7513.73.
(a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:(1) On February 24, 2022, the President of Russia, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, initiated an unprovoked war against the sovereign and independent nation of Ukraine in violation of international law.
(2) At his direction, Russian military forces have inflicted death and destruction on the territory of Ukraine, killing its men, women, and children in their homes, their places of work, their places of worship, and anywhere they seek shelter.
(3) Through his irrational actions President
Putin has additionally caused hundreds of thousands millions of innocent Ukrainians and
nationals from all over the world to flee Ukraine and seek refuge in neighboring countries, disrupting the their safety, livelihood, and economic activity and that of millions of innocent people. more in those neighboring countries.
(4) President Putin and members of his clique of oligarchs benefit enormously from economic activity with western economies, including with trade and economic investment from
California, which facilitates Russian military and political aggression against Ukraine and against the world’s free and democratic nations.
(5) The government of Belarus facilitated Russia’s attack on Ukraine by allowing Russian military units to launch an attack from Belarus against Ukraine’s capital Kyiv and by preparing to join in the military attack against Ukraine.
(6) The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy, and the Ukrainian people have demonstrated that courage and sacrifice in the face of overwhelming aggression can unite the world against that aggression and stop it in its tracks.
(7) The purpose of California’s public pension funds is to provide a secure retirement to the people who have
dedicated their careers and their lives to serving the people of California. That security, and thus the funds’ purpose, is threatened when an authoritarian government can, with impunity, eliminate another sovereign nation and make extreme threats to the international political and economic order. The founders of our pension systems understood this as they witnessed two world wars within their lifetimes.
(8) The United States government has called on all allies and partners to impose extraordinary economic sanctions against the aggressor countries to pressure those countries to halt the war against Ukraine. California, as a constituent part of the United States, is both an ally and partner of the United States and has unparalleled international economic influence that can assist the United States government
in achieving its foreign policy objectives toward the aggressor countries.
(8)
(9) In order to defend the democratic values of the people of California and ensure their security and the security of the state’s public pension systems, it is necessary to cut all economic investment in the aggressor countries and stand with President Zelenskyy, the people of Ukraine, and all people who support liberal democracy, peace, and freedom.
(b) As used in this section, the following definitions apply:
(1) “Active business operations” means a company engaged in business operations that provide revenue to the government of Russia or the government of Belarus.
(2) “Aggressor countries” means Russia and Belarus.
(3) “Belarus” means the Republic of Belarus.
(4) “Board” means the board of any public retirement system subject to Section 7522.02.
(5) “Business operations” means maintaining, selling, or leasing equipment, facilities, personnel, or any other apparatus of business or commerce in the aggressor countries, including the ownership or possession of real or personal property located in Russia or Belarus.
(6) “Company” means a sole proprietorship, organization, association, corporation, partnership, venture, or other entity, its subsidiary or affiliate that exists for profitmaking purposes, or to secure economic advantage. “Company” also means a company owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by the government of Russia or Belarus, or by a sanctioned person.
(7) “Government of Belarus” means the government of Belarus or its instrumentalities.
(8) “Government of Russia” means the government of Russia or its instrumentalities.
(9) “Invest” or “investment” means the purchase, ownership, or control of stock of a company, association, or corporation, bonds
issued by the government or a political subdivision of Russia or by the government or a political subdivision of Belarus, corporate bonds or other debt instruments issued by a company, or the commitment of funds or other assets to a company, including a loan or extension of credit to that company.
(10) “Public employee retirement funds” means any funds controlled by a retirement board subject to Section 7522.02.
(11) “Research firm” means a reputable, neutral third-party research firm.
(12) “Russia” means the Russian Federation.
(13) “Sanctioned person” means any individual or entity subject to sanctions imposed by the United States government arising out of
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as initiated on or after February 24, 2022.
(14) “Substantial action” means a boycott of the aggressor countries, curtailing business in those countries until that time described in subdivision (n), selling company assets, equipment, or real and personal property located in the aggressor countries, or undertaking significant humanitarian efforts in Ukraine.
