(Bloomberg) -- Texas’s chief financial officer told bankers on Tuesday that he wants as many companies involved in the state as possible even as probes into banks’ ESG policies threaten their ability to do business.

“I want you to engage in Texas. I want you to be involved in Texas,” Comptroller Glenn Hegar said Tuesday during a speech at a public finance conference hosted by the Bond Buyer in Austin.

Under Texas law, Hegar is charged with developing a list of financial firms that “boycott” the fossil fuels industry. If a firm is added to the so-called divestment list, state entities like pension funds have to sell their holdings of the companies, plus they’re ineligible from certain public contracts. Listed companies aren’t able to underwrite bond sales for the state or its municipalities, for example. 

Read more: Why Texas Is Banning Banks Over Their ESG Policies: QuickTake

There are 15 firms on Hegar’s list, including BlackRock Inc. and UBS Group AG, that currently face restrictions on government contracts in Texas. Most of the companies on the list are European firms. 

Hegar said that he has other duties to prioritize beyond the boycott list.

“I know that everybody wants me to address at some point in time is ‘Where is Texas going with all these lists?’” Hegar said. “I’ve got other stuff to do, people.”

His office runs Texas’ treasury services, a broadband development office and distributes the state’s funds from opioid settlements.

Hegar said that businesses can “agree or disagree” with the list but maintained that the process around creating it has been transparent. He chided other states and government agencies that have conducted similar investigations around environmental, social and governance investing policies for being opaque. 

Plenty of Cash

He also touted his state’s $19 billion cash surplus to a crowd that included bankers, investors and local government leaders.  

“I don’t know about you, but $19 billion in cash carry-over is pretty phenomenal,” Hegar said. That doesn’t include the state’s rainy-day fund or other reserves. 

Hegar said in an interview that the financial situation is so strong that the state won’t need to sell its tax revenue anticipation notes, which it used to sell annually. 

--With assistance from Nic Querolo.

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