The state will likely grant exceptions for pension systems using companies accused of boycotting the fossil fuel industry, Oklahoma Treasurer told executives after asking journalists and attorneys to leave the room.
State Superintendent Ryan Walters, then the head of a school reform group, guided shadowy efforts to distribute pandemic funds, leading to millions in questionable spending.
Under Oklahoma’s Energy Discrimination Elimination Act, public retirement systems are banned from doing business with companies on a state blacklist for those accused of boycotting the fossil fuel industry.
The Frontier found that more than half the firms on the blacklist do not meet the state law’s definition of “financial companies.”
The Frontier found the Oklahoma State Treasurer’s office applied criteria for blacklisting companies inconsistently, leaving some firms claiming they have been arbitrarily and wrongly banned from doing business with the state. The blacklist could have far-reaching effects on everything from financing for public works projects to how state payroll checks are processed.
The state now has no enforceable limits on many common man-made chemicals, which have been linked to several types of cancers, developmental problems in children and other negative health effects.
Meanwhile, new state Attorney General Gentner Drummond hopes to expand settlement talks in a landmark court case against poultry companies.
The Frontier’s reporting shows flooding has gotten worse over the past 20 years and the risks have been well-known for decades.
