Governor DeSantis today signed HB 3 – a sweeping prohibition on consideration of environmental, social, and governance principles in state and local financial matters.
Senate Democratic Leader Lauren Book (D-Davie) responded, “The party of ‘limited government’ strikes yet again – with more government overreach into private businesses. This is one step closer to telling every day Floridians how to spend their own money – Floridians that are working hard every day to put food on the table, fill their gas tanks up and make their own choices on how to live a healthy, prosperous and safe life. Instead of helping Floridians with their daily struggles like skyrocketing property and auto insurance, the state could see higher interest rates because of the Governor’s agenda against economic freedom.”
Senate Democratic Leader Pro Tempore Jason Pizzo (D-Hollywood) said, “These companies are adept at assessing and executing investment opportunities that provide returns – they’re not in the business of losing money. All this bill does is further expose how uninformed the Governor is on issues of finance.”
Senator Tina Polsky (D-Boca Raton), who also serves as the Florida Senate Democratic Caucus Policy Chair, said, “The Governor has added a new bogeyman to his fake 3-letter monsters: ESG. This law goes against everything capitalism stands for – it’s the government interfering with private businesses, dictating who their customers and clients should be. These investment companies and banks are keeping up with a changing world – considering new risks to their bottom line that look beyond the numbers and consider the positive net impact of having sustainable, safe and ethical standards.
It is the height of hypocrisy to ban customers and investments based on politics when the Governor constantly goes after companies for political reasons.”
