Defeated Legislation

Legislation
S 3713 (2021)
Status
Defeated
Defeated On
June 2022
Type(s)
Anti-boycott, State Contracts, State Investments
Full Text
Read S 3713 (2021) 

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 (S. 2430, A. 5847). A similar bill focused only on boycotts of Israel (S. 706) was also introduced this session.

Defeated Legislation

Legislation
S 3712 (2021)
Status
Defeated
Defeated On
June 2022
Type(s)
Anti-boycott, State Contracts, State Investments
Full Text
Read S 3712 (2021) 

This anti-boycott defunding bill directs the trustees of New York’s public colleges and universities to prohibit funding for student groups that directly or indirectly promote or encourage boycotts of any allied nation or companies based in an allied nation, including Israel and the territories it occupies. The bill includes boycotts intended to penalize or “cast disrepute upon” an allied nation, its peoples, or businesses based there, but its funding prohibitions are limited to boycotts “based on race, class, gender, nationality, ethnic origin or religion,” which should exclude boycotts for Palestinian rights, though the justification for the bill clarifies that BDS is the intended target. Similar bills have failed to pass in previous sessions (S. 2493, S. 8017, S. 5825).

Defeated Legislation

Legislation
SB 351 (2021)
Status
Defeated
Defeated On
June 2022
Type(s)
Anti-boycott, State Contracts, State Investments
Full Text
Read SB 351 (2021) 

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.

Defeated Legislation

Legislation
SB 186 (2021)
Status
Defeated
Defeated On
June 2022
Type(s)
Anti-boycott, State Contracts, State Investments
Full Text
Read SB 186 (2021) 

This anti-boycott bill prohibits state contracts with companies that boycott Israel. Contractors must provide a written certification that they do not and will not for the duration of the contract engage in a boycott of Israel. The bill excludes contracts whose total value is less than $100,000 and contractors that have fewer than 10 full time employees. The bill applies to boycott actions targeting Israel; individuals or companies based in Israel; and companies authorized or licensed by Israel, a provision that would reach boycotts targeting illegal settlements. Similar bills have failed to pass in previous sessions (SB 219). The legislature passed SB 186, and the law went into effect in May 2021.

Defeated Legislation

Legislation
SB 1086 (2021)
Status
Defeated
Defeated On
June 2022
Type(s)
Anti-boycott, State Contracts, State Investments
Full Text
Read SB 1086 (2021) 

This anti-boycott bill prohibits state contracts with a company, including non-profits, unless the company signs a written certification that they are not currently and will not for the duration of the contract engage in boycotts of the state of Israel or territories under its control. This prohibition does not include contracts less than $100,000 or with companies that have fewer than 10 employees. The bill passed in April 2021. A nearly identical bill was defeated in 2020 (SB 1402).

Defeated Legislation

Legislation
HB 383 (2021)
Status
Defeated
Defeated On
June 2022
Type(s)
Anti-boycott, State Contracts, State Investments
Full Text
Read HB 383 (2021) 

This bill amends the state’s 2016 anti-boycott law to exclude sole proprietorships, companies employing five or fewer employees, and contracts valued at less than $100,000 from the prohibition on state contracts with entities that engage in boycotts of Israel. The bill applies to boycotts targeting Israel, companies doing business in Israel, and companies licensed or authorized by Israel, which would encompass boycotts targeting illegal settlements. The amendments would limit the law’s application to those contracts whose subject matter is or might be affected by participation in the boycott. A similar bill was introduced in 2020 (HB 1058). These amendments would likely mean that Georgia’s anti-boycott law would not apply to individuals like journalist and filmmaker Abby Martin who is a plaintiff in a lawsuit against the University System of Georgia for cancelling her speaking engagement following her refusal to sign a written certification not to boycott Israel.

Defeated Legislation

Legislation
HJ Res 37
Status
Defeated
Defeated On
June 2022
Full Text
Read HJ Res 37 

This joint resolution calls for the removal of US armed forces from the war in Yemen that have not been authorized by Congress. Republican lawmakers inserted a last-minute unrelated amendment that falsely links antisemitism and criticism of Israel. The amendment includes a provision noting that “all attempts to delegitimize and deny Israel’s right to exist must be denounced and rejected,” language echoing a distorted definition of antisemitism that pro-Israel groups have been pushing in legislation at the state and federal level. The resolution passed in the House, but not the Senate.

Defeated Legislation

Legislation
HRes 11
Status
Defeated
Defeated On
June 2022
Full Text
Read HRes 11 

This non-binding resolution opposes United Nations Security Council Resolution 2234, claiming it “contributes to the politically motivated acts of boycott, divestment from, and sanctions against Israel and represents a concerted effort to extract concessions from Israel outside of direct negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians, which must be actively rejected.” UN Security Council Resolution 2334 reaffirmed that Israel’s illegal settlements constitute a flagrant violation of international law. The US broke from its practice of blocking UN accountability measures focused on Israel and abstained rather than vetoing the resolution, causing consternation among pro-Israel groups. HRes 11 calls for the UN resolution to be repealed or fundamentally altered.

Defeated Legislation

Legislation
HR 2232
Status
Defeated
Defeated On
June 2022
Type(s)
Anti-boycott, State Contracts, State Investments
Full Text
Read HR 2232 

This anti-boycott bill targets boycott, divestment, and sanctions efforts as well as efforts to seek accountability via the United Nations for Israel’s ongoing violations of international law. While imposing a host of requirements on US funding for UNRWA, the Human Rights Council, and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the bill also states that it is the “policy of the United States to take steps to repeal Resolution A/HRC/31/L.38,” which called for the creation of a database of entities contributing to Israel’s illegal settlements. The bill further requires the President to work to secure the adoption of a UN General Assembly resolution that would label boycott, divestment, and sanctions activities as antisemitic.