(c) The board shall not invest public employee retirement funds in a company with business operations in the aggressor countries that meets any of the following criteria:
(1) The company is engaged in active business operations in Russia or Belarus.
(2) Either of the following
apply:
(A) The company is engaged in oil-related activities or energy or power-related operations, or contracts with another company with business operations in the oil, energy, and power sectors of Russia or Belarus, and the company failed to take substantial action related to the aggressor countries’ invasion of Ukraine.
(B) The company has demonstrated complicity in the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
(d) Notwithstanding subdivision (c), the board shall not invest public employee retirement funds in a company that supplies military equipment to Russia or to Belarus.
(e) (1) The board shall contract, without regard to the provisions
regarding competitive bidding, with a research firm or firms to determine those companies that have business operations in the aggressor countries. Those research firms shall obtain, in the aggregate, data on a majority of companies with business operations in the aggressor countries. Within one month of this section being chaptered, those research firms shall report any findings to the board and those research firms shall submit further findings to the board if there is a change of circumstances in Ukraine.
(2) In addition to the reports described in paragraph (1), the board shall take all of the following actions no later than one month after this section is chaptered:
(A) Review publicly available information regarding companies with business operations in the aggressor
countries.
(B) Contact other institutional investors that invest in companies with business operations in the aggressor countries.
(C) Send written notice to a company with business operations in the aggressor countries that the company may be subject to this section.
(f) (1) The board shall determine, by the next applicable board meeting and based on the information and reports described in subdivision (e), if a company meets the criteria described in subdivision (c) or (d). If the board plans to invest or has investments in a company that meets the criteria described in subdivision (c) or (d),
(c), that planned or existing investment shall be subject to subdivisions (h) and (i).
(2) If the board plans to invest or has investments in a company that meets the criteria described in subdivision (d), then subdivisions (h) and (i) shall not apply and the board shall take the following actions:
(A) The board shall not make additional or new investments or renew existing investments in that company.
(B) The board shall liquidate the investments of the board in that company no later than one month after this subdivision applies to that company. The board shall liquidate those investments in a manner consistent with the board’s fiduciary responsibilities as described in Section 17 of
Article XVI of the California Constitution.
(2)
(3) Any investment of the board in a company that does not meet the criteria described in subdivision (c) or (d) or does not have active business operations in Russia or Belarus is not subject to subdivision (i), provided that the company does not subsequently meet the criteria described in subdivision (c) or (d) or engage in active business operations. The board shall identify the reasons why that company does not satisfy the criteria described in subdivision (c) or (d) or does not engage in active business operations in the
report to the Legislature described in subdivision (j).
(g) (1) Notwithstanding subdivision (f), if the board’s investment in a company described in subdivision (c) or (d) is limited to investment via an externally and actively managed commingled fund, the board shall contact that fund manager in writing and request that the fund manager remove that company from the fund as described in subdivision (i). Within two months after this section is chaptered, if the fund or account manager creates a fund or account devoid of companies described in subdivision (c) or (d), the transfer of board investments from the prior fund or account to the fund or account devoid of companies with business operations in Russia or Belarus shall be deemed to satisfy the provisions set forth in subdivision (i).
(2) If the board’s investment in a company described in subdivision (c) or (d)
is limited to an alternative fund or account, the alternative fund or account manager creates an actively managed commingled fund that excludes companies described in subdivision subdivisions (c) or (d), and (d), and the new fund or account is deemed to be financially equivalent to the existing fund or account, the transfer of board investments from the existing fund or account to the new fund or account shall be deemed to satisfy the provisions set forth in subdivision (i). If the board determines that the new fund or account is not
financially equivalent to the existing fund, the board shall include the reasons for that determination in the report described in subdivision (j).
