Legislation
HB 1324
Status
In Effect
In Effect Since
August 2017
Type(s)
Anti-boycott, State Investments
Full Text
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This anti-boycott law prohibits the Arkansas State Highway Employees’ Retirement System Fund from taking into account whether a fund, company, or other investment vehicle is in Israel when making investment decisions.

Legislation
HB 1344
Status
In Effect
In Effect Since
August 2017
Type(s)
Anti-boycott, State Investments
Full Text
Read HB 1344 

This anti-boycott law prohibits the Arkansas Public Employees’ Retirement System from taking into account whether a fund, company, or other investment vehicle is in Israel when making investment decisions.

Legislation
SB 81
Status
In Effect
In Effect Since
August 2017
Type(s)
Anti-boycott, State Investments
Full Text
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This anti-boycott law prohibits state contracts with entities that boycott Israel. Contractors must provide a written certification that they are not and will not engage in boycotts for the duration of the contract. It excludes contracts worth less than $15,000 or contractors who bid at least 20% less than other bidders. 

Legislation
HB 16-1284
Status
In Effect
In Effect Since
August 2017
Type(s)
Anti-boycott, State Investments
Full Text
Read HB 16-1284 

This anti-boycott law prohibits state investment by state retirement funds in companies that boycott Israel. The law calls on the public employees retirement association to create a blacklist of restricted companies and to divest from these companies. It defines restricted companies as those that engage in “actions that are politically motivated and are intended to penalize, inflict economic harm on, or otherwise limit commercial relations with the state of Israel, including, but not limited to, the boycott of, divestment from, or imposition of sanctions on the state of Israel.”   

Legislation
SB 513 (2017)
Status
In Effect
In Effect Since
August 2017
Type(s)
Anti-boycott, State Investments
Full Text
Read SB 513 (2017) 

This anti-boycott law prohibits state contracts with and state investments in entities, including individuals, that boycott Israel or territories controlled by Israel. For state contracts, the law requires written certification that entities do not and will not boycott Israel. The law excludes contracts under $1,000 and contractors who bid 20% less than other bidders. The law also calls for the creation of a blacklist of companies that boycott Israel and requires public retirement systems to divest from these companies. Companies can remove themselves from the blacklist by submitting a written certification that they will not boycott Israel for the duration of any investment by the public entity.

In December 2018, The Arkansas Times sued to challenge the law arguing that it should not be compelled to speak against boycotts for Palestinian rights. In January 2019 the district court dismissed the case. In February 2021, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the law as unconstitutional. The state moved for a larger panel of judges to rehear the case. In June 2022, the Eighth Circuit, sitting en banc, upheld the Arkansas law, ignoring precedent and history to find that SB 513 restricts purely commercial conduct that carries no political message and thus does not violate the First Amendment.

Legislation
SJR 6
Status
In Effect
In Effect Since
August 2017
Full Text
Read SJR 6 

Alabama lawmakers passed a joint resolution condemning boycotts for Palestinian rights and falsely claiming that boycott campaigns on college campuses result in animosity, intimidation, and violence against Jewish students in Alabama. The Christian Zionist anti-Muslim Proclaiming Justice to the Nations led the lobbying effort, calling for the Alabama legislation to be a model for other states.