Last week, State Sen. Dan Roberts' (R-Mountain Brook) bill that would prohibit state contracts with businesses that boycott certain sectors of the economy based on environmental, social and governance (ESG) policies passed out of the Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Development Committee.
The legislation was panned by powerful business community actors, including the Business Council of Alabama and Regions Bank.
During an interview with Mobile radio FM Talk 106.5's "The Jeff Poor Show," State Sen. Chris Elliott (R-Josephine) praised the legislation, Roberts and the Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Development Committee's chairman State Sen. Garlan Gudger (R-Cullman).
"This ESG issue is one that everybody is hearing about nationally, and it is something that we're dealing with here," he said. "We want businesses to be in business to make money, not to push a social agenda. And that is exactly what Alabama is leading on. Senator [Dan] Roberts is the sponsor of that bill. He has done a fantastic job really negotiating the pitfalls there and getting that bill up in committee and passed through committee. It is one of the widest, broadest pieces of ESG legislation in the country, and I think it's going to provide real protection to Alabama investors to make sure we — our folks and our investor — are focused on making money and not focused on woke ideology."
"I commend Senator Roberts, Senator [Garlan] Gudger, the committee chairman, on that, and others for working together, again behind the scenes, sometimes to try to come to a good spot on that so that that bill can move. And sometimes, it is fair to say some compromise is necessary in order to move something. The option becomes binary if you don't compromise. You might not get your bill passed. I still feel like Senator Roberts has ended up with a fantastic bill that is the broadest in the country to protect investors and protect retirements from woke ideologies and I commend him for that."
Jeff Poor is the executive editor of 1819 News and host of "The Jeff Poor Show," heard Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-noon on Mobile's FM Talk 106.5. To connect or comment, email jeff.poor@1819News.com or follow him on Twitter @jeff_poor.
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