LITTLE ROCK – Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge joined a 16-state coalition to push back against a Biden administration initiative that would require companies to make policy statements submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), not related to financial performance, a move the attorneys general argue would serve a political agenda while decimating freedom of speech.

“Time and time again the Biden Administration has overreached its constitutional authority, and I will continue to hold him accountable to the Constitution,” said Attorney General Rutledge. “I will keep working with my colleagues around the country to protect Arkansans from President Biden’s radical climate agenda, which he is committed to forcing on Americans through federal agencies.”

In comments filed last week to U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler, the attorneys general expressed concerns that the proposed climate change disclosures are unnecessary from a market protection standpoint, particularly as the market is already responding to investors’ interest in such topics in other forums.

The attorneys general contend that responding to a supposed public demand for information about public companies’ climate measures is not a sufficient government interest to compel speech and is a violation of the First Amendment.

Arkansas joined the West Virginia-led comments along with the attorneys general of Alaska, Arizona, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Utah and Wyoming.