Senate Bill SF No 851, introduced by Senators Lucero, Eichorn, Gruenhagen, and Farnsworth, is known as The Stop Environmental Social Governance (ESG) and Social Credit Score Discrimination Act. This legislation mandates that the State Board of Investment in Minnesota should stop and withdraw any investments in companies that actively boycott sectors such as mining, energy production, agriculture, and commercial lumber production. Additionally, it prohibits the state of Minnesota and its agencies from contracting with such companies. The bill also seeks to prevent financial institutions within the state from discriminating against individuals or companies based on certain subjective criteria related to environmental and social governance standards.

Key aspects of the bill include: 1. Definitions of terms such as "boycott" which here means avoiding business with companies not adhering to specific environmental standards beyond what federal and state laws require. 2. A directive to the State Board of Investment not to invest in or to divest from publicly traded securities of companies identified as boycotting the specified industries. 3. Divestment completion is set for a deadline of July 1, 2030. 4. Annual reporting by the State Board on companies they have divested from and the values of said investments. 5. Legal protections for the State Board ensuring they are not held liable for adhering to the mandates of this bill.

In essence, the bill aims to ensure that Minnesota’s investment activities and contractual processes support sectors essential to its economy by not engaging with companies that refuse to collaborate with or invest in key industries based on their environmental or social governance standards.