Oklahoma treasurer expands anti-DEI campaign to Amazon, Google, Netflix and more

Oklahoma Treasurer Todd Russ is taking his crusade against so-called woke investing from major banks and the state’s pension systems to the Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust, a $2 billion fund created by voters to address the health-care and human costs from smoking-related illnesses.

Russ used his position as chairman of the trust’s Board of Investors to invite a shareholder proxy advisory company to review the corporate policies of Amazon, Google parent company Alphabet and several other companies. Bowyer Research briefed TSET’s Board of Investors at a special meeting in November.

The treasurer said Oklahoma, through TSET, will place resolutions before investors at those companies’ annual shareholder meetings to push for what he called political neutrality. He also wants to disclose how the companies’ donations to various charities could discriminate on religious or speech grounds.

Todd Russ

“In this moment, when too many corporate actors are using their influence to advance ESG, double down on DEI, and muddy the waters on real fiduciary obligations, we are proud to be stepping into this arena to get companies out of politics, and back into a focus on shareholder return,” Russ said in a written statement issued last month.

Publicly traded companies hold annual meetings to let shareholders have a say on routine matters such as executive pay, board of director elections and selecting audit firms. But shareholders can also ask securities regulators to put other items on the agenda, such as corporate statements regarding labor relations, human rights and climate change. Directors typically advise shareholders to vote against such outside resolutions.

Aside from Amazon and Alphabet, the other companies targeted by Russ are AirBnB, Blackstone, GoDaddy, Lululemon, Morgan Stanley, Morningstar, Netflix, Wyndham and Yum! Brands. The treasurer’s office said Tuesday it wouldn’t release the number of shares the TSET trust fund holds in the companies without an open records request. Oklahoma Watch first asked about the number of shares on Feb. 19.

The Bowyer Research presentation to the TSET Board of Investors in November conflates governmental restrictions on free speech with restrictions by social media platforms or web hosting companies. Those private companies police content based on their terms of use. The presentation cites research from groups like the Heritage Foundation on legislation that was never passed and the Viewpoint Diversity Score, which counts Bowyer as a member of its advisory council.

The Bowyer presentation to the TSET Board of Investors largely criticizes companies for endorsing positions from the Human Rights Campaign. Among the companies included in the HRC report are Tesla Inc., the electric-vehicle manufacturer headed by Elon Musk, the Trump administration’s point person in the so-called DOGE effort to cut federal spending.

Oklahoma energy companies are also rated in the latest HRC report. Oklahoma City-based Devon Energy Inc. scored 80/100 in the Corporate Equality Index. Tulsa-based ONEOK Inc. received the same score.

Bowyer’s presentation said Amazon’s association with the Global Alliance for Responsible Media smeared outlets as disinformation, including Joe Rogan’s podcast on Spotify and Musk’s X (formerly Twitter) social media site. GARM disbanded in August.

“But recent reports have shown it colluded with the world’s largest advertising buyers, agencies, industry associations and social media platforms through the Global Alliance for Responsible Media to demonetize platforms, podcasts, news outlets and others for expressing disfavored political and religious viewpoints,” the presentation said.

TSET is notable among state investment funds in that it forbids investment in any tobacco-related companies. The Board of Investors approved that policy in the first year of TSET’s operation.

Bowyer did not respond to a request for comment. But a section on the firm’s website said his proxy advisory research tries to push companies toward a neutral political position.

“That having been said, the guidelines do tend to support proposals from conservative groups, but only when those proposals themselves are focused on getting companies away from politics,” Bowyer’s website said.

Anti-ESG law on hold 

Russ turned his attention to TSET after being repeatedly stymied in his efforts to enforce the state’s banking blacklist through his office. The Oklahoma Energy Discrimination Elimination Act is on hold, pending an appeal at the Oklahoma Supreme Court. Lawmakers passed the law in 2022 over concerns that large financial companies were too focused on climate pledges and goals at the expense of investments in fossil fuels.

Even before an Oklahoma County district judge issued an injunction against enforcement of the law in September, state pension systems and local governments had taken exemptions. Russ’ office also took exemptions to the law.

After considering several changes to the law last year, legislators failed to send any to the governor for final approval. Russ’ office has declined to promulgate agency rules regarding the law, and it remains unclear how a financial company placed on the anti-ESG blacklist can be removed.

This year, lawmakers are considering a bill to move the Energy Discrimination Elimination Act to the attorney general’s office and away from the state treasurer. Senate Bill 714, by Sen. Dave Rader, R-Tulsa, passed the Senate Energy Committee on Feb. 13 by a vote of 10-1 and now heads to the Senate floor. Another bill, House Bill 2043, by Rep. Nick Archer, R-Elk City, would exempt local governments from the law. It passed a House committee Feb. 19 by a vote of 11-0 and cleared a House oversight committee last week.

Through a spokeswoman, Russ said he was looking forward to seeing the legislative process unfold.

“However, the state treasurer is elected and constitutionally obligated to focus on managing the state’s financial investments, which falls outside the typical purview of the attorney general’s office,” said Russ spokeswoman Lara Blubaugh. “Our preference is to work alongside the AG’s office to ensure that investment decisions are made solely for the financial benefit of plan participants, maintaining fiduciary responsibility as the top priority.”

Amazon shareholders reject similar proposal 

Amazon, which has grown quickly to become Oklahoma’s second-largest private employer at 15,000 employees, did not comment on Russ’ plans. Amazon shareholders last year overwhelmingly rejected a resolution sponsored by the conservative American Family Association and Bowyer Research to study viewpoint diversity. The American Family Association describes itself as being on the front lines of America’s culture war.

The treasurer’s foray into shareholder activism encompasses multiple interlocking relationships. Russ has attended several conferences hosted by the State Financial Officers Foundation, a group of Republican treasurers that has also provided him with talking points about anti-ESG laws. Russ’ chief of staff, Jordan Harvey, holds a leadership position at the State Financial Officers Foundation. Bowyer is on the foundation’s national advisory committee. The foundation honored Bowyer and his wife, Susan, with its State Economic Impact Award in October.

Russ appeared on Bowyer’s podcast, Meeting of the Minds, in May to talk about the Oklahoma banking blacklist. He said the proxy voting process was being hijacked by groups too focused on diversity issues. Six months later, Bowyer Research presented its plan for proxy advisory services from the TSET Board of Investors.

“It’s just frustrating that my dollars in Oklahoma are being invested in their ETFs (exchange-traded funds) so they can use my proxies to vote the way they want it to be voted,” Russ said on the podcast.

TSET’s five-member Board of Investors is a separate entity from TSET’s Board of Directors. The investor board sets the trust’s investment policies and certifies earnings from the trust fund for TSET projects. Apart from Russ as chairman, the Board of Investors has members appointed by the governor, Senate president pro tempore, speaker of the House and the state auditor and inspector.

Oklahoma voters created TSET in 2000 under State Question 692. It was the culmination of lawsuits filed by states against Big Tobacco to redress health-care and human costs from lung cancer, emphysema, heart disease and other smoking-related illnesses.

Each year, tobacco companies covered by the settlement contribute money to the master settlement agreement fund, which allocates it to the states. Nearly $165 billion has been paid to states under the settlement since 1999, with almost $1.9 billion going to Oklahoma, according to the National Association of Attorneys General.

Oklahoma Watch (OklahomaWatch.org) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that covers public-policy issues facing the state.