2024 Anti-ESG Statehouse Report

In 2024, Republican lawmakers continued their project to weaponize state finances and regulatory powers against responsible investing through the consideration of 161 bills and resolutions in 28 states. While sessions saw a high volume of bills introduced, steady diverse opposition — alongside the costly and litigious implementation of earlier laws — led to fewer total bills passed into law this year.

These legislative efforts built on a multi-year trend in which lawmakers have introduced 373 pieces of legislation in 39 states to prohibit pension boards, state and municipal governments, and the private sector from considering risk factors in their investment decisions, such as climate change and how a company treats its workers. These “anti-ESG” bills (short for “environmental, social and governance”) seek to manipulate the market toward risky industries, such as firearms manufacturing and fossil fuels, which are reliable Republican donors.

With the majority of legislative sessions closed for the year, Pleiades has tracked a significant decline in laws passed compared to the 2023 legislative session, in which 23 bills became law. Of the 161 bills and resolutions active this year, including 58 that carried over from the 2023 legislative session, only six laws in as many states have passed in 2024. Two of these new laws were bills introduced in 2023.

Read our full report.