AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, Glenn Hegar, sent a letter to 19 investment companies asking about their loyalty to fossil fuels.
Three companies are based in the U.S.: BlackRock Inc., Invesco Ltd., and JPMorgan Chase & Co. The rest span the globe.
Senate Bill 13 requires all Texas retirement programs to move money away from companies that boycott oil and gas. The bill was signed into law last year.
The investments impact Teachers Retirement System of Texas (TRS) and the Employee Retirement System of Texas (ERS).
Hegar asked the 19 companies to clarify their policies and procedures.
“We know some of these companies hold investments in oil and gas today, but what about the future? Are they selling the hope of a ‘green’ tomorrow with promises to divest or reduce their fossil fuel exposure? A handful of companies are echoing promises by the Biden administration about a ‘transition’ to green energy. They’ve managed to convince people that electric cars and wind and solar power generation can meet our energy needs, and if we just stop investing in oil and gas, the transition will be swift and painless. Anyone who has paid any attention to recent events knows that just isn’t true,” Hegar said in a press release to KVUE News.
Hegar asked the companies to also list any mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) which boycott or limit investment in fossil fuels.
“Our research thus far shows that some companies are telling us and other energy-producing states one thing, and then turning around and telling their liberal clients in other states another thing,” Hegar said in the release.
Last January, the KVUE Defenders reported on how improving the State’s electric grid could impact retirement dollars.
Texas law requires the power grid manager to use natural gas for more than half of its electricity generation.
Money spent to boycott fossil fuel investments would threaten the grid’s biggest energy resource unless the State changed its energy mix.
The companies have 60 days to respond.
Hegar expects to send another round of letters, contacting 100 more publicly traded investment companies.
Hegar will later publish the list of companies on the comptroller's website.
The comptroller's website shows the State’s current divestment list includes:
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