Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond has appealed a court ruling that blocked the enforcement of the state’s controversial anti-ESG law to the Oklahoma Supreme Court.
In filing on Nov. 27, Drummond challenged the decision of Oklahoma District Court Judge Sheila Stinson who ruled in July that the Oklahoma Energy Discrimination Elimination Act — a law banning public pension funds from doing business with financial firms said to be hostile to the oil and gas industry — was vague and violated the state’s constitution.
The lawsuit that spurred the ruling was filed in November 2023 by Don Keenan, a retired Oklahoma public servant, against Oklahoma Treasurer Todd Russ. Keenan argued that the law put his pension savings at risk.
An earlier decision by Stinson in May to temporarily halt the controversial law led Drummond to dismiss the attorney representing Russ in the legal proceeding and remove Russ from any decision-making authority in the lawsuit.
Drummond accused Russ of poor judgment, saying in a news release that the legislation “would not be in this predicament” had Russ not insisted on using his preferred legal counsel to defend it.
“There is a great deal of lost ground to make up on this litigation after the treasurer and his hand-picked legal counsel failed in district court,” Drummond said in a news release on Dec. 3. “I will not let that failure deter my efforts to protect Oklahoma’s oil and gas industry from discriminatory practices by financial entities kowtowing to a radical environmental agenda.”
The office of the state treasurer did not immediately return a request for comment.
Drummond has 14 days to file additional documents, including transcripts for four hearings, to supplement the record.
