Florida House passes bill banning ESG in government investments

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — In a priority of Speaker Paul Renner, R-Palm Coast, the Florida House on Friday passed a measure that would prevent consideration of “environmental, social and governance” standards in investing government money.

The Republican-controlled House voted 80-31 to approve the bill (HB 3) targeting what is known as “ESG.”

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Rep. Kimberly Daniels, D-Jacksonville, crossed party lines to join Republicans in supporting the bill. Gov. Ron DeSantis and members of the state Cabinet last year directed investment decisions in the Florida Retirement System Defined Benefit Plan to prioritize the highest returns without consideration of environmental, social and governance standards.

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The bill, which will go to the Senate, would expand that to all funds invested by state and local governments. The bill would require that state and local-government investment decisions be made “solely on pecuniary factors” and would prevent “sacrificing investment return or undertaking additional investment risk to promote any non-pecuniary factor.”

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It would prevent government fund managers from considering issues such as climate change and social diversity when deciding how to invest money.

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