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Borrowing costs rose in the wake of Oklahoma's anti-ESG law: study

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Borrowing costs rose in the wake of Oklahoma's anti-ESG law: study


An Oklahoma law that banned state and local government contracts with investment banks that “boycott” the fossil fuel industry boosted municipalities’ borrowing costs by 59 basis points on average, according to the latest research into the financial impact of so-called anti-environmental, social, and governance laws.  

The study released Monday by the Oklahoma Rural Association comes as state lawmakers are considering changes to the 2022 Energy Discrimination Elimination Act.

Travis Roach, chair of the University of Central Oklahoma’s Economics Department, who conducted the study, found that over the approximately 17 months the law has been in effect, about $4.6 billion of municipal bonds were issued at higher coupon rates relative to borrowings in four states without a similar law. As a result, Oklahoma municipalities incurred an estimated $184.7 million in additional expenses.

Oil pump jacks in Guymon, Oklahoma. A study found a 2022 Oklahoma law banning state and local government contracts with financial institutions that “boycott” the fossil fuel industry boosted municipalities’ borrowing costs.

Bloomberg News

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“This increase in borrowing costs imposes an unnecessary financial burden on Oklahoma municipalities, potentially forcing them to cut spending on important public services or infrastructure projects, or raise taxes to cover the higher debt servicing costs,” the study concluded. 

As large financial institutions “with the scale, scope, and experience of providing municipal bond issuance services” are banned from underwriting government debt in Oklahoma, borrowing costs may increase simply because smaller firms lack that reach, it added.

The law landed Bank of America, JP Morgan, and Wells Fargo on the Oklahoma Treasurer’s “boycotter” list last year, resulting in Wells Fargo’s resignation as lead manager for a $500 million Oklahoma Turnpike Authority revenue bond sale.

Monica Collison, president of the ORA, an organization created to support economic development and infrastructure for the state’s rural communities, said while the law aimed to be “a ‘solution’ to combat the misguided perception of boycotting by financial institutions of certain industries,” the result was a politically motivated attempt to remove certain banks from operating in Oklahoma.

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Oklahoma Treasurer Todd Russ was aware of the “unintended consequences” posed by the law’s inclusion of state political subdivisions, according to Deputy Treasurer Jordan Harvey, who noted legislation introduced this session seeks to amend the act. 

Senate Bill 1510, which would remove local governments and school districts from the law, passed the Senate in a 42-1 February vote and moved to the House. 

Another bill would apply a provision against contracts worth $100,000 or more with “boycotters” only to state agencies, while adding timber, mining, and agriculture to industries the law aims to protect from boycotts. The measure passed the House in a 78-15 March vote, but failed to advance out of a Senate committee by a legislative deadline. 

Another bill that would require the treasurer to seek an opinion from the Oklahoma Attorney General if there is a fiduciary or other dispute with a state government entity regarding the law passed the Senate in March. 

Senate Bill 469, which sought to extend the energy law’s divestment requirement to the higher education sector, stalled in the Senate.

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A 2022 academic paper found similar Texas laws enacted in 2021 to protect the fossil fuel and firearm industries against boycotts and discrimination may increase borrowing costs for issuers in the state as a result of less competition among underwriters.

A subsequent study by Econsult Solutions Inc. looked at the impact if similar bills were enacted in six other states, including Oklahoma, finding that state would have incurred an estimated $49 million in additional interest costs over a 12-month period.

In March, a Texas business group released a study that concluded average underwriting spreads for local bond issues in the state rose dramatically over the last two fiscal years since the anti-ESG laws took effect.



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Oklahoma

Capture of Nicolas Maduro: What it could mean for Oklahoma

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Capture of Nicolas Maduro: What it could mean for Oklahoma


Elite Delta Force captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife about 2 a.m. Saturday morning.

It happened in the Caracas, the capitol of Venezuela.

Social media posts how strikes ordered by President Trump into Venezuela and its military bases.

News 9 political analyst Scott Mitchell said the relationship between the U.S. and Latin America has not always been smooth and adds so many dominos will fall as a result.

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“Venezuela is the beachhead for our adversaries that’s Cuba and Russia and China and Iran and it looks as if this latest situation where that they were assembling Iran swift attack boats that was sort of the last straw,” said Mitchell.

Retired war correspondent Mike Boettcher said the planning on capturing Maduro began in mid-December.

He adds Venezuela is a massive oil supplier whose oil has been taken off the market for years because of sanctions.

He has concerns about what comes next.

“That disrupts a lot of things.It even has an effect on the war in Ukraine, as Russia, you know, has used higher oil revenue because Venezuela’s oil was off the market.Oil prices went up.It helps fund the war in Ukraine,” said Boettcher.

