HB2780: PEN CD-PROHIBITED TRANSACTIONS

Legislative Summary

Amends the General Provisions Article of the Illinois Pension Code. With regard to the 5 State-funded retirement systems, provides that the following are forbidden entities for purposes of investment and certain other transactions: Hamas; any company or entity that is wholly or partially managed or controlled by Hamas; any company identified by the Office of Foreign Assets Control in the United States Department of the Treasury as sponsoring terrorist activities in conjunction with Hamas or under specified regulations pertaining to terrorism sanctions; any company that has been fined, penalized, or sanctioned by the Office of Foreign Assets Control in the United States Department of the Treasury for any violation of any United States rules and restrictions relating to Hamas that occurred at any time following the effective date of the amendatory Act; or any company that has business operations that involve contracts with or the provision of supplies or services to Hamas, companies in which Hamas has any direct or indirect equity share, or consortiums or projects commissioned by Hamas. Provides that a retirement system shall not transfer or disburse funds to, deposit into, acquire any bonds or commercial paper from, or otherwise loan to or invest in any entity unless a certifying company certifies to the retirement system that: (1) with respect to investments in a publicly traded company, the certifying company has relied on information provided by an independent researching firm that specializes in global security risk; and (2) 100% of the retirement system's assets for which the certifying company provides services or advice are not and have not been invested or reinvested in any forbidden entity at any time after 4 months after the effective date of the amendatory Act. Requires the Illinois Investment Policy Board to make its best efforts to identify all Hamas-restricted companies and include those companies in the list of restricted companies for purposes of investment distributed to each retirement system and the Illinois State Board of Investment. Makes conforming changes.