88R10397 BPG-D     By: Oliverson H.C.R. No. 38       CONCURRENT RESOLUTION          WHEREAS, Larry Fink, chief executive officer of investment   behemoth BlackRock, has become a suspiciously strident proponent of   Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance initiatives; and          WHEREAS, Under Mr. Fink's leadership, BlackRock has moved to   the vanguard of the ESG movement, investing on the basis of social   and environmental factors rather than pure fiduciary interests; and          WHEREAS, Mr. Fink has used BlackRock's financial might to   coerce companies to follow his liberal political agenda; touting   the doctrine of "stakeholder capitalism," he has warned companies   in which BlackRock invests that they must adopt ESG standards or   face pressure in proxy battles; for instance, BlackRock has used   the proxy votes of its clients to push its global warming agenda and   bolster renewable energy, often in conflict with its fiduciary   responsibilities; and          WHEREAS, While BlackRock demands unreasonable environmental   and social standards of U.S. companies, imposing enormous   extra-regulatory costs, it fails to require similar ESG adherence   by the Chinese companies in which it invests; the business sector in   Communist China has a deplorable record with respect to   environmental stewardship, justice, and accountable governance,   with a severe lack of the basic auditing safeguards required in the   U.S.; notably, BlackRock became an investor in two Chinese   companies, Hikvision and iFlytek, that the United States government   has blacklisted for human rights abuses against Uyghurs in   Xinjiang; BlackRock actually increased its holding in Hikvision   after the blacklisting; and          WHEREAS, BlackRock manages an estimated $10 trillion in   assets, a number larger than many first-world economies; billions   of those dollars come from U.S. pension funds, which play a vital   role in the financial security of the middle class and in the   stability of the U.S. economy; by prioritizing left-wing political   initiatives over shareholder returns, BlackRock is potentially   weakening those funds and sabotaging the American companies in   which it invests; now, therefore, be it          RESOLVED, That the 88th Legislature of the State of Texas   hereby respectfully urge the United States Congress to investigate   the anti-fiduciary practices of BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, the   intent behind those practices, and their impact on American   companies and the U.S. economy; and, be it further          RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official   copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to   the speaker of the House of Representatives and the president of the   Senate of the United States Congress, and to all the members of the   Texas delegation to Congress with the request that this resolution   be officially entered in the Congressional Record as a memorial to   the Congress of the United States of America.