On Thursday, August 29, ECBAWM and co-counsel Democracy Forward sued Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar and Attorney General Ken Paxton to challenge a state law that restricts state investments with certain financial firms because of their energy policies. As part of the law, called SB-13, the Texas Comptroller publishes a list of companies and investment funds he considers to be boycotting the oil and gas industries. The lawsuit argues that SB-13 is unconstitutional and seeks to punish businesses for using sustainable business practices.

ECBAWM and Democracy Forward filed a lawsuit on behalf of the American Sustainable Business Council, a non-profit that represents thousands of businesses and advocates for environmentally-conscious policies. ASBC’s members have been harmed by the law, unable to compete for business with Texas entities and denied of any avenue for challenging their exclusion from this market.

ASBC is represented by ECBAWM attorneys Matthew Brinckerhoff, Vasudha Talla and Sana Mayat, as well as attorneys from Democracy Forward. Read the filed complaint here.

Press:
“Business Group Sues Texas Officials Over Law That Shields Oil Industry,” NY Times
“Texas Officials Sued Over Anti-ESG Law Targeting Wall Street,” Bloomberg
“Business group sues Texas officials over 2021 anti-ESG law,” S&P Global
“Group sues to block Texas anti-ESG law,” Politico
“Group sues over Texas law targeting companies for fossil fuel boycotts,” Houston Chronicle
Yahoo Finance