Bill

This anti-boycott bill prohibits state contracts with companies, including nonprofits, that boycott Israel or its illegal settlements. Contractors must provide a written certification that they are not and will not for the duration of the contract engage in such boycotts. The bill excludes contracts whose total value is less than $250,000 and contractors with fewer than 10 employees. A similar bill targeting boycotts for Palestinian rights was introduced in 2018 and failed to pass. Related bills: HB 2050, HB 2136. The bill passed and went into effect in July 2022.

This anti-boycott bill requires state contractors to provide a written certification that they will not engage in boycotts of Israel or its illegal settlements. The bill excludes contracts whose total value is less than $10,000. 

This anti-boycott bill prohibits state contracts with entities, including non-profits, that boycott Israel or entities doing business in or with Israel. The prohibition extends to boycotts of entities “authorized, licensed, or organized to do business by the State of Israel,” which would encompass boycotts of Israel’s illegal settlements. Contractors must provide a written certification that they are not and will not for the duration of the contract engage in boycotts of Israel. The bill excludes contracts whose total value is less than $100,000 and contractors that have fewer than 10 full time employees. 

This anti-boycott bill prohibits state contracts with companies, including non-profits, that boycott Israel or entities doing business in or with Israel. The prohibition extends to boycotts of entities “authorized by, licensed by, or organized under the laws of the State of Israel,” which would encompass boycotts of Israel’s illegal settlements. Contractors must provide a written certification that they are not and will not for the duration of the contract engage in boycotts of Israel. The bill excludes contracts whose total value is less than $100,000 and contractors that have fewer than 10 full time employees. 

This anti-boycott bill prohibits state contracts with and state investment—both direct and indirect—in companies that boycott Israel. The bill calls for the creation of a blacklist of restricted companies from which the state must divest and in which it cannot directly invest. The bill excludes indirect investments where it is unlikely that more than 0.05% of the fund’s total investments is invested in blacklisted companies. The bill also prohibits state contracts of any value with entities that boycott Israel, requiring the commissioner of taxation and finance to confirm that the company is not engaged in prohibited boycotts before accepting a bid. This bill expands the scope of New York’s executive order prohibiting state investment in companies that boycott Israel.  

This antisemitism redefinition amendment to the state budget bill adopts the problematic IHRA definition of antisemitism, which has been widely criticized for encompassing nearly all criticism of Israel and circumscribing protected political speech activities. State-level advocates mobilized to ensure that the amendment did not pass out of committee.

Originally a bill about small business assistance, HB 2282 was amended in the Senate to become an antisemitism redefinition bill that requires public schools to use the distorted IHRA definition and its problematic examples of antisemitism when teaching students about the Holocaust. The IHRA definition would encompass nearly all criticism of Israel, circumscribing protected political speech. The definition includes examples that conflate criticism with Israel with antisemitism, such as “Denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, e.g., by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor” and “Applying double standards by requiring of [Israel] a behavior not expected or demanded of any other democratic nation.” The amended version passed in the Senate, but failed to move forward in the House.

This amendment to the 2021 COVID Relief Bill, introduced in the House Rules Committee, would have prohibited funding in the bill from going to “any nongovernmental organization, contractor, or grantee that promotes the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movements against the State of Israel.” The amendment was voted down by the Committee. 

Introduced as an amendment to S. 1260 and adopted in committee, this provision excludes countries that boycott Israel or its illegal settlements from the bill’s $100 million investment in global technological advancements. The bill adopts the definition of boycotts provided in the 2015 Trade Promotion Authority law. The anti-boycott amendment was introduced by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) in the midst of Israel’s assault on Gaza and ongoing ethnic cleansing in Jerusalem neighborhoods. While there are few countries that boycott Israel, Cruz’s amendment is aimed at chilling boycotts in support of Palestinian rights. The anti-boycott provisions were part of the version of the bill that passed the Senate in June 2021. 

This affirmative bill would repeal the state’s anti-boycott provisions put in place by HF 400. A similar affirmative bill was introduced in 2019 (SF 2880). Related bill: SF 1039.