Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas TribuneA bill filed in the Texas Senate Thursday would direct the state’s massive investment funds to divest from any companies that “boycott” fossil fuels.
Pressure is increasing on Wall Street for companies and investment funds to reduce their financial support for oil and gas companies; environmental activists have long called for Wall Street and university endowments to stop investing in fossil fuels, and several universities have complied.
Texas state funds identified in the bill include the $46 billion Texas Permanent School Fund, the largest such K-12 fund in the U.S; the Teacher Retirement System of Texas, which manages nearly $165 billion in investments; and the Employees Retirement System of Texas and Texas Municipal Retirement System of Texas, which each manage $31 billion.
AdSenate Bill 13 — low numbered bills signal a high priority for lawmakers — would also prevent companies, retired beneficiaries and others from suing the state over the divestments.
In February, before the winter storm that left millions of people across Texas without power and killed dozens, Lt. Gov.