Florida Senate - 2016 SENATOR AMENDMENT
Bill No. SB 7028
Ì537108)Î537108
LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Senate . House
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Floor: 1/AD/2R .
03/03/2016 10:36 AM .
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Senator Simmons moved the following:
1 Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
2
3 Before line 17
4 insert:
5 Section 1. Section 215.4702, Florida Statutes, is created
6 to read:
7 215.4702 Investments in publicly traded companies operating
8 in Northern Ireland.—
9 (1) As used in this section, the term:
10 (a) “MacBride Principles” means the objectives for
11 companies operating in Northern Ireland to:
12 1. Increase the representation of individuals from
13 underrepresented religious groups in the workforce, including
14 managerial, supervisory, administrative, clerical, and technical
15 jobs.
16 2. Provide adequate security for the protection of minority
17 employees both at the workplace and while traveling to and from
18 work.
19 3. Ban provocative religious or political emblems from the
20 workplace.
21 4. Publicly advertise all job openings and make special
22 recruitment efforts to attract applicants from underrepresented
23 religious groups.
24 5. Provide that layoff, recall, and termination procedures
25 should not in practice favor particular religious groups.
26 6. Abolish job reservations, apprenticeship restrictions,
27 and differential employment criteria that discriminate on the
28 basis of religion or ethnic origin.
29 7. Develop training programs that will prepare substantial
30 numbers of current minority employees for skilled jobs,
31 including the expansion of existing programs and the creation of
32 new programs to train, upgrade, and improve the skills of
33 minority employees.
34 8. Establish procedures to assess, identify, and actively
35 recruit minority employees with potential for further
36 advancement.
37 9. Appoint senior management staff members to oversee
38 affirmative action efforts and to set up timetables to carry out
39 affirmative action principles.
40 (b) “Operating” means actively engaging in commerce
41 geographically in Northern Ireland through the acquisition,
42 development, maintenance, ownership, sale, possession, lease, or
43 operation of equipment, facilities, personnel, products,
44 services, or personal property.
45 (c) “Publicly traded company” means any business
46 organization having equity securities listed on a national or an
47 international exchange that is regulated by a national or an
48 international regulatory authority.
49 (d) “State board” means the State Board of Administration.
50 (2) The state board is encouraged to determine which
51 publicly traded companies in which the Florida Retirement System
52 Trust Fund is invested operate in Northern Ireland. If the state
53 board determines that a publicly traded company meets such
54 criteria, the state board is encouraged to:
55 (a) Notify the publicly traded company that the state board
56 supports the MacBride Principles;
57 (b) Inquire regarding the actions that the publicly traded
58 company has taken in support of or furtherance of the MacBride
59 Principles;
60 (c) Encourage a publicly traded company that has not
61 adopted the MacBride Principles to make all lawful efforts to
62 implement the fair employment practices embodied in the MacBride
63 Principles; and
64 (d) Support the adoption of the MacBride Principles in
65 exercising its proxy voting authority. For these purposes, the
66 state board may not be a fiduciary under this section in
67 exercising its proxy voting authority.
68 (3) In making the determination specified in subsection
69 (2), the state board may, to the extent it deems appropriate,
70 rely on available public information, including information
71 provided by nonprofit organizations, research firms,
72 international organizations, and government entities.
73 (4) The state board may not be held liable for, and a cause
74 of action does not arise from, any action or inaction by the
75 state board in the administration of this section.
76
77 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================
78 And the title is amended as follows:
79 Between lines 2 and 3
80 insert:
81 creating s. 215.4702, F.S.; defining terms;
82 encouraging the State Board of Administration to
83 determine which publicly traded companies in which the
84 Florida Retirement System Trust Fund is invested
85 operate in Northern Ireland; encouraging the state
86 board to take certain action upon making a
87 determination; authorizing the state board to rely on
88 public information in making a determination;
89 providing that the state board is not liable or
90 subject to a cause of action under the act;