Montana

An act revising discrimination laws; providing a working definition of “Antisemitism” by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) requiring the department of labor and industry to consider the working definition when reviewing discrimination complaints

Last Update: (H) Died in Process

HB 608 is an anti-boycott investment prohibition bill that orders the creation of a blacklist of companies that boycott Israel or illegal Israeli settlements. The bill requires Montana’s board of investments to divest from all holdings of and prohibits the state from investing in blacklisted companies. The bill excludes actions “taken pursuant to a boycott against a public entity of Israel if the boycott is applied in a nondiscriminatory manner,” which should exclude boycotts for justice. However, the preambular text makes clear that it is state policy to oppose BDS.

This anti-boycott bill prohibits state investment in and state contracts with entities that engage in boycotts if the purpose of the boycott is to “collectively restrict Israeli commerce or collectively change policy or law of the Israeli government.” The bill prohibits the state from imposing a written certification requirement. Two previous anti-boycott bills, introduced in 2017 (HB 501) and 2019 (HB 493), were defeated.

This anti-boycott bill calls for the creation of a blacklist of companies that participate in a boycott of Israel or persons or entities doing business in Israel or “territories controlled by Israel,” language that reaches boycotts of Israel’s illegal settlements. It prohibits state investment in and requires the state board of investments to divest from blacklisted entities. The bill also prohibits state contracts with companies unless they provide a written certification that they are not and will not engage in boycotts of Israel for the duration of the contract. Because HB 501 only applies to boycotts undertaken on a discriminatory basis, boycotts for Palestinian rights fall outside its scope. Due to the efforts of members of Helena Service for Peace and Justice, the Montana Coalition for Palestine, and others, HB 501 was defeated.

This anti-boycott bill calls for the creation of a blacklist of companies that participate in a boycott of Israel or persons or entities doing business in Israel or “territories controlled by Israel,” language that reaches boycotts of Israel’s illegal settlements. It prohibits state investment in and requires the state board of investments to divest from blacklisted entities. Because HB 493 only applies to boycotts undertaken on a discriminatory basis, boycotts for Palestinian rights fall outside its scope.