HB1307 permits the Arkansas Treasurer to divest state investments based on environmental, social justice, or governance criteria. It clarifies terms related to industry discrimination and sets procedures for maintaining lists of financial service providers engaging in such practices. The bill requires divestment from listed providers within set deadlines and forms an oversight committee for supervision.
The Arkansas State Senate passed HB1307 on March 13, 2023 by a vote of 23 to 9. We have assigned pluses to the ayes because the government has a duty to protect its citizens’ individual liberties from the all-encompassing ‘woke’ environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) movement. As a political scam that seeks to proliferate worldwide and implement the United Nations’ Agenda 2030, ESG denies the property rights of American citizens by restricting their access to financial services, among others, preventing both companies and individuals from entering into contracts voluntarily based on their own interests with freedom of association. The Bill of Rights and 14th Amendment were written to protect against undue deprivations or disparagements of a person’s “property,” and this bill is a great first step in pushing back.