Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick. “We created this blacklist of companies we didn't feel were friendly towards fossil fuel,” he said.

UBS, which bid for the right to sell school district bonds, was banned from such work by the state of Texas. UBS explained how it works closely with fossil fuel companies when the comptroller’s office asked follow-up questions.

The Normangee Independent School District in 2022 needed to raise some for its run-down schools. Administrators needed more middle school classrooms, a cafeteria renovation and a new elementary playground that could accommodate disabled students.

Voters in the small community halfway between Houston and Waco approved an $18.6 million bond initiative on May 7, 2022. Elated, the district invited bids from some of the world’s largest banks to raise the money.

School districts, cities, states and all kinds of government bodies routinely ask voters for permission to take on debt. They sell bonds to banks, who then sell to investors, who like so-called municipal bonds because they are almost always paid back. Banks compete for the business by offering the lowest interest rate. Bigger banks doing more bonds can afford lower rates.

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UBS Group, a Zurich-based multinational investment bank, made the winning bid, offering an interest rate of 4.0808433%. The competition is so fierce that the final digit can make a difference, especially over 30 years.

The school district thought it was all set when Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton stopped the process on Sept. 2, 2022, according to documents obtained through a public........

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