Minnesota 2025-2026 Regular Session

Minnesota House Bill HF2806 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	1.1 A bill for an act
2	2	1.2 relating to state government; prohibiting the State Board of Investment from
3	3	1.3 investing in companies that boycott mining, energy production, production
4	4	1.4 agriculture, or commercial lumber production; requiring the State Board of
5	5	1.5 Investment to divest from companies that boycott mining, energy production,
6	6	1.6 production agriculture, or commercial lumber production; prohibiting the state of
7	7	1.7 Minnesota or any state agency from entering into contracts with companies that
8	8	1.8 boycott mining, energy production, production agriculture, or commercial lumber
9	9	1.9 production; prohibiting banks, credit unions, financial institutions, payment
10	10	1.10 processors, savings and loan associations, and trust companies from discriminating
11	11	1.11 against people based on certain subjective criteria; providing for civil penalties;
12	12	1.12 requiring a report; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapters
13	13	1.13 11A; 16; 46.
14	14	1.14BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
15	15	1.15 Section 1. TITLE.
16	16	1.16 This act shall be cited as "The Stop Environmental Social Governance (ESG) and Social
17	17	1.17Credit Score Discrimination Act."
18	18	1.18 Sec. 2. [11A.246] PROHIBITING INVESTMENT IN COMPANIES THAT
19	19	1.19BOYCOTT MINING, ENERGY PRODUCTION, PRODUCTION AGRICULTURE,
20	20	1.20OR COMMERCIAL LUMBER PRODUCTION.
21	21	1.21 Subdivision 1.Definitions.(a) For the purposes of this section, the following terms have
22	22	1.22the meanings given.
23	23	1.23 (b) "Boycott" means refusing to deal with, terminating business activities with, or
24	24	1.24otherwise taking any action that is intended to penalize, inflict economic harm on, or limit
25	25	1.25commercial relations with a company because the company does not commit or pledge to
26	26	1.26meet environmental standards beyond applicable federal and state law or because the
27	27	1Sec. 2.
28	28	REVISOR BD/MI 25-0121012/11/24
29	29	State of Minnesota
30	30	This Document can be made available
31	31	in alternative formats upon request
32	32	HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
33	33	H. F. No. 2806
34	34	NINETY-FOURTH SESSION
35	35	Authored by Hudson03/26/2025
36	36	The bill was read for the first time and referred to the Committee on State Government Finance and Policy 2.1company conducts business with another company that does not commit or pledge to meet
37	37	2.2environmental standards beyond applicable federal and state law.
38	38	2.3 (c) "Direct holdings" means all publicly traded debt and equity securities of a company
39	39	2.4that are held directly by the State Board of Investment or held in an account or fund in which
40	40	2.5the State Board of Investment owns all shares or interests.
41	41	2.6 (d) "Director" means the executive director of the State Board of Investment.
42	42	2.7 (e) "Listed company" means that the director has determined that the company boycotts
43	43	2.8mining, energy production, production agriculture, or commercial lumber production.
44	44	2.9 (f) "State board" means the State Board of Investment.
45	45	2.10 Subd. 2.Combined investment fund.The requirements of this section apply only to
46	46	2.11assets in the Minnesota combined investment funds established under section 11A.14 and
47	47	2.12do not apply to any of the other funds managed and administered by the state board.
48	48	2.13 Subd. 3.No new investment.The state board shall not invest in stocks, debt, or other
49	49	2.14securities of any listed company.
50	50	2.15 Subd. 4.Divestment.The state board shall, in accordance with prudent investment
51	51	2.16standards, divest from any stocks, debt, or other securities of any listed company that are
52	52	2.17direct holdings of the state board. The board must complete divestment pursuant to this
53	53	2.18subdivision by July 1, 2030.
54	54	2.19 Subd. 5.Review process.A company that the director determines is a listed company
55	55	2.20may request a review of that determination by submitting to the director a request for review
56	56	2.21along with evidence showing that the company does not boycott mining, energy production,
57	57	2.22production agriculture, or commercial lumber production. Upon receipt by the director of
58	58	2.23sufficient evidence showing that such a company does not boycott mining, energy production,
59	59	2.24production agriculture, or commercial lumber production, the company is no longer
60	60	2.25considered a listed company for purposes of the requirements in this section.
61	61	2.26 Subd. 6.Reporting.By January 15 of each calendar year, the state board shall submit
62	62	2.27a report to the chairs and ranking minority members of the legislative committees and
63	63	2.28divisions with jurisdiction over the state board. The report must be based on the state board's
64	64	2.29holdings and information available as of June 30 of the preceding year. The report must
65	65	2.30include:
66	66	2.31 (1) the name of each listed company;
67	67	2Sec. 2.
68	68	REVISOR BD/MI 25-0121012/11/24 3.1 (2) the name of each company that the director determines meets the definition of a
69	69	3.2listed company in which the state board is invested and the value of those investments; and
70	70	3.3 (3) the name of each listed company from which the state board has divested under this
71	71	3.4section and the value of the corresponding divested securities.
72	72	3.5 Subd. 7.Other legal obligations.The state board is exempt from any statutory or
73	73	3.6common law obligations that conflict with actions taken in compliance with this section,
74	74	3.7including all good faith determinations under subdivision 6, and determinations regarding
75	75	3.8the choice of asset managers, investment funds, or investments.
76	76	3.9 EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective July 1, 2025.
