Legislation: Substitute Senate Bill 881, an update to Section 3-13g of the Connecticut Statutes, grants the State Treasurer exclusive power to divest state funds from Iran. (1) (2)

The Connecticut State Assembly passed HB 5358, prohibiting state and public entities from entering into “large contracts” in the energy sector of Iran, with those defined as any exceeding $20 million in value. (3) A specific exception was added for the office of the State Treasurer so that contracts negotiated by the Treasurer, as the trustee of the state’s retirement plans, are not overseen by the bill. It was passed without a nay vote in both the Senate and the House. (4)

Key actors: HB 5358 was introduced by Rep. Matt Lesser (D-Middletown). (5) SB 881 is a product of the Government Administration and Elections Committee, chaired by Steve Cassano (D-Manchester) and Ed Jutila (D-Niantic). (6)

Updated: 05/31/2016

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