| Harris County Attorney Jonathan Fombonne Applauds Ruling Protecting Free Speech and Local Economies
Houston, Texas – A federal district court has enjoined a 2021 Texas law that restricted state and local governments from investing in or doing business with financial firms deemed to be “boycotting” the fossil fuel industry. The ruling found that Senate Bill 13 violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments and blocks enforcement of the statute, commonly referred to as Texas’s “anti-ESG” law. The Harris County Attorney’s Office submitted an amicus brief highlighting the law’s harmful impacts on local governments, public pension funds, and taxpayers. The brief underscored how SB 13 constrained counties’ ability to responsibly manage public funds and threatened long-term fiscal stability by limiting access to qualified financial partners. “This court got this one right. SB 13 was bad policy and bad law,” said Harris County Attorney Jonathan Fombonne. “Local governments should be focused on maximizing returns for taxpayers, not navigating vague political litmus tests imposed by the state,” Fombonne said. “This law hurt municipalities financially, reduced competition in public finance, and ultimately cost Texans real money.” In its ruling, the court found that the law was so broad and ill-defined that it invited arbitrary enforcement and infringed on constitutionally protected speech. The court also noted that SB 13 had already resulted in discriminatory enforcement and significant financial consequences, including billions of dollars in forced divestment by major public funds. |