State Investments

This anti-boycott bill prohibits state investment in and state contracts with entities that engage in boycotts of allied nations, including Israel, or companies based in allied nations or territories controlled by allied nations. The bill requires the state to create a blacklist of people, corporations, non-profits, and groups engaged in prohibited boycotts. State agencies may not enter into contracts with blacklisted entities, and contractors must provide written certification that they are not on the blacklist. The state comptroller and public retirement funds are prohibited from investing in entities engaged in prohibited boycotts. Similar bills have failed to pass in previous sessions.

This anti-boycott executive order prohibits state investment in and state contracts with entities that boycott Israel or Israeli-controlled territories, which would encompass illegal Israeli settlements. This order requires executive branch agencies to notify contracting parties that the agency “will not tolerate” any boycotting of Israel. This order also calls on executive branch agencies to divest  investments in companies found to be engaged in a boycott of Israel.

New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu signed the executive order at an event in the state capital with Israel’s Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan. Earlier this year, the state legislature refused to pass similar legislation after advocates raised concerns about the chilling effect on freedom of expression in support of Palestinian rights.

S1637, known as the Combating BDS Act of 2023, is an anti-boycott bill that purports to authorize state and local legislation prohibiting state investments in or state contracts with entities that engage in boycott, divestment, and sanctions campaigns for Palestinian rights. The bill claims that such measures are not preempted by federal law and defines BDS activities to include boycotts of Israel and persons doing business in Israel or its illegal settlements. Several courts, however, have blocked state anti-boycott laws over concerns that they suppress constitutionally protected political expression. Previous versions of the bill failed after activists, media, and civil liberties groups raised constitutional concerns (S 1, HR 2856, S 170, HR 4514, S 2531).

This anti-boycott bill prohibits state investment in and state contracts with entities that engage in boycotts of Israel or companies based in Israel or illegal Israeli settlements. The bill requires the state to create a blacklist of corporations, non-profits, and groups engaged in prohibited boycotts. State agencies may not enter into contracts with blacklisted entities, and contractors must provide written certification that they are not on the blacklist. The bill also prohibits investment of public retirement funds in blacklisted entities. Similar bills have failed to pass in previous sessions. Related bills: A02093

This anti-boycott bill prohibits state investment in and state contracts with entities that engage in boycotts of Israel or companies based in Israel or illegal Israeli settlements. The bill requires the state to create a blacklist of corporations, non-profits, and groups engaged in prohibited boycotts. State agencies may not enter into contracts with blacklisted entities, and contractors must provide written certification that they are not on the blacklist. The bill also prohibits investment of public retirement funds in blacklisted entities. Similar bills have failed to pass in previous sessions. Related bills: S 04479.

This anti-boycott bill prohibits state investment in and state contracts with entities that engage in boycotts of allied nations, including Israel, or companies based in allied nations or territories occupied by allied nations. The bill requires the state to create a blacklist of corporations, non-profits, and groups engaged in prohibited boycotts. State agencies may not enter into contracts with blacklisted entities, and contractors must provide written certification that they are not on the blacklist. The state comptroller and public retirement funds are prohibited from investing in entities engaged in prohibited boycotts. Similar bills have failed to pass in previous sessions.

This anti-boycott bill prohibits state contracts with and investments in entities that boycott Israel. It amends New York’s retirement and social security law and state finance law to prohibit the state comptroller from investing in entities engaging in boycotts against Israel, mandating divestment from any companies that engage in such activity. This bill also requires the creation of a public blacklist of companies found to boycott Israel. Additionally, this bill prohibits the state from entering into contracts with entities that boycott Israel. Similar bills have failed to pass in previous sessions.

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 any portion of New Hampshire’s state retirement and pension funds from being used to invest in any company involved in a boycott of Israel. 

This anti-boycott bill prohibits investment of state retirement funds in entities, including non-profits, that engage in boycotts of Israel or territories occupied by Israel. Since 2015, South Carolina has had an anti-boycott law in effect (H 3583) that prohibits state contracts with companies that boycott South Carolina’s trading partners, including Israel.