(3) The board shall make a good faith effort to identify any private equity investments that involve companies described in subdivision (c) or (d)
or are linked to the government of Russia or Belarus or any sanctioned person. If the board determines that a private equity investment clearly involves a company described in subdivision (c) or (d) or is linked to the government of Russia, the government of Belarus, or a sanctioned person, the board shall consider, at its discretion, if those private equity investments shall be subject to subdivision (i). If the board determines that a private equity investment clearly involves a company described in subdivision (c) or (d) or is linked to the government of Russia or Belarus or a sanctioned person and the board does not take action as described in subdivision (i), the board shall include the reasons for its decision in the report described
in subdivision (j).
(4) If the board determines that an investment is held in an alternative fund or account or through a private equity investment and that investment clearly involves a company described in subdivision (d), the provisions in paragraph (2) of subdivision (f) shall apply.
(h) Except as described in subdivision (g) or paragraph (2) (3) of subdivision (f), the board shall notify, in the board’s capacity of
shareholder or investor, any company described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (f) that the company is subject to subdivision (i) and authorize that company to respond to the information and reports described in subdivision (e). The board shall request that the company take substantial action no later than 30 days from the date the board notified the company under this subdivision. If the board determines that a company has taken substantial action or has made sufficient progress towards substantial action before the expiration of that 30-day period, that company shall not be subject to subdivision (i). The board shall continue to monitor and review, at intervals not to exceed 30 days, the progress of the company until that company has taken substantial action. A company that fails to complete substantial action or continue to make sufficient progress towards substantial action by the
next time interval shall be subject to subdivision (i).
(i) If a company described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (f) fails to complete substantial action by the time described in subdivision (h), the board shall take the following actions:
(1) The board shall not make additional or new investments or renew existing investments in that company.
(2) The board shall liquidate the investments of the board in that company no later than six months after this subdivision applies to that company. The board shall liquidate those investments in a manner to address the need for companies to take substantial action in the aggressor countries and consistent with the board’s fiduciary responsibilities as described in Section 17 of
Article XVI of the California Constitution.
(j) On or before January 1, 2023, and every year thereafter, the board shall file a report with the Legislature. The report shall describe all of the following:
(1) A list of investments the board has in companies with business operations in Russia or Belarus, including, but not limited to, the issuer, by name, of the stock, bonds, securities, and other evidence of indebtedness.
(2) A detailed summary of the business operations a company described in paragraph (1) has in Russia or Belarus and whether that company satisfies all of the criteria in subdivision (c) or (d).
(3) Whether the board has reduced its investments
in a company that satisfies the criteria in subdivision (c) or (d).
(4) If the board has not completely reduced its investments in a company that satisfies the criteria in subdivision (c) or (d), when the board anticipates that the board will reduce all investments in that company or the reasons why a sale or transfer of investments is inconsistent with the fiduciary responsibilities of the board as described in Section 17 of Article XVI of the California Constitution.
(5) Any information described in subdivision (f).
(6) A detailed summary of investments that were transferred to funds or accounts devoid of companies with business operations in Russia or Belarus or with a sanctioned person as described in subdivision
(g).
(k) If the board voluntarily sells or transfers all of its investments in a company with business operations in Russia or Belarus or with a sanctioned person, this section shall not apply except that the board shall file a report with the Legislature related to that company as described in subdivision (j).
(l) This section does not require the board to take action as described in this section unless the board determines, in good faith, that the action described in this section is consistent with the fiduciary responsibilities of the board as described in Section 17 of Article XVI of the California Constitution.
(m) Subdivision (i) shall not apply to any of the following:
(1) Investments in a company that is primarily engaged in supplying goods or services intended to relieve human suffering in Ukraine.
(2) Investments in a company that promotes health, education, journalistic, or religious activities in or welfare in Ukraine.
(n) This section shall remain in effect only until one of the
following occurs, and as of the date of that action, is repealed:
(1) The aggressor countries halt the invasion and occupation of Ukraine as determined by the U.S. United States Department of State.
(2) The United States revokes all sanctions against the aggressor countries imposed because of their participation in the February 24, 2022, invasion of Ukraine.