Florida Senate - 2018 SB 538
By Senator Garcia
36-00707-18 2018538__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to state and local governmental
3 relations with the government of Venezuela; amending
4 s. 215.471, F.S.; requiring the State Board of
5 Administration to divest investments, and prohibiting
6 it from investment, in any institution or company or
7 subsidiary of a company domiciled in the United States
8 which does business in or with the government of
9 Venezuela or its agencies or instrumentalities in
10 violation of federal law; defining the term
11 “government of Venezuela”; authorizing the Governor to
12 waive such requirements under certain circumstances;
13 prohibiting the State Board of Administration from
14 voting on any proxy resolution advocating expanded
15 United States trade with the government of Venezuela;
16 amending s. 215.472, F.S.; prohibiting state agencies
17 from investing in any financial institution or company
18 or foreign subsidiary of a company domiciled in the
19 United States which engages in specified transactions
20 with the government of Venezuela or certain companies
21 in violation of federal law; defining the term
22 “government of Venezuela”; authorizing the Governor to
23 waive such prohibition under certain circumstances;
24 providing an effective date.
25
26 WHEREAS, the current government of Venezuela is intolerable
27 to its people and continues to demonstrate the use of extreme
28 violence and political persecution in the orchestrated
29 suppression of human rights, and
30 WHEREAS, the regime of President Nicolas Maduro continues
31 to unjustly detain and prosecute political prisoners in spite of
32 international calls for their complete freedom, and
33 WHEREAS, the State of Florida stands in unity with the
34 people of Venezuela in their fight for democracy and freedom
35 from the oppressive Maduro regime, and
36 WHEREAS, the United States has deemed the situation in
37 Venezuela an extraordinary threat to our national security and
38 foreign policy, and
39 WHEREAS, the United States has issued sanctions against
40 Venezuelan officials, including Nicolas Maduro, who has been
41 identified as a “specially designated national” and labeled a
42 dictator by the United States Department of the Treasury, NOW,
43 THEREFORE,
44
45 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
46
47 Section 1. Paragraph (c) is added to subsection (1) of
48 section 215.471, Florida Statutes, and subsection (2) of that
49 section is amended, to read:
50 215.471 Divestiture by the State Board of Administration;
51 reporting requirements.—
52 (1) The State Board of Administration shall divest any
53 investment under s. 121.151 and ss. 215.44-215.53, and is
54 prohibited from investment in stocks, securities, or other
55 obligations of:
56 (c) Any institution or company domiciled in the United
57 States, or foreign subsidiary of a company domiciled in the
58 United States, doing business in or with the government of
59 Venezuela, or with agencies or instrumentalities thereof, in
60 violation of federal law. As used in this section, the term
61 “government of Venezuela” means the government of Venezuela, its
62 agencies or instrumentalities, or companies majority-owned or
63 controlled by the government of Venezuela. The Governor may
64 waive the requirements of this paragraph in the event that there
65 is a collapse of the government in Venezuela and there is a need
66 for immediate aid to Venezuela before the convening of the
67 Legislature, or for other humanitarian reasons as determined by
68 the Governor.
69 (2) The State Board of Administration may not be a
70 fiduciary under this section with respect to voting on, and may
71 not have the right to vote in favor of, any proxy resolution
72 advocating expanded United States trade with Cuba, or Syria, or
73 the government of Venezuela. The board’s staff shall report on
74 its activities in its annual proxy voting report.
75 Section 2. Subsection (3) is added to section 215.472,
76 Florida Statutes, to read:
77 215.472 Prohibited investments.—Notwithstanding any other
78 provision of law, each state agency, as defined in s. 216.011,
79 is prohibited from investing in:
80 (3) Any financial institution or company domiciled in the
81 United States, or any foreign subsidiary of a company domiciled
82 in the United States, which directly or through a United States
83 or foreign subsidiary makes any loan, extends credit of any kind
84 or character, advances funds in any manner, or purchases or
85 trades any goods or services with the government of Venezuela,
86 or any company doing business in or with the government of
87 Venezuela in violation of federal law. As used in this
88 subsection, the term “government of Venezuela” means the
89 government of Venezuela, its agencies or instrumentalities, or
90 companies majority-owned or controlled by the government of
91 Venezuela. The Governor may waive the prohibition in this
92 subsection in the event that there is a collapse of the
93 government in Venezuela and there is a need for immediate aid to
94 Venezuela before the convening of the Legislature, or for other
95 humanitarian reasons as determined by the Governor.
96 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2018.