Butler Snow attorney Emily Magee was recently quoted in an article from The Bond Buyer about a recently signed bill in Florida that bans the issuance of municipal bonds using ESG precepts.
The following is an excerpt from the article:
The law has both potential benefits and consequences, said Emily Magee, a lawyer with Butler Snow’s public finance, tax incentives and credit markets group in Jacksonville, Florida.
“While I cannot say for certain the effect the law will have on financial institutions, the law appears to create a ‘boycott’ element we have seen in other states such as Texas, which enables the state to sanction financial institutions that have adopted ESG policies that preclude them from servicing certain industries,” she told The Bond Buyer.
“Such sanctions may force banks that serve as underwriters for municipal bonds out of Florida, which would narrow the pool of underwriters available to Issuers and potentially raise borrowing costs for Florida Issuers,” she said.”However, the law may also create opportunities for banks unbridled by ESG policies to expand their market share in Florida.”
To read the article in its entirety, click here (login required).
