West Virginia

This anti-boycott bill prohibits state contracts with companies that boycott Israel or persons or entities doing business in Israel or territories it occupies. Contractors must provide a written certification that they are not and will not for the duration of the contract engage in boycotts of Israel. The bill excludes contracts whose total value is less than $100,000 and contractors that have fewer than 10 full time employees. An earlier version of the bill would have created a blacklist and prohibited state investment in companies that boycott Israel. A similar bill was also introduced this session (SB 351). The legislature passed HB 2933 in April 2021, and it went into effect in July 2022.

This anti-boycott bill prohibits state contracts with companies that boycott Israel or persons or entities doing business in Israel or territories it occupies. For contracts worth more than $100,000, contractors must provide a written certification that they are not “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.” The bill also prohibits the state from adopting policies that have “the effect of inducing or requiring a person” to boycott Israel or its occupied territories, in an effort to target divestment or other BDS campaigns at public universities. A similar bill (HB 2933) was passed this session and will go into effect in July 2022.

HB 4674 is an anti-boycott bill that 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. Contractors must provide written certification that they are not and will not for the duration of the contract engage in such boycotts. The bill also calls for the creation of a blacklist of companies that boycott Israel and requires the state treasurer and state retirement systems to divest from companies on the list. HB 4674 also prohibits public entities from adopting policies that have “the effect of inducing or requiring a person or company to boycott Israel,” in an effort to target divestment or other BDS campaigns at public universities.

This non-binding resolution requests a committee study on the impacts of the “importance” of adopting legislation that prohibits state investments in or contracts with entities that boycott Israel. The preambular language denounces boycotts for Palestinian rights and falsely accuses BDS of spreading antisemitism. A nearly identical resolution was introduced in the House (HCR 30).

This resolution requests a committee study on the impacts of the importance of legislation prohibiting state contracts with or investments in entities engaged in BDS. The preambular language denounces boycotts for Palestinian rights and falsely accuses BDS of spreading antisemitism. A nearly identical resolution was introduced in the Senate (SCR 71).