1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to state government; prohibiting state investment in companies with 
1.3 	equity ties to Sudan; requiring a report;proposing coding for new law in 
1.4 	Minnesota Statutes, chapter 11A.
1.5 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.6 	Section 1. [11A.242] INVESTMENT IN SUDAN.
1.7 		Subdivision 1.Findings.  The legislature finds and declares that: 
1.8 	(1) the state of Minnesota is deeply concerned over the poor human rights situation 
1.9 	in Sudan, calls for stepped-up international efforts to end the crisis in Sudan's Darfur 
1.10 	region, and concurs with United States policy which has officially declared that genocide 
1.11 	is ongoing in the Sudan; 
1.12 	(2) despite significant pressure from the United States government, the government 
1.13 	of Sudan has not taken all the necessary actions to disassociate itself fully from its ties to 
1.14 	terrorism; 
1.15 	(3) the government of Sudan places severe limitations on the political and religious 
1.16 	freedoms of the Sudanese people despite promises of improvement and pledges to 
1.17 	end the 20-year civil war between the government and the Sudan People's Liberation 
1.18 	Movement/Army; 
1.19 	(4) the government of Sudan violates the rules of war by deliberately attacking 
1.20 	civilians and, since 1983, the war and famine-related effects have led to more than 
1.21 	2,000,000 deaths and over 4,000,000 people displaced; 
1.22 	(5) the government of Sudan continues to engage in arbitrary arrest, prolonged 
1.23 	detention, extrajudicial killings, torture and rape of the Sudanese people, and apostasy 
1.24 	from Islam is punishable by death; 
2.1 	(6) severe restrictions are placed on the freedoms of assembly, association, 
2.2 	movement, and speech and the government actively censors the press; 
2.3 	(7) the most sobering violation of human rights in Sudan is the existence of slavery 
2.4 	or slavery-like indenture and the progovernment militia continues to engage in abduction 
2.5 	and slavery with impunity; 
2.6 	(8) the 2002 Machakos Protocol, signed by both sides in the civil war in Sudan, has 
2.7 	recognized that "Sudan is a multicultural, multiracial, multi-ethnic, multi-religious, and 
2.8 	multi-lingual country," and that there "shall be freedom of belief, worship and conscience 
2.9 	for followers of all religions or beliefs or customs and no one shall be discriminated 
2.10 	against on such grounds" once a peace agreement is signed; and 
2.11 	(9) it is in the best interest of this state that a statutory prohibition be enacted to 
2.12 	prohibit the investment of public employee retirement funds in foreign companies doing 
2.13 	business in Sudan given the poor human rights situation in Sudan and the lack of signs of 
2.14 	improvement. 
2.15 		Subd. 2. Investment in company with equity ties to Sudan; prohibited. 
 2.16 	Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, no assets under the jurisdiction of the State 
2.17 	Board of Investment shall be invested in any foreign company with an equity tie to 
2.18 	the government of Sudan or its instrumentalities and is engaged in business in or 
2.19 	with the same. The provisions of this section shall not apply to the activities of any 
2.20 	foreign company providing humanitarian aid to the Sudanese people through either a 
2.21 	governmental or nongovernmental organization.
2.22 	As used in this section, "equity tie" means manufacturing or mining plants, 
2.23 	employees or advisors, facilities or an investment, fiduciary, monetary or physical 
2.24 	presence of any kind; and "humanitarian aid" means the provision of goods and services 
2.25 	intended to relieve human suffering or to promote the general welfare, health, and 
2.26 	religious and spiritual activities. 
2.27 		Subd. 3. Withdrawal from certain investments.  The State Board of Investment 
2.28 	shall, after reviewing the recommendations of, and consulting with, an independent 
2.29 	research firm that specializes in global security risk for portfolio determinations, take 
2.30 	appropriate action to sell, redeem, divest, or withdraw any investment held in violation of 
2.31 	the provisions of this section. This section does not require the premature or otherwise 
2.32 	imprudent sale, redemption, divestment, or withdrawal of an investment, but such sale, 
2.33 	redemption, divestment, or withdrawal shall be completed not later than three years 
2.34 	following the effective date of this section.
2.35 		Subd. 4. Report.  Within 60 days after the effective date of this section, the State 
2.36 	Board of Investment shall file with the legislature a report of all investments held as of 
3.1 	the effective date of this section which are in violation of the provisions of this section. 
3.2 	Every year thereafter, the State Board of Investment shall report on all investments sold, 
3.3 	redeemed, divested, or withdrawn in compliance with this section.
3.4 	Each report after the initial report shall provide a description of the progress which 
3.5 	the division has made since the previous report and since the implementation of this 
3.6 	section.