A state judge issued a temporary injunction against enforcement of the Energy Discrimination Elimination Act, which has led to the ban of seven financial firms, including four big municipal bond underwriters, from government contracts.

The latest revision of Oklahoma's fossil fuel "boycotter" list added Barclays, which joins three other municipal bond underwriters placed there last year.

Climate change presents a higher risk for muni bonds, compared to other investments, because the debt often has longer maturities and therefore, higher vulnerability to the long-term effects of climate change, said S&P' Sustainable1's global head of research and methodology.

The 2022 law, which has so far banned three major investment banks from underwriting municipal bonds in Oklahoma, could be amended to limit its reach to state agencies.

A state ban on bond underwriters that "boycott" or "discriminate" against the fossil fuel or firearms industries has resulted in fewer banks providing municipal financial products and services.

West Virginia Treasurer Riley Moore, who's put banks on a blacklist for their support of ESG policies, is up for (and very likely to win) one of the state's two seats in the U.S. House. Here's how he got there, and what it'll look like when he tries to bring his anti-ESG policies national.

Intermountain Power Agency contends the bill passed by lawmakers, awaiting action by the governor, poses a risk to bonds it sold to finance a transition to cleaner fuels.

The House Financial Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations gathered in Tennessee on Monday to discuss the implications of the SEC's newly finalized climate rule.

Laws banning banks from underwriting municipal bond deals because of their fossil fuel or firearm policies dramatically boosted underwriting spreads, a business group's study said.

A power struggle over the governance of the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority and a Houston mayor ending a legal dispute with firefighters that could improve the city's Fitch rating are among the legal stories bond market professionals are watching.

Six financial institutions may be placed on West Virginia's restricted list if they are found "boycott" the fossil fuel industry, Riley Moore said.

Meanwhile in New York, the state doubles down on climate investments and restricts investments in some big oil and gas companies as the city blasts several big banks as they pull out from the Climate Action 100+ initiative.

The proposed $1 billion bond measure would fund port improvements needed to push the state's nascent offshore wind power industry forward.

The state faces slower job growth after gains in the previous three years outpaced the nation, according to the Dallas Federal Reserve's Texas economic outlook.

A majority of those polled at The Bond Buyer's 2024 National Outlook Conference also felt issuance would increase moderately this year, to between $400 billion and $450 billion.

The honeymoon phase for generic ESG declarations is over, market participants said at the 2024 National Outlook Conference, as a dynamic focused on data and credit analysis is beginning to emerge.

The Texas city's project joins other efforts in Southwest states to find new water sources as supplies dwindle due to persistent drought conditions.

It's a color-coded controversy about how far the fight over ESG and green investing precepts will affect public finance this year, with the latest skirmishes involving Bank of America and New York and New Hampshire.

The push for bills to punish companies, including municipal bond underwriters, for their fossil fuel or firearm policies continues in Arizona and Oklahoma.

Barclays joins UBS and Citigroup in being prohibited from underwriting state and local government bonds under Texas laws aimed at protecting the fossil fuel and firearms industries.