S.Amdt. 4649Senate114th Congress (2015-2017)
S.Amdt. 4649
Sponsored by
Sen. Mark Kirk (R-IL)
Submitted June 9, 2016
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Senate amendment submitted
June 9, 2016
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Senate amendment submitted
June 9, 2016
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Senate amendment submitted
June 9, 2016
Text
Submitted
SA 4649. Mr. KIRK (for himself, Mr. Manchin, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Schumer, Mr. Portman, Mr. Rubio, Ms. Murkowski, Mr. Tillis, Mr. Vitter, Mr. Hatch, Mr. Cruz, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Roberts, Mr. Cornyn, Mr. Nelson, Mr. Wyden, and Mr. Markey) submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill S. 2943, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2017 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows: At the end of title XII, add the following: Subtitle I--Matters Relating to Israel SEC. 1281. SHORT TITLE. This subtitle may be cited as the ``Combating BDS Act of 2016''. SEC. 1282. AUTHORITY OF STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS TO DIVEST FROM ENTITIES THAT ENGAGE IN CERTAIN BOYCOTT, DIVESTMENT, OR SANCTIONS ACTIVITIES TARGETING ISRAEL. (a) Authority To Divest.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a State or local government may adopt and enforce measures that meet the requirements of subsection (b) to divest the assets of the State or local government from, or prohibit investment of the assets of the State or local government in-- (1) an entity that the State or local government determines, using credible information available to the public, knowingly engages in a commerce-related or investment-related boycott, divestment, or sanctions activity targeting Israel; (2) a successor entity or subunit of an entity described in paragraph (1); or (3) an entity that owns or controls, is owned or controlled by, or is under common ownership or control with, an entity described in paragraph (1). (b) Requirements.--A State or local government that seeks to adopt or enforce a measure under subsection (a) shall meet the following requirements: (1) Notice.--The State or local government shall provide written notice to each entity to which a measure under subsection (a) is to be applied. (2) Timing.--The measure shall apply to an entity not earlier than the date that is 90 days after the date on which written notice is provided to the entity under paragraph (1). (3) Opportunity for hearing.--The State or local government shall provide an opportunity to comment in writing to each entity to which a measure is to be applied. If the entity demonstrates to the State or local government that the entity has not engaged in a commerce-related or investment-related boycott, divestment, or sanctions activity targeting Israel, the measure shall not apply to the entity. (4) Sense of congress on avoiding erroneous targeting.--It is the sense of Congress that a State or local government should not adopt a measure under subsection (a) with respect to an entity unless the State or local government has made every effort to avoid erroneously targeting the entity and has verified that the entity engages in a commerce-related or investment-related boycott, divestment, or sanctions activity targeting Israel. (c) Notice to Department of Justice.--Not later than 30 days after adopting a measure pursuant to subsection (a), a State or local government shall submit written notice to the Attorney General describing the measure. (d) Nonpreemption.--A measure of a State or local government authorized under subsection (a) is not preempted by any Federal law. (e) Effective Date.--This section applies to any measure adopted by a State or local government before, on, or after the date of the enactment of this Act. (f) Rule of Construction.-- (1) Authority of states.--Nothing in this section shall be construed to abridge the authority of a State to issue and enforce rules governing the safety, soundness, and solvency of a financial institution subject to its jurisdiction or the business of insurance pursuant to the Act of March 9, 1945 (59 Stat. 33, chapter 20; 15 U.S.C. 1011 et seq.) (commonly known as the ``McCarran-Ferguson Act''). (2) Policy of the united states.--Nothing in this section shall be construed to alter the established policy of the United States concerning final status issues associated with the Arab-Israeli conflict, including border delineation, that can only be resolved through direct negotiations between the parties. (g) Definitions.--In this section: (1) Assets.-- (A) In general.--Except as provided in subparagraph (B), the term ``assets'' means any pension, retirement, annuity, or endowment fund, or similar instrument, that is controlled by a State or local government. (B) Exception.--The term ``assets'' does not include employee benefit plans covered by title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.). (2) Boycott, divestment, or sanctions activity targeting israel.--The term ``boycott, divestment, or sanctions activity targeting Israel'' means any activity that is intended to penalize, inflict economic harm on, or otherwise limit commercial relations with Israel or persons doing business in Israel or in Israeli-controlled territories for purposes of coercing political action by, or imposing policy positions on, the Government of Israel. (3) Entity.--The term ``entity'' includes-- (A) any corporation, company, business association, partnership, or trust; and (B) any governmental entity or instrumentality of a government, including a multilateral development institution (as defined in section 1701(c)(3) of the International Financial Institutions Act (22 U.S.C. 262r(c)(3))). (4) Investment.--The term ``investment'' includes-- (A) a commitment or contribution of funds or property; (B) a loan or other extension of credit; and (C) the entry into or renewal of a contract for goods or services. (5) State.--The term ``State'' means each of the several States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, Guam, the United States Virgin Islands, and any other territory or possession of the United States. (6) State or local government.--The term ``State or local government'' includes-- (A) any State and any agency or instrumentality thereof; (B) any local government within a State and any agency or instrumentality thereof; and (C) any other governmental instrumentality of a State or locality. SEC. 1283. SAFE HARBOR FOR CHANGES OF INVESTMENT POLICIES BY ASSET MANAGERS. Section 13(c)(1) of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80a-13(c)(1)) is amended-- (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``; or'' and inserting a semicolon; (2) in subparagraph (B), by striking the period at the end and inserting ``; or''; and (3) by adding at the end the following: ``(C) engage in any boycott, divestment, or sanctions activity targeting Israel described in section 1282 of the Combating BDS Act of 2016.''. ______