In 2021, Texas enacted SB 13, a law that prohibits certain State entities from investing in or contracting with companies that “boycott fossil fuels.” In February 2026, a federal district court in Texas enjoined enforcement of the law, ruling that it violated the First Amendment and was unconstitutionally vague. On May 29, 2026, in a one-sentence published order, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals granted the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts and Texas Attorney General’s motion to stay pending appeal the district court injunction. Judge Ho wrote a concurrence, stating that “S.B. 13 is about spending, not speech,” and that “[t]he Constitution permits—and citizens expect—government agencies to care about how public funds are used. State officials have the right to champion nondiscrimination by refusing to engage with those who discriminate. They’re allowed to boycott those who boycott others.” The Comptroller and Attorney General filed their opening brief in the Fifth Circuit on May 4, 2026. The brief of appellee American Sustainable Business Council is due on July 2.

Challenge to a Texas 2021 law that prohibits certain State entities from investing in or contracting with companies that “boycott fossil fuels.”

American Sustainable Business Council v. Hegar

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Fifth Circuit Stayed Injunction that Blocked Enforcement of Texas Prohibition on State Business with Companies that “Boycott Fossil Fuels”

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Challenge to a Texas 2021 law that prohibits certain State entities from investing in or contracting with companies that “boycott fossil fuels.” 

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An aim to achieve a quantifiable outcome within a given time-frame, set by an institution such as a national government.

Policy instruments are techniques or tools used by governing authorities to promote certain policies in order to achieve predetermined goals. Put simply, instruments are how a government tries to achieve its goals, with this taxonomy being focused on national policy instruments.

Risk is the potential for adverse consequences resulting from the dynamic interplay between (climate-related) hazards, exposure, and vulnerability of affected human or ecological systems.

Groups  of people who are adversely affected by climate change or the response to it

A set of principles, processes, and practices that build economic and political power to shift from an extractive economy to a regenerative economy.

Justice is the ethical and political framework that addresses fairness, including issues of responsibility, rights, and structural inequity.

Renewable energy means all forms of energy produced from renewable sources in a sustainable manner.

Fossil fuel is a generic term for non-renewable energy sources such as coal, fossil gas, and oil (including crude oil, and petroleum products), that can be used for electricity and heat generation. Fossil fuels are hydrocarbons formed from pressurised and heated organic material buried over millions of years.

Molecules in the atmosphere that play a key role in the greenhouse effect by trapping heat radiating from Earth’s surface.

Area of the economy in which actors engage in identical or related activities.

In human systems, the process of adjustment to actual or expected climate change and its effects, in order to moderate harm, increase resilience or exploit beneficial opportunities. In natural systems, the process of adjustment to actual climate change and its effects; human intervention may facilitate adjustment to expected climate change and its effects.

The management and allocation of funds, assets and investments to meet various objectives

A ban is a legal action that prevents the sale or supply of a product or service, or that recalls a product from the market. Examples are bans on SF6, greenwashing, fossil fuel advertisement or single-use plastics.

This sector involves activities that impart knowledge and skills to individuals, including formal schooling, vocational training and educational support.

Fifth Circuit Stayed Injunction that Blocked Enforcement of Texas Prohibition on State Business with Companies that “Boycott Fossil Fuels”

Policy instrument

Economic sector