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SB228: An Act Revising Provisions Relating to Governmental Financial Administration
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Introduced, but did not pass in the 2023 legislative session
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Legislation
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Restrict Use of ESG Factors; Focus on Pecuniary Characteristics
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■Prohibits the Public Employees’ Retirement Board from investing, providing investment advice or engaging in shareholder proxy voting for any purpose other than the financial interest of the Public Employees’ Retirement System; prohibiting, under certain circumstances, certain governmental entities from contracting with companies that engage in economic boycotts; and providing other matters properly relating thereto.
■An “economic boycott” is defined as refusing to deal or conduct business with, abstaining from dealing or conducting business with, terminating business or business activities with or performing any other action that is intended to limit commercial relations with a company that: (1) engages in certain activities relating to fossil fuels, timber, mining or agriculture; (2) engages in certain activities relating to firearms, ammunition or component parts and accessories of firearms or ammunition; (3) does not meet, is not expected to meet or does not commit to meet certain environmental standards or disclosure criteria relating to the environment; (4) does not meet, is not expected to meet or does not commit to meet certain employment, composition, compensation or disclosure criteria for the company or company board relating to certain protected characteristics; (5) does not facilitate, is not expected to facilitate or does not commit to facilitate access to abortions, sex or gender change or transgender surgeries; or (6) does business with any such company. Sections 3 and 4 further authorize a district attorney or the Attorney General, respectively, to bring a civil action against any company that violates an agreement not to engage in an economic boycott to recover a civil penalty in an amount equal to three times the amount paid to the company.
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