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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2015 - 2016
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | April 5, 2016 10:46 AM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Nick Miccarelli and Rep. Kevin J. Boyle |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Co-Sponsor Memo Requiring Public Funds to Divest from Companies Boycotting Israel |
In the near future, I will be proposing legislation that will require the State Treasurer, the State Employees’ Retirement System and Public School Employees’ Retirement System to divest from companies boycotting Israel. Specifically, my proposal amends the current “Protecting Pennsylvania’s Investments” Act, which provides for divestiture by the State Treasurer, the State Employees' Retirement System and the Public School Employees' Retirement System of investments in companies doing business in Iran and Sudan. This legislation requires a public fund to identify all companies boycotting Israel in which the public fund has direct holdings. Using this information, the public fund shall formulate a “Scrutinized Companies Boycotting Israel List,” and subsequently divest from those companies. The President or Congress of the United States, through legislation or executive order can declare that a mandatory divestment provided by this legislation interferes with U.S. foreign policy and should not be authorized. It is vital that Pennsylvania, as a state in the United States of America, do our part to protect our allies such as Israel, as well as our domestic and national interests. It has always been a central tenet of our foreign policy to protect Israel. Although freedom of speech protects anti-Israel sentiment, economic actions such as boycotts of our allies are not acceptable. |
Introduced as HB1987