in new variations. New York state legislators have proposed climate disclosure bills nearly identical to California’s groundbreaking SB 253 and SB 261 requiring disclosure of greenhouse gas emissions and climate risk reports, which are now the subject of litigation in a federal district court in California. Meanwhile, New Hampshire legislators have proposed a bill that would make it a felony to consider ESG criteria when investing state assets.

In order to assist our clients in understanding this increasingly polarized patchwork of ESG-related state laws, we are sharing two new resources:

• An Overview of ESG State Laws and Policies indicating each state’s adoption of pro- or anti-ESG laws and policies, as well as their participation in key multi-state initiatives on the topic, and

• Detailed descriptions of each pro- and anti-ESG law, policy and initiative, including links to the relevant underlying statutes and documents as well as relevant notes and exceptions to consider.

These resources will be available on our website and will be updated monthly as the U.S. state-level legal landscape continues to evolve.

We offer the following high-level takeaways at this stage:

• If this year follows last year, the majority of new anti-ESG bills will be introduced in the spring.

• With the exception of measures in a handful of states, the majority of all types of anti-ESG measures passed to date contain carve-outs to requirements or for certain sectors.

• In an election year, voter beliefs on specific ESG issues, and government’s responsibility and business’ role as to sustainability issues, will likely influence the trajectory of new measures that are introduced.

• The impact of interest rates and the market performance of ESG (particularly clean energy) stocks could have consequences on the success of new anti- and pro-ESG measures.

• Managing the impact of applicable laws and proposed bills in view of disparate investing time horizons and project timelines, as well as applicable federal and global legislation, requires thoughtful and ongoing analysis both as to scope and programmatic implications.

Download the Overview Chart»

Download Detailed Descriptions»