Missouri Ends Legal Bid to Save ESG Curbs, Pays $500,000 in Fees

Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft has agreed to drop his appeal of a court ruling that ended state limits on ESG investing and pay the Wall Street trade group that brought the suit $500,000.

The deal the Republican official struck with the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association and disclosed in Sept. 27 court filings bars the secretary of state from pursuing his Sept. 13 appeal to the August ruling by Judge Stephen R. Bough of the US District Court for the Western District of Missouri that blocked the state’s 2023 environmental, social and governance rules. The $500,000 covers ...