Tag: boycott

The Missouri House has voted to bar the state and its local governments from entering into contracts with companies that are participating in a movement to boycott Israel.

House Bill 2179 would prevent any public entity in Missouri from doing business with any such company except those owned by a single individual.  The bill is sponsored by House Speaker Todd Richardson (R-Poplar Bluff) and was carried on the House Floor by Speaker Pro Tem Elijah Haahr (R-Springfield).

“There’s a movement across the last couple of decades called the BDS movement – Boycott, Divest, and Sanction Israel – in response to that movement 26 states in this country have passed legislation to reiterate their ties to work with the Nation of Israel, Missouri being one of those states that should adopt this,” said Haahr.

Haahr said the legislature should pass HB 2179 because of Missouri’s economic ties to Israel.

“We do millions of dollars in economic development.  We’ve created hundreds of jobs in Missouri as a result of our trade partnership with them.  We have a trade location in Israel.  We’ve had at least six Israeli companies move to St. Louis, Missouri, as startups because of our trade relationships,” said Haahr.

St. Louis Democrat Bruce Franks, Junior, said many Missourians won’t like that the bill would discourage companies from boycotting Israel even if those companies’ leaders hold strong or personal beliefs about that country’s policies.

“There are a lot of people that … a lot of people in Missouri … that feel as if the Palestinians are being persecuted – being treated terribly – by Israel,” said Franks.

Some Democrats argue HB 2179 would be unconstitutional, saying it would infringe on free speech.  St. Louis representative Peter Merideth (D) said the ruling by the Kansas Supreme Court regarding a similar law in that state proves that point.

“It’s without a doubt a restriction on speech in our state.  The [Supreme] Court has established that.  The Kansas court said it emphatically – this is a violation of the First Amendment.  They made no distinction between a sole proprietor and a business, and our Supreme Court has actually said the First Amendment applies equally to corporations as it does to individuals,” said Merideth.

Speaker Richardson said the bill does not infringe on anyone’s right to free speech or on a corporation’s ability to boycott Israel, and said the Kansas ruling has no bearing on HB 2179 because what it proposes would not extend to individually-owned operations.  Kansas’ law did extend to sole proprietorships and was challenged by one such entity.

“Can we stop using the Kansas decision as some sort of definitive precedent that this is unconstitutional?” asked Richardson.  “I refer to it as the Kansas boogeyman:  ‘This is like Kansas!  This is like Kansas!  This is like Kansas!’  We’re not Kansas, and I don’t want to have a law that’s overly broad here just like I don’t want to have tax policy in Missouri that’s exactly like Kansas, but using the straw man of saying everything we do out here is Kansas, therefore we can’t do it, is disingenuous on this bill because it’s not the same.”

The House voted 111-35 to send HB 2179 to the Senate.