Alabama Senate votes to ban government contracts with firms opposed to firearms, fossil fuels
he Alabama Senate Thursday approved a bill that would prevent state entities from contracting with companies that refuse to do business with fossil fuel producers, firearm manufacturers, companies do not “facilitate” access to abortion or gender-affirming care and other entities.
SB 261 passed 27-8 on a party line vote after a roughly two-hour debate where Democrats said the bill would drive out business and compromise free speech.
“This is a bad bill,” said Senate Minority Leader Bobby Singleton, D-Greensboro. “You’ve been working on three years of a bad bill. Just because you’ve been working on it for three years don’t make it right.”
The legislation is an anti-environmental, social and governance (ESG) bill, one of several pushed by Republican legislators around the nation. ESG aims to encourage companies to consider sustainability in investment decisions, particularly around climate change.
“We’re trying to address corporate boycott issues and contracts in this legislation,” Sen. Dan Roberts, R-Mountain Brook, the bill’s sponsor, said on the floor of the Senate Thursday.
The legislation prevents governmental entities from entering contracts worth more than $15,000 with companies with more than 10 employees engaged in “economic boycotts.”
https://alabamareflector.com/2023/05/18/alabama-senate-votes-to-ban-government-contracts-with-firms-opposed-to-firearms-fossil-fuels/
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