JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA — Today, Governor Ron DeSantis signed HB 3, comprehensive legislation that protects Floridians from the Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) financial “scam.” Joined by House Speaker Paul Renner and Florida’s CFO Jimmy Patronis, the governor delivered on his promise to protect consumers’ investments and their ability to access financial services in the “Free State of Florida.”
“ESG is officially DOA in the state of Florida,” DeSantis said when he signed the bill. “This is by far the strongest protection for the people of any state against this ESG agenda – we’re protecting you from it.”
ESG, DeSantis explained, is basically window dressing for globalists to exercise power over society and shape the world through financial control. The governor said this legislation plays into another bill that the Legislature will pass this week that will expressly prohibit using a federally adopted Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) as money within Florida’s Uniform Commercial Code (UCC).
PROTECTING CITIZENS’ INVESTMENTS
Florida’s elected cabinet members joined the governor last year to put pressure on “woke capital” by banning ESG considerations when investing the state’s pension funds. DeSantis said Florida will make sure pension investments are based on value for its beneficiaries, not woke ideology.
“You do not displace that fiduciary duty for the sake of ideology when people are counting on the best investment decisions,” DeSantis said.
Florida also launched a multistate anti-ESG coalition, led by Desantis that is composed of 20 other state governors who joined with Florida to stand up against the ESG scam.
ATTEMPT TO CIRCUMVENT THE BALLOT BOX
“This is an elite-imposed agenda,” DeSantis said. “It’s an attempt by elites to impose ideology through business institutions, financial institutions and our economy writ large.”
Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis said he’s lost faith in Washington as we’ve seen high interest rates and an inflation spike that’s weakening the dollar. “That’s why we need new leadership there [in Washington] and why we have to continue to lead on these issues in the state of Florida,” Patronis said.
“They’re imposing a far-left extreme agenda behind a banner of ESG, which, on the surface, nobody would object to,” House Speaker Paul Renner said. “But what they’re really trying to do is disfavor things they don’t like and favor things they like – regardless of what we at the ballot box want.”
The new law protects Floridians by:
- Prohibiting big banks, trusts, and other financial institutions from discriminating against customers for their religious, political, or social beliefs – including their support for securing the border, owning a firearm, and increasing our energy independence.
- Prohibiting the financial sector from considering so-called “Social Credit Scores” in banking and lending practices that aim to prevent Floridians from obtaining loans, lines of credit, and bank accounts.
- Prohibiting banks that engage in corporate activism from holding government funds as a Qualified Public Depository (QPD).
- Prohibiting the use of ESG in all investment decisions at the state and local level, ensuring that fund managers only consider financial factors that maximize the highest rate of return.
- Prohibiting all state and local entities, including direct support organizations, from considering, giving preference to, or requesting information about ESG as part of the procurement and contracting process.
- Prohibiting the use of ESG factors by state and local governments when issuing bonds, including a contract prohibition on rating agencies whose ESG ratings negatively impact the issuer’s bond ratings.
- Directing the attorney general and commissioner of financial regulation to enforce these provisions to the fullest extent of the law.
