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House narrowly approves divestment bill targeting certain foreign companies doing business in Iran
Summary
After a heated floor debate that split the chamber, the House passed HB39 to require Utah retirement funds to divest from certain publicly traded foreign companies doing business in Iran; the bill passed 43–26 after proponents framed it as a moral stand and opponents warned of fiscal costs to retirees.
The Utah House passed House Bill 39 on a partisan and emotional floor debate that focused on whether state retirement funds should divest from publicly traded foreign companies doing business in Iran.
Representative Julie Fisher, sponsor of the bill, said HB39 seeks to ‘‘damage the economy of Iran’’ by removing investment exposure to foreign companies doing business with a government that the United States designates as a sponsor of terrorism. Fisher framed the bill narrowly as applying to publicly traded foreign companies and stressed a phased implementation with an effective date of July 1, 2009 and incremental divestment periods so the Utah Retirement Systems would not be required to sell at a loss.
Opponents, led by Representative Bigelow, urged defeat on fiscal-policy grounds. Bigelow warned that restrictions on investment choices would raise costs, potentially reduce returns, and ultimately burden Utah taxpayers and retirees. He cited a fiscal note the House had received and said divestment could cost the retirement fund “several million dollars.” Bigelow also questioned the effectiveness of state-level divestment on foreign policy outcomes and argued the policy creates precedent for future divestment requests.
Supporters invoked national-security and moral arguments. Representative Fisher and other supporters compared divestment to historical examples and argued the state can make a principled choice. The Utah Retirement Systems opposed the bill, and Fisher said the system had identified a list of companies doing business in Iran that could be divested.
The motion to pass HB39 carried on final passage by a vote of 43 yes to 26 no, with 6 absent. The bill, as amended on the floor to eliminate commingled funds, will be forwarded to the Senate for further consideration.
The transcript records both fiscal warnings from investment-policy critics and emotive appeals by supporters linking the measure to support for U.S. servicemembers; the House recorded a clear split in preference among members on the balance between fiscal stewardship of retirement funds and targeted divestment for foreign-policy reasons.
