One of the coolest things about living in a dystopian conservative laboratory like Oklahoma is that we – thanks to a GOP supermajority in all branches of government – get to be the first ones to experience ill-advised, ultra-right wing, culture war-inspired legislative experiments that create way more problems than they ever solve.
Sure, that may also suck, but at least we get to be first at something!
I was reminded of this yesterday when The Oklahoman reported that our state municipalities have paid $180-million in extra and very unnecessary expenses thanks to Oklahoma's Energy Discrimination Elimination Act.
It was an out-of-state, special interest group-backed piece of legislation that banned “woke” banks that state leadership couldn't spell from doing business with the state if they offered certain ESG investing products.
Here are the details via The Oklahoman:
Oklahoma municipalities were forced to pay more than $180 million in expenses because of a state law written to protect the oil and gas industry, a new study shows.
Commissioned by the Oklahoma Rural Association, the study from the University of Central Oklahoma “showcases the detrimental impact of the Energy Discrimination Elimination Act on Oklahoma communities and taxpayers,” the association said.