Defeated Legislation

Legislation
HB 527
Status
Defeated
Defeated On
February 2016
Type(s)
Anti-boycott, State Contracts, State Investments
Full Text
Read HB 527 

This anti-boycott bill prohibits state contracts with and state investment in companies, including sole proprietorships, that boycott Israel or persons or entities doing business in Israel or territories it occupies. The bill requires the State Board of Administration to create a blacklist of companies engaged in prohibited boycotts. The state’s System Trust Fund is prohibited from investing public retirement funds in blacklisted entities. State agencies and local governing authorities may not enter into contracts worth $1,000,000 or more with blacklisted companies. Contractors must provide written certification that they are not engaging in prohibited boycotts. The penalty for false certification is the greater of $2 million or twice the amount of the contract in addition to a 3-year ban on bidding. Related Bills: HB 199, SB 86 (passed).

Defeated Legislation

Legislation
SB 780
Status
Defeated
Defeated On
February 2016
Type(s)
Anti-boycott, State Contracts, State Investments
Full Text
Read SB 780 

This anti-boycott bill amends the state’s previous anti-boycott law (SB 86) to eliminate the $1 million threshold and prohibits state contracts for any amount with companies that boycott Israel or territories occupied by Israel. The amendments extend the written certification requirements to contracts in any amount. A companion bill (HB 545) passed. 

Defeated Legislation

Legislation
HB 433
Status
Defeated
Defeated On
February 2016
Type(s)
Anti-boycott, State Contracts, State Investments
Full Text
Read HB 433 

This anti-boycott bill prohibits state investments in companies that boycott Israel or companies based in Israel or territories occupied by Israel. The bill calls for the creation of a blacklist of companies that engage in such boycotts and requires the Florida Retirement System to divest direct holdings from blacklisted companies. The bill is primarily aimed at foreign companies, noting that the state board should consider the legislature’s intent not to “cause divestiture from any company based in the United States” when developing the blacklist.

Defeated Legislation

Legislation
HB 199
Status
Defeated
Defeated On
February 2016
Type(s)
Anti-boycott, State Contracts, State Investments
Full Text
Read HB 199 

This anti-boycott bill prohibits state contracts with businesses that engage in certain boycotts. Contractors must provide a written certification that they are not and will not engage in a boycott of “any person or entity that is based in, or doing business with, a jurisdiction with which the state enjoys open trade.” The bill provides exceptions for bids at least 20% less than other bids and excludes contracts worth less than $10,000. Because HB 199 excludes boycotts based on the specific conduct of a targeted entity and those applied in a nondiscriminatory manner, boycotts for justice fall outside its scope. The bill was withdrawn prior to introduction, but a companion bill (SB 86) passed. Related bills: HB 527, SB 86.

Defeated Legislation

Legislation
HR 40
Status
Defeated
Defeated On
February 2016
Full Text
Read HR 40 

This non-binding resolution condemns boycott, divestment, and sanctions efforts, and academic boycotts, in particular. Claiming that BDS efforts are harmful to Jewish citizens of Kentucky and referencing the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting carried out by a white nationalist, the resolution falsely links boycotts for Palestinian rights to rising antisemitism. 

Defeated Legislation

Legislation
HB 195
Status
Defeated
Defeated On
February 2016
Type(s)
Anti-boycott, State Contracts, State Investments
Full Text
Read HB 195 

This anti-boycott law prohibits state contracts with entities that boycott persons or entities doing business with and in places where Kentucky enjoys “open trade.” The law requires written certification that the contractor is not and will not for the duration of the contract engage in such a boycott. Related bill: SB 143. 

Defeated Legislation

Legislation
HB 350
Status
Defeated
Defeated On
February 2016
Type(s)
Anti-boycott, State Contracts, State Investments
Full Text
Read HB 350 

This anti-boycott bill prohibits state investments in and state contracts with individuals and companies that engage in certain boycotts. Contractors must provide a written certification that they are not and will not for the duration of the contract engage in a boycott of “persons or businesses based in or doing business with a jurisdiction with whom Kentucky may enjoy open trade.” The bill provides exceptions for bids at least 20% less than other bids, and the contract prohibitions only apply to boycotts undertaken on a discriminatory basis, which would exclude boycotts for Palestinian rights.

The state investment prohibitions require the creation of a blacklist of foreign companies engaged in boycotts of Israel or companies based in Israel or territories it occupies. State retirement funds are required to divest from blacklisted companies. Related bill: HB 298

Defeated Legislation

Legislation
HB 298
Status
Defeated
Defeated On
February 2016
Type(s)
Anti-boycott, State Contracts, State Investments
Full Text
Read HB 298 

This anti-boycott bill prohibits state contracts with and state investment in companies that boycott Israel or territories occupied by Israel. The bill requires contractors to sign a written certification that they are not and will not for the duration of the contract engage in a boycott of Israel. It excludes contracts worth less than $100,000. The bill calls for the creation of a blacklist of companies that boycott Israel and territories occupied by Israel and prohibits public retirement systems from investing in these companies. Related bill: HB 350.

Defeated Legislation

Legislation
SCR 25
Status
Defeated
Defeated On
February 2016
Full Text
Read SCR 25 

This non-binding resolution condemns boycotts for Palestinian rights, with a specific emphasis on academic boycotts. The resolution falsely links boycott campaigns on college campuses such as Portland State University with intimidation and marginalization of Jewish students. The resolution was introduced at the request of the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland.

Defeated Legislation

Legislation
SCR 9
Status
Defeated
Defeated On
February 2016
Full Text
Read SCR 9 

This non-binding resolution condemns boycotts for Palestinian rights, with a specific emphasis on academic boycotts. The resolution falsely links boycott campaigns on college campuses such as Portland State University with intimidation and marginalization of Jewish students. A nearly identical resolution was defeated in 2017.