In an article for Bloomberg, Marvin G. Perez covered Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ latest move in his war against ESG. Lately, the movement for institutional investors to consider environmental, sustainability, and governance criteria in their investments has drawn criticism from conservatives.

Florida is increasingly the frontline for these political battles, so it wasn’t surprising to see the Republican-controlled State Senate approve a bill to abn state and local governments from using ESG criteria in making their decisions. Last month, the legislation passed the State House of Representatives and is expected to be signed into law by DeSantis soon.

DeSantis is looking to consolidate support as he is widely expected to enter the 2024 presidential race. He and others have criticized ESG investing as an overreach and symptomatic of ‘woke capitalism’. So far, Florida has pulled $2 billion from Blackrock funds which many consider to be the vanguard of the ESG movement.  

The legislation also bars municipalities from selling bonds that are connected to ESG projects or ratings. Last year, Florida sold about $13 billion in bonds, making it the fourth-largest issuer in the country. 

Finsum: Florida is increasing its efforts to combat ESG with the State Senate approving a bill that bars state and local governments from using ESG criteria in investments and selling bonds.