Defeated Legislation

Legislation
S 3044
Status
Defeated
Defeated On
January 2016
Type(s)
Anti-boycott, State Investments
Full Text
Read S 3044 

This anti-boycott bill prohibits state investment in companies that boycott goods, products or businesses of Israel. The bill requires the state to create a blacklist of all investments that violate this prohibition. The bill makes an exception for companies providing humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people. Related bill: A4665.

Defeated Legislation

Legislation
SB 26
Status
Defeated
Defeated On
January 2016
Type(s)
Anti-boycott, State Investments
Full Text
Read SB 26 

This anti-boycott law requires the state to develop a blacklist of companies that boycott Israel and prohibits the state from investing in blacklisted companies. The bill also prohibits state contracts with a company unless the company provides a written certification that they are not and will not engage in boycotts of Israel or territories it occupies for the duration of the contract. Because SB 26 only applies to boycotts undertaken on a discriminatory basis, boycotts for Palestinian rights fall outside its scope.

Defeated Legislation

Legislation
HB 501
Status
Defeated
Defeated On
January 2016
Type(s)
Anti-boycott, State Investments
Full Text
Read HB 501 

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.

Defeated Legislation

Legislation
HB 493
Status
Defeated
Defeated On
January 2016
Type(s)
Anti-boycott, State Investments
Full Text
Read HB 493 

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.

Defeated Legislation

Legislation
SB 739
Status
Defeated
Defeated On
January 2016
Type(s)
Anti-boycott, State Investments
Full Text
Read SB 739 

This anti-boycott law requires state contracts to include a written certification that the contractor is not and will not for the duration of the contract engage in a boycott of Israel or companies doing business in Israel. The law applies to companies, including non-profits, with 10 or more employees and contracts of $100,000 or more. Similar bills introduced during this session had extended state contract prohibitions to boycotts of “territories controlled by Israel.” The version that passed excluded this language related to Israel’s illegal settlements. Efforts by national and state-level civil and human rights groups helped defeat similar bills in 2018 and 2019. Related Bills: SB 544, SB 594, HB 1344, HB 1738, HB 2179.

Defeated Legislation

Legislation
HB 2409
Status
Defeated
Defeated On
January 2016
Type(s)
Anti-boycott, State Investments
Full Text
Read HB 2409 

This anti-boycott law prohibits state contracts with individuals or companies that boycott Israel or territories occupied by Israel. Contractors are required to sign a written certification that they are not currently engaged in a boycott of Israel. HB 2409 also precludes Kansas from adopting policies that have the effect of requiring or inducing others to boycott Israel, a provision aimed at discouraging divestment campaigns at public universities.  

In January 2018, a federal court blocked Kansas from enforcing the law on grounds that “First Amendment protects the right to participate in political boycotts like the one punished by the Kansas law.” Kansas lawmakers subsequently amended the law (HB 2482) so it no longer applied to individuals like the plaintiff. Related bill: HB 2351.

Defeated Legislation

Legislation
HB 2482
Status
Defeated
Defeated On
January 2016
Type(s)
Anti-boycott, State Investments
Full Text
Read HB 2482 

This anti-boycott law amends Kansas’ previous law (HB 2409) to remove individuals, sole proprietors, and contracts worth less than $100,000 from the purview of the state contract prohibition. The law requires contractors to sign a written certification that they are “not currently engaged in a boycott of goods or services from Israel that constitutes an integral part of business conducted or sought to be conducted with the state.” 

In 2018, a federal court blocked Kansas from enforcing the law on grounds that the “First Amendment protects the right to participate in political boycotts like the one punished by the Kansas law.” In response, Kansas lawmakers amended the law so that it no longer applied to individuals like the plaintiff, rendering the case moot, but leaving the underlying constitutional issues unresolved. The amended law leaves in place the prohibition on Kansas public entities boycotting Israel or those doing business in Israel or the territories it occupies.  Related bill: HB 2778.

Defeated Legislation

Legislation
HB 2186
Status
Defeated
Defeated On
January 2016
Type(s)
Anti-boycott, State Investments
Full Text
Read HB 2186 

This anti-boycott defunding bill penalizes higher education institutions that use state aid to fund or provide funds for membership in or travel to meetings of academic entities that engage in or support academic boycotts. Schools that violate the prohibition will have the funding deducted from future state aid. The bill was introduced in response to resolutions by the Asian American Studies Association and American Studies Association endorsing the boycott of Israeli academic institutions complicit in Israel’s human rights violations.

Defeated Legislation

Legislation
HB 2647
Status
Defeated
Defeated On
January 2016
Type(s)
Anti-boycott, State Investments
Full Text
Read HB 2647 

This anti-boycott defunding bill penalizes higher education institutions that use state aid to fund or provide funds for membership in or travel to meetings of academic entities that engage in or support academic boycotts. Schools that violate the prohibition will have the funding deducted from future state aid. The bill was introduced following resolutions by the Asian American Studies Association and American Studies Association endorsing the boycott of Israeli academic institutions complicit in Israel’s human rights violations. 

Defeated Legislation

Legislation
HB 2351
Status
Defeated
Defeated On
January 2016
Type(s)
Anti-boycott, State Investments
Full Text
Read HB 2351 

This anti-boycott bill prohibits state contracts with individuals or companies that boycott Israel or territories occupied by Israel. Contractors are required to sign a written certification that they are not and will not for the duration of the contract engage in a boycott of Israel. The bill also precludes Kansas from adopting policies that have the effect of requiring or inducing others to boycott Israel, a provision aimed at discouraging divestment campaigns at public universities. Related bill: HB 2409.