A pair of public comments sent to the Securities and Exchange Commission about proposed climate change-related disclosure rules have sparked constitutional questions between states and First Amendment activists over the regulatory agency’s authority.  

The letters were sent in response to a handful of proposed rule changes the SEC has announced in recent months. While environmental, social and governance—or ESG—disclosures have been a priority for the Biden administration, exactly how the agency will get the information it wants is still being debated.