Connecticut General Statutes 3-21e – Divestment of state funds invested in companies doing business in Sudan
(a) For the purposes of this section and subsection (a) of § 3-37:
Terms Used In Connecticut General Statutes 3-21e
- Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
- Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
- Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
- Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). Source: OCC
- Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
- Personal property: All property that is not real property.
(1) “Company” means any corporation, utility, partnership, joint venture, franchisor, franchisee, trust, entity investment vehicle, financial institution or other entity or business association, including all wholly-owned subsidiaries, majority-owned subsidiaries, parent companies or affiliates of such entities or business associations, that exist for the purpose of making profit;
(2) “Doing business in Sudan” means engaging in commerce in any form in Sudan, including maintaining equipment, facilities, personnel or other apparatus of business or commerce in Sudan, including, but not limited to, the lease or ownership of real or personal property in Sudan, or engaging in any business activity with the government of Sudan;
(3) “Invest” means the commitment of funds or other assets to a company, including, but not limited to, the ownership or control of a share or interest in the company, and the ownership or control of a bond or other debt instrument by the company; and
(4) “Sudan” means the Republic of Sudan, including its government, and any of its agencies, instrumentalities or political subdivisions.
(b) The State Treasurer shall review the major investment holdings of the state for the purpose of determining the extent to which state funds are invested in companies doing business in Sudan. Whenever feasible and consistent with the fiduciary duties of the Treasurer, the Treasurer shall encourage companies in which state funds are invested and that are doing business in Sudan, as identified by the United States Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control or the Treasurer, to act responsibly and not take actions that promote or otherwise enable human rights violations in Sudan.
(c) The State Treasurer (1) may divest, decide to not further invest state funds or not enter into any future investment in any company doing business in Sudan, and (2) shall divest and not further invest in any security or instrument issued by Sudan. In determining whether to divest state funds in accordance with the provisions of subdivision (1) of this subsection, the factors which the Treasurer shall consider shall include, but not be limited to, the following: (A) Revenues paid by such company directly to the government of Sudan, (B) whether such company supplies infrastructure or resources used by the government of Sudan to implement its policies of genocide in Darfur or other regions of Sudan, (C) whether such company knowingly obstructs lawful inquiries into its operations and investments in Sudan, (D) whether such company attempts to circumvent any applicable sanctions of the United States, (E) the extent of any humanitarian activities undertaken by such company in Sudan, (F) whether such company is engaged solely in the provision of goods and services intended to relieve human suffering, or to promote welfare, health, education, religious or spiritual activities, (G) whether such company is authorized by the federal government of the United States to do business in Sudan, (H) evidence that such company has engaged the government of Sudan to cease its abuses in Darfur or other regions in Sudan, (I) whether such company is engaged solely in journalistic activities, and (J) any other factor that the Treasurer deems prudent. In the event that the Treasurer determines that divestment of state funds is warranted from a company in which state funds are invested due to such company doing business in Sudan, the Treasurer shall give notice to such company that such funds shall be divested from such company for as long as such company does business in Sudan.
(d) The State Treasurer shall, at least once per fiscal year, provide reports to the Investment Advisory Council on actions taken by the Treasurer pursuant to the provisions of this section.
(e) In the event that the President of the United States rescinds or repeals Executive Order 13067 the provisions of this section shall no longer be effective.