(The Center Square) – A new lawsuit filed over a Texas law that went into effect nearly three years ago is “absurd,” “frivolous” and “intellectually dishonest,” Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar said.
After the Texas legislature passed a bill that Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law in 2021, the American Sustainable Business Coalition sued last week arguing it violates the First and Fourteenth amendments.
Gov. Abbott signed SB 13 into law after state lawmakers expressed concerns that prominent financial institutions and investment funds targeting the Texas oil and gas industry to financially penalize them in favor of alternative energy based on their compliance with “environmental, social, governance” standards, The Center Square reported . The law prohibits certain state agencies from investing funds in financial companies taking “any action that is, solely or primarily, intended to penalize, inflict economic harm on or limit commercial relations with [an energy company that] does not commit or pledge to meet environmental standards beyond applicable federal and state law.”