Public hearing on HB 977: proposal would require Missouri public pensions to screen, divest from entities tied to foreign adversaries

House Bill 977, introduced in committee by Representative Hovis, would require public pension boards in Missouri to identify and, with specified exceptions, divest from investments tied to foreign adversaries identified on federal restricted lists.

Missouri State Treasurer Vivek Malik testified in support, saying the bill "would protect Missouri's pension public employer retirement funds from financial and national security threats posed by foreign adversaries." Malik described the measure as requiring public pension boards to review holdings by Dec. 1, 2025, and to divest from restricted investments by Aug. 28, 2026, unless immediate divestment would cause significant financial harm; in that case a limited extension to Aug. 28, 2028, may be available under conditions set in the bill. He said the categories of restricted entities would include companies on the U.S. Department of Commerce entity list, companies identified on the U.S. Department of Defense Chinese Military-Industrial Complex (CCMC) list, entities sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), and companies subject to China's national…