The trustees of the $11.8 billion New Hampshire Retirement System, Concord, voted Feb.12 to oppose a pair of anti-ESG bills in the state legislature that they have said would interfere with their fiduciary duty.
The 11-0 votes with one abstention were against a House bill that would have made it a felony for anyone knowingly investing taxpayer dollars by using ESG criteria.
Trustees also opposed a Senate bill that outlined a series of "prohibited interests" that the authors linked to ESG investing criteria, ranging from divesting from gun manufacturers to corporate governance policies to abortion access.
The legislative committee of the board of trustees had unanimously recommended opposition to both last month.
The board's vote on the House bill was an anticlimax. A House committee voted 13-0 on Jan. 30 to recommend rejection to the full House. On Feb. 8, the House by voice vote killed it.
A Senate committee held a hearing on the other anti-ESG bill on Jan. 31 but took no action.
