Des Moines, Iowa — Governor Kim Reynolds is asking legislators to pass a bill that would forbid state agencies or pension funds from doing business with investment firms that boycott gunmakers or the fossil fuel industry.
Molly Severn is one of the governor’s aides.
Richard Rogers of the Iowa Firearms Coalition says an international bank recently notified a prominent Iowa gun dealer it would no longer process its credit card sales because it was a gun business.
A spokesman for the state universities as well as managers of the Iowa Public Employees Retirement System and a pension for fund peace officers say none of them have invested in companies that are targeted by the governor’s bill.
Similar bills are being considered in other states as Republicans criticize firms making investment decisions based on the way a business approaches issues like climate change. However, Republican lawmakers in Mississippi recently rejected the plan. The Mississippi bill, just like the one Iowa’s governor has proposed, would require the publication of a list of financial institutions the state is not to do business with because of its investment policies, made available to the public.
The Iowa bill, SSB 1094, states that companies that boycott certain companies or industries without a “reasonable business purpose”, and has the intention to penalize, inflict economic harm on, or limit commercial relations based on a company’s participation in various industries, would be placed on the “scrutinized company list”. The bill defines a “reasonable business purpose” as any purpose directly related to promoting the financial success or stability of a company; mitigating risk to a company; complying with legal or regulatory requirements; or limiting liability to a company.
Things that are to be taken into consideration when determining if a company shall be included on the list would be the company’s certification they are not engaged in nonpecuniary social investment or the boycotting of certain companies. The public fund would also have to take into consideration publicly available information made by the company in question in determining if a company shall be included.
