Washington, D.C. – Today, the New Hampshire Senate Executive Departments & Administration Committee voted unanimously to kill S.B. 520, a controversial anti-responsible investing bill. This comes hot on the heels of the work of Unlocking America’s Future and other outside voices who have called on legislators to kill this disastrous bill, including the New Hampshire pension fund trustees who voted to oppose it just two days ago.
In response, Unlocking America’s Future spokesperson Kyle Herrig said the following:
“Today’s vote shows that being against responsible investing is being on the losing side. Self-interested politicians across the country and their wealthy CEO donors are pushing these extreme measures in order to line their own pockets at the expense of the economy and working families. We applaud the New Hampshire Senate Committee for doing the right thing by unanimously opposing this bill, and look forward to the full Senate to kill this bill once and for all in the coming days.”
Granite Staters avoided a hit to their pensions and taxes with this development as research has consistently shown that attacks on responsible investing endanger the financial well-being of everyday Americans.
- The Kansas State Division of the Budget projected reduced returns of $3.6 billion over 10 years for the Kansas Public Retirement System if anti-ESG investment restrictions were adopted.
- The Arkansas Public Employees Retirement System estimated they could lose $30-40 million each year due to an anti-ESG bill requiring public divestiture from institutions using ESG-related metrics. The Arkansas Teacher Retirement System estimated an additional $7 million in losses each year as a result of the legislation.
- According to the state’s Chief Investment Officer, the Oklahoma Public Employees Retirement System could face $9.7 million in taxes, fees and commission costs if it is forced to divest from BlackRock, Wells Fargo, JP Morgan Chase, State Street Corp, and Bank of America because of anti-ESG legislation.
- An economic analysis found that taxpayers in six states — Kentucky, Florida, Louisiana, Oklahoma, West Virginia and Missouri — could be on the hook for up to $700 million in excess interest payments if restrictions on sustainable investing are implemented.
- A 2022 study found Texas’ anti-responsible investing laws would result in up to $500 million in undue interest over the first eight months of enforcement, costs which would ultimately be borne by taxpayers in the state.
