Bill Text: CT HB05324 | 2010 | General Assembly | Comm Sub

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Bill Title: An Act Concerning Divestment Of State Funds Invested In Companies Doing Business In Iran And Sudan.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 14-2-1)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2010-05-03 - Senate Calendar Number 560 [HB05324 Detail]

Download: Connecticut-2010-HB05324-Comm_Sub.html

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General Assembly		Raised Bill No. 5324
February Session, 2010		LCO No. 1152
		*_____HB05324GAE___031010____*
Referred to Committee on Government Administration and Elections
Introduced by:
(GAE)

AN ACT CONCERNING DIVESTMENT OF STATE FUNDS INVESTED IN COMPANIES DOING BUSINESS IN IRAN AND SUDAN.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:

Section 1. Section 3-13g of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):

(a) For the purposes of this section:

(1) "Company" means any corporation, utility, partnership, joint venture, franchisor, franchisee, trust, entity investment vehicle, financial institution or other entity or business association, including all wholly-owned subsidiaries, majority-owned subsidiaries, parent companies or affiliates of such entities or business associations that exist for the purpose of making profit;

(2) "Doing business in Iran" means engaging in commerce in any form in Iran, including maintaining equipment, facilities, personnel or other apparatus of business or commerce in Iran, including, but not limited to, the lease or ownership of real or personal property in Iran or engaging in any business activity with the government of Iran;

(3) "Invest" means the commitment of funds or other assets to a company, including, but not limited to, the ownership or control of a share or interest in the company, and the ownership or control of a bond or other debt instrument by the company;

(4) "Iran" means the Islamic Republic of Iran, including its government and any of its agencies, instrumentalities or political subdivisions;

(5) "Mineral extraction activities" include activities such as exploring, extracting, processing, transporting, or wholesale selling or trading of elemental minerals or associated metal alloys or oxides (ore), including gold, copper, chromium, chromite, diamonds, iron, silver, tungsten, uranium and zinc, as well as facilitating such activities, including providing supplies or services in support of such activities;

(6) "Oil-related activities" include activities such as (A) owning rights to oil blocks, (B) exporting, extracting, producing, refining, processing, exploring for, transporting, selling or trading of oil, (C) constructing, maintaining or operating a pipeline, refinery or other oil field infrastructure, and (D) facilitating such activities, including providing supplies and services in support of such activities, but not including selling retail gasoline and related consumer products; and

(7) "Petroleum resources" means petroleum, petroleum byproducts and natural gas.

(b) The State Treasurer shall review the major investment [policies] holdings of the state for [purposes of ensuring that state funds are not invested in any corporation engaged in any form of business in Iran which could be considered to be contrary to the foreign policy or national interests of the United States, particularly in respect to the release of all American hostages held in Iran.] the purpose of determining the extent to which state funds are invested in companies doing business in Iran. Whenever feasible and consistent with the fiduciary duties of the State Treasurer, the State Treasurer shall encourage companies in which state funds are invested and that are doing business in Iran, as identified by the United States Department of Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control or the State Treasurer, to act responsibly and not take actions that promote or otherwise enable Iran's development of nuclear weaponry or its support of terrorism.

(c) The State Treasurer (1) may divest, decide to not further invest state funds or not enter into any future investment in any company doing business in Iran; and (2) shall divest and not further invest in any security or instrument issued by Iran. In determining whether to divest state funds in accordance with the provisions of subdivision (1) of this subsection, the factors that the Treasurer shall consider shall include, but not be limited to, the following: (A) Revenues paid by such company directly to the government of Iran; (B) whether the company is doing business in Iran that involves contracts with or provision of supplies or services to the Government of Iran, companies in which the Government of Iran has any direct or indirect equity share, consortia or projects commissioned by the Government of Iran, or companies involved in consortia or projects commissioned by the Government of Iran and such business involves oil-related activities, mineral extraction activities, investments that directly and significantly contribute to the development of Iran's petroleum resources or any other business activity that has been made the subject of economic sanctions imposed by the United States government; (C) whether the company has demonstrated complicity with an Iranian organization that has been identified as a terrorist organization by the United States government; (D) whether such company knowingly obstructs lawful inquiries into its operations and investments in Iran; (E) whether such company attempts to circumvent any applicable sanctions of the United States; (F) the extent of any humanitarian activities undertaken by such company in Iran; (G) whether such company is authorized by the federal government of the United States to do business in Iran; and (H) any other factor that the Treasurer deems prudent. In the event that the Treasurer determines that divestment of state funds is warranted from a company in which state funds are invested due to such company doing business in Iran, the Treasurer shall give notice to such company that such funds shall be divested from such company for as long as such company does business in Iran.

(d) The State Treasurer shall, at least once per fiscal year, provide a report to the Investment Advisory Council on actions taken by the Treasurer pursuant to the provisions of this section.

(e) The provisions of this section shall no longer be effective if both of the following occur: (1) Iran is no longer designated by the United States Department of State as a country that is a state sponsor of terrorism due to said department's determination that the country repeatedly provides support for acts of international terrorism; and (2) the President of the United States certifies to the appropriate committee of Congress, pursuant to P.L. 104-172, as amended from time to time, that Iran has ceased its efforts to design, develop, manufacture or acquire a nuclear explosive device or related materials and technology.

Sec. 2. Subsection (a) of section 3-21e of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):

(a) For the purposes of this section and subsection (a) of section 3-37:

(1) "Company" means any corporation, utility, partnership, joint venture, franchisor, franchisee, trust, entity investment vehicle, financial institution or [any wholly-owned subsidiary of such corporation] other entity or business association, including all wholly-owned subsidiaries, majority-owned subsidiaries, parent companies or affiliates of such entities or business associations, that exist for the purpose of making profit;

(2) "Doing business in Sudan" means engaging in commerce in any form in Sudan, including maintaining equipment, facilities, personnel or other apparatus of business or commerce in Sudan, including, but not limited to, the lease or ownership of real or personal property in Sudan, or engaging in any business activity with the government of Sudan;

(3) "Invest" means the commitment of funds or other assets to a company, including, but not limited to, the ownership or control of a share or interest in the company, and the ownership or control of a bond or other debt instrument by the company; and

(4) "Sudan" means the Republic of Sudan, including its government, and any of its agencies, instrumentalities or political subdivisions.

This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1	from passage	3-13g
Sec. 2	from passage	3-21e(a)

GAE

Joint Favorable