(TheLastPatriotNews.com) – Florida’s Republican Governor Ron DeSantis has proposed a bill to end “ESG woke banking” in the state while blasting leftist elites for imposing policies the public would otherwise “never” approve.
“ESG,” which stands for “environmental, social, and government standards,” has become synonymous with corporate practices embracing woke and the broader leftist political agenda.
“[ESG is] elite-driven phenomenon [and a] mechanism to inject political ideology into investment decisions, corporate governance, and really just the everyday economy,” DeSantis declared during a press conference on Monday, as cited by The Daily Caller.
His draft law provides for ending state government support for banks espousing ESG policies and protecting citizens from corporate wokeism.
Florida’s governor insisted that ESG standards were highly damaging to America and its citizens in various ways. These include undermining the democratic process, breaking corporate obligations to shareholders, and making the US more dependent on Communist China.
“This is a distortion of a government by and for the people. They are not accountable to you,” DeSantis stated.
His newly proposed law would build upon the resolution he issued in August to ban state pension funds from considering ESG policies.
It instructed Florida’s fund managers “to invest state funds in a manner that prioritizes the highest return on investment for Florida’s taxpayers and retirees” while ignoring ESG.
DeSantis’s bill would protect Florida’s citizens from discrimination from corporations based on “religious, political, or social beliefs.”
The governor noted that ESG standards had targeted “disfavored” groups. These include Second Amendment advocates or The GEO Group, a Florida-based private corrections company working with ICE (US Immigration and Customs Enforcement).
The proposed legislation will ban banks from using “Social Credit Scores” when making banking and lending decisions, prevent state or local funds from putting money in institutions promoting ESG, and guarantee that state- and local-level investment decisions are not based on ESG.
The law would empower Florida’s Attorney General and Commissioner of Financial Regulation “to enforce these provisions to the fullest extent of the law.”
DeSantis’s press conference featured Brandon Wexler, owner of Wex Gunworks, who recounted how Wells Fargo shut down his accounts out of the blue, informing him that it did not service “certain types of industries.”
“Florida, as usual, is leading the charge against this,” DeSantis declared, alongside Florida Senate President Kathleen Passidomo and House Speaker Paul Renner.
“The goal of corporate activism seen in environmental, social, and governance investing (ESG) is to bypass democracy and transform capitalism to serve an ideological agenda,” Renner said in a statement.
“We will not allow these martini millionaires to push unsafe and unsound investment practices that silence debate in the political process, weaken investment strategies for Florida retirees, and discriminate against any individual’s beliefs. I am proud to stand with Governor DeSantis and Senate President Passidomo to put taxpayers, investors, and Florida retirees first,” Renner added.
