Kentucky Governor Signs Bill Banning ESG Investment in Public Pensions

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear walks to his seat before the start of a meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden and governors visiting from states around the country in the East Room of the White House on Feb. 10, 2023. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, a Democrat, has signed into law a measure that requires the state’s public pension funds to make investment decisions on financial risks and returns, rather than environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors.

Beshear signed House Bill 236 into law on March 24, mandating the state’s fiduciaries to solely consider factors that have a “direct and material connection to the financial risk or financial return of an investment,” according to the measure’s language.