The Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry testified in opposition to legislation regarding social objective scoring standards, also known as Environmental, Social and Governance criteria (ESG).
Under SB 377 , sponsored by Sen. Mary Elizabeth Coleman (R- Arnold), public entities would not be allowed to contract with a company that is engaged in any kind of “economic boycott.”
The provisions of SB 430, sponsored by Sen Jill Carter (R-Granby), mirror SB 377. However, under SB 430, a company that engages in an economic boycott would also be obligated to pay damages to the state in an amount equal to three times what was paid to the company. Also, any person injured as a result of any violation of the contract may file a lawsuit and be entitled to damages, including costs and attorney fees.
Missouri Chamber Director of Legislative Affairs Phillip Arnzen told members of the Senate Governmental Accountability Committee, “These bills are trying to dictate the policy of businesses when a lot of the policies mentioned in the bills don’t necessarily have to deal with the project the state is putting out a bid on. We are also concerned that some of the definitions in these bills are vague, so we’ve offered to work with the sponsors to clear up some of those concerns.”
For more information, contact Anrzen at parnzen@mochamber.com or call (573) 634-3511.
