In a shocking twist that surprised absolutely no one with a law degree, a federal judge has ruled that Texas can’t actually pinky-promise to bully companies for having “feelings” about the environment. Senate Bill 13—the legislative equivalent of a toddler screaming because someone suggested eating a vegetable—was declared unconstitutional on Wednesday. Judge Alan Albright called the law “facially overbroad,” which is judge-speak for “this is a hot mess of nonsense that violates the First Amendment.”
Passed in 2021, SB 13 was designed to protect our precious oil and gas overlords by punishing any financial firm that dared to suggest climate change might be a bad investment. The state even kept a “Burn Book” (officially a list) of over 300 companies that weren’t being nice enough to fossil fuels. Because nothing says “Free Market” like the government blacklisting businesses for making their own financial decisions.
The law basically forced massive state funds, like the Teacher Retirement System, to pull billions of dollars away from successful firms just to prove a point. According to the folks who sued, this political theater has already cost Texas taxpayers and retirees hundreds of millions of dollars. But hey, who needs a stable retirement fund when you have the satisfaction of knowing you owned the “woke” investors at BlackRock, right?
The judge pointed out that the law’s definition of “boycotting” was so vague it couldn’t be measured, leading to what he called “discriminatory enforcement.” Basically, the state was just making it up as they went along, punishing whoever didn’t pass the loyalty test that day.
Since when did the “don’t tread on me” crowd get so obsessed with treading on everyone’s investment portfolios? If we put this much energy into fixing the power grid, we might actually be able to leave the heat on this winter.