Steve Metzer
Tulsa World Capitol Bureau Staff Writer
OKLAHOMA CITY — A judge acted on Friday to permanently ban enforcement of a controversial law that prohibits the state from doing business with financial institutions thought to be hostile to the oil and gas industry.
Oklahoma County District Judge Sheila Stinson issued an order to make permanent an injunction she had issued in May against enforcement of the law known as the Oklahoma Energy Discrimination Act. The judge ruled that, among other things, the law was unconstitutionally vague.
Phil Bacharach, a spokesman for Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond, said the AG’s Office will appeal.
The law, passed in 2022, prohibits state contracts, including pension system investments, with financial institutions that have policies thought to discriminate against oil and gas interests. It calls for the state treasurer to keep a list of banks and other financial firms with environmental, social and governance policies that would put the companies at odds with the state’s oil and gas industry.
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Companies listed in 2024 have included BlackRock, Wells Fargo & Co., JPMorgan Chase & Co., Bank of America, State Street Corp., Barclays and Climate First Bank.
Former Oklahoma Public Employees Association President Don Keenan filed a lawsuit last year asserting that enforcement of the Energy Discrimination Act would be costly to state pension systems. Additionally, Keenan’s attorneys argued that the act was unconstitutional in that it would force pension systems to drop fund managers that it might otherwise prefer to keep.
Keenan drew support from the national Alliance for Prosperity and a Secure Retirement.
“This is a victory for the state’s current and future retirees, and its taxpayers,” board member Tim Hill said. “Judge Stinson’s decision helps keep politics out of public finance.”
Bacharach said Stinson’s action on Friday didn’t come as a surprise as she had earlier indicated a “substantial likelihood” that Keenan would prevail in the case.
“We plan to appeal and hope we will be able to repair the damage at the Oklahoma Supreme Court,” he said in a statement.
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