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The ramifications could even reach Oklahoma.

“China gets a 30 percent discount on the oil.If Venezuela goes for a more legitimate government and the sanctions are lifting, then they’re flooding the oil markets and that means bad news for the Oklahoma economy,” added Mitchell.

Following the capture of Maduro, President Trump said the U.S. will take control of the oil reserves in Venezuela.

Sources also say there are plans from the current administration to recruit American companies to invest billions of dollars in their oil industry.

A verified video shows the current state of Venezuela after the military operation.

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Oklahoma State expected to lose talented EDGE to transfer portal

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Oklahoma State expected to lose talented EDGE to transfer portal


Oklahoma State EDGE Kyran Duhon plans to enter the NCAA transfer portal, On3 has learned. Duhon was a member of the 2024 recruiting class.

Duhon spent one year at Oklahoma State, logged 16 total tackles (eight solo) across nine games. He began his career at UTEP, where he had a productive true freshman season, Duhon finished 2024 with 43 total tackles, including seven sacks and two PBUs.

At UTEP, his one season there resulted in second team All-Conference USA honors. He was also named to the On3 True Freshman All-America Team as well as the the Conference USA All-Freshman team.

However, Duhon’s stay in Stillwater didn’t go as expected. Oklahoma State finished the season with a 1-11 record, which included the Cowboys firing longtime head coach Mike Gundy after a 1-2 start. Doug Meacham was named interim head coach but ended the year 0-9.

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Eric Morris has since been named as the program’s next head coach. He comes from North Texas, which finished with an 11-2 record and a trip to the American Conference championship game this past season. However, it doesn’t appear that Duhon will be sticking around during the changing of the guard at Oklahoma State this offseason.

Before college, Duhon was the No. 1,706 overall player in the class, and was recruited as the the No. 165 linebacker during the cycle, per the Rivals Industry Rankings, which is a proprietary algorithm that compiles ratings and rankings from all four primary recruiting media services. He was ranked as the No. 242 overall player out of Texas.

Once the NCAA transfer portal opens on Jan. 2, players can officially enter their names in the NCAA transfer portal and go on to initiate contact with their preferred schools. The portal will be open for 15 days and close on Jan. 16.

Notably, players who are on teams competing in the national championship game are allowed five extra days to make their portal decision. The College Football Playoff championship game will be played on Jan. 19, so the players on those teams will be allowed until Jan. 24 to enter the portal and choose their next school.

To keep up with the latest players on the move, check out On3’s Transfer Portal wire. The On3 Transfer Portal Instagram account and Twitter account are excellent resources to stay up to date with the latest moves.

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Oklahoma man doing target practice in back yard charged in fatal shooting of neighbor

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Oklahoma man doing target practice in back yard charged in fatal shooting of neighbor


A man in Oklahoma is facing a manslaughter charge after he allegedly shot a woman several blocks from his home while firing a gun he got himself for Christmas at an energy drink can in his back yard.

As told in court documents reviewed by NBC News, the death of Sandra Phelps at the hands of Cody Wayne Adams illustrates how deadly the consequences can be when those engaging in the US’s prevalent gun culture do so unsafely. Adams’s back yard was not equipped to stop bullets from leaving the property and striking unsuspecting people in the surrounding area, according to authorities.

Phelps was sitting under a covered porch with family on Christmas and holding a child in her arms when they heard gunshots north of the house, said an affidavit laying out the circumstances of Adams’s arrest.

“Sandra commented that someone got a new gun for Christmas and then shortly after Sandra said ‘ouch’ and collapsed,” the affidavit said. It said there were no more gunshots after that.

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Emergency personnel were dispatched to Phelps’s address at about 3.15pm Thursday, the Stephens county sheriff’s office said in a statement.

“We later received a call stating an individual had just received a gun for Christmas and was target practicing in his backyard and that they believed it would be pointing in the direction of the scene,” the sheriff’s office statement added.

“Investigators went to the reported address and spoke with an individual [who] confirmed he was shooting a target in his back yard and that he had heard that someone has died from a gunshot wound a couple of roads over.”

That individual was Adams, 33, who showed deputies a Red Bull can in his back yard that he had been shooting with his handgun, according to the affidavit justifying his arrest.

Authorities allegedly concluded that the vantage point from where Adams was shooting aligned with the angle of the bullet that killed Phelps. They also determined the home lacked a suitable shooting backstop meant to protect those in the surrounding area from being struck by stray bullets.

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“Adams became visibly upset and began to cry” when he learned of Phelps, the affidavit added. He was arrested on a count of first-degree manslaughter and later released on a $100,000 bond.

In the US, unintentional deaths from firearms are a small percentage of gun deaths in the country. But they occur four times more often in the US than in comparable countries – and most involve a handgun.



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