- Legislation
- SB 1250 (2022)
- Status
- In Effect
- In Effect Since
- September 2022
- Type(s)
- Anti-boycott
- Full Text
- Read SB 1250 (2022)
SB 1250 amends Arizona’s anti-boycott law (HB 2617 as amended by SB 1167) to include public universities and community colleges in the definition of “public entities,” that are prohibited from investing in or entering into contracts with companies that boycott Israel or territories occupied by Israel. A federal court blocked enforcement of HB 2617 in September 2018, finding that the law would likely violate the First Amendment. Subsequent amendments removed the plaintiffs challenging the law from its reach by limiting its scope to entities with more than 10 employees and contracts more than $100,000. The law continues to require a written certification for state contractors as well as the creation of a blacklist of companies in which state retirement plans and public entities are prohibited from investing. According to Mark Swenson, the Deputy State Treasurer of Arizona, who testified when the bill was introduced, the amendment was prompted by Ben and Jerry’s 2021 announcement that it would end sales of its ice cream in Occupied Palestinian Territory. In response to Ben and Jerry’s announcement, relying on the state’s anti-boycott law, Arizona withdrew $143 million worth of state investments from Unilever, Ben and Jerry’s parent company. Elected officials sought to close a “gap in public policy” by requiring public universities to be subject to the same anti-boycott law. The governor signed the bill in March 2022, and it went into effect in September 2022.