77	77	3.10 Sec. 3. [16.0531] PROHIBITING STATE CONTRACTS WITH COMPANIES
78	78	3.11BOYCOTTING MINING, ENERGY PRODUCTION, PRODUCTION
79	79	3.12AGRICULTURE, OR COMMERCIAL LUMBER PRODUCTION.
80	80	3.13 Subdivision 1.Definition.For the purposes of this chapter, "boycott" means refusing
81	81	3.14to deal with, terminating business activities with, or otherwise taking any action that is
82	82	3.15intended to penalize, inflict economic harm on, or limit commercial relations with a company
83	83	3.16because the company does not commit or pledge to meet environmental standards beyond
84	84	3.17applicable federal and state law or because the company conducts business with another
85	85	3.18company that does not commit or pledge to meet environmental standards beyond applicable
86	86	3.19federal and state law.
87	87	3.20 Subd. 2.Boycotting prohibited.(a) In a state contract for goods or services, a vendor
88	88	3.21must certify that: (1) the vendor does not boycott mining, energy production, production
89	89	3.22agriculture, or commercial lumber production companies; and (2) the vendor will not boycott
90	90	3.23mining, energy production, production agriculture, or commercial lumber production
91	91	3.24companies. This section applies to all state agencies, including the Minnesota State Colleges
92	92	3.25and Universities and to contracts entered into by entities in the legislative branch.
93	93	3.26 (b) The commissioners of administration and management and budget shall exercise
94	94	3.27appropriate due diligence in selecting vendors for goods or services to avoid contracting
95	95	3.28with companies that boycott mining, energy production, production agriculture, or
96	96	3.29commercial lumber production. The commissioners shall implement measures designed to
97	97	3.30meet the objective of this section and take the steps necessary to confirm that vendors have
98	98	3.31satisfied the requirements of this section.
99	99	3.32 Subd. 3.Civil penalty.If a court finds that a vendor boycotted mining, energy production,
100	100	3.33production agriculture, or commercial lumber production companies during the duration of
101	101	3Sec. 3.
102	102	REVISOR BD/MI 25-0121012/11/24 4.1a contract with the state for goods or services, the court must assess a civil penalty of $10,000
103	103	4.2on the vendor.
104	104	4.3 EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective July 1, 2025, and applies to contracts
105	105	4.4entered into on or after that date.
106	106	4.5 Sec. 4. [46.36] DISCRIMINATION PROHIBITED.
107	107	4.6 Subdivision 1.Discrimination prohibited.(a) A bank, credit union, financial institution,
108	108	4.7payment processor, savings and loan association, or trust company shall not refuse to provide
109	109	4.8financial services of any kind to, refrain from continuing to provide existing financial
110	110	4.9services to, terminate existing financial services with, or otherwise discriminate in the
111	111	4.10provision of financial services against a person based on the following:
112	112	4.11 (1) the person's political affiliation; or
113	113	4.12 (2) any value-based or impact-based criteria, including but not limited to social credit
114	114	4.13scores or environmental, social, and governance credit factors.
115	115	4.14 (b) Notwithstanding any other provision to the contrary, a financial institution may offer
116	116	4.15investments, products, or services to a potential customer or investor based on subjective
117	117	4.16standards only if the standards are fully disclosed and explained to the potential customer
118	118	4.17or investor before entering into a contract for the investment, product, or service. The
119	119	4.18financial institution shall obtain a signature from the potential customer or investor attesting
120	120	4.19that the financial institution has disclosed and explained the subjective standards being used
121	121	4.20by the financial institution.
122	122	4.21 (c) The provisions of this section must not be construed in any manner that would
123	123	4.22interfere with a financial institution's ability to discontinue or refuse to conduct business
124	124	4.23with a person when the action is necessary for the physical safety of the financial institution's
125	125	4.24employees.
126	126	4.25 (d) The legislature declares that the practice of discriminating against a person or entity
127	127	4.26in this state based upon the person's or entity's social credit score or any other valuation
128	128	4.27based on environmental, social, and governmental credit factors is a matter of statewide
129	129	4.28concern and that discrimination based on such scores and metrics is not only a threat to the
130	130	4.29rights and proper privileges of this state's inhabitants but menaces the institutions and
131	131	4.30foundation of a free democratic state and threatens the peace, order, health, safety, and
132	132	4.31general welfare of this state and its inhabitants.
133	133	4.32 Subd. 2.Civil remedy.A person who is refused services by a bank, credit union, financial
134	134	4.33institution, payment processor, savings and loan association, or trust company as described
135	135	4Sec. 4.
136	136	REVISOR BD/MI 25-0121012/11/24 5.1in subdivision 1 may bring an action for injunctive relief, a civil penalty of $10,000, and
137	137	5.2actual, incidental, and consequential damages sustained by the person as a result of the
138	138	5.3refusal. If a court finds a violation of subdivision 1, the court must assess a civil penalty of
139	139	5.4$10,000 on the bank, credit union, financial institution, payment processor, savings and
140	140	5.5loan association, or trust company, in addition to an award of damages. A plaintiff or class
141	141	5.6successful in a legal or equitable action under this section is entitled to the costs of the
142	142	5.7action, plus reasonable attorney fees.
143	143	5.8 Sec. 5. SEVERABILITY.
144	144	5.9 The provisions of this act are severable. If any provision of this act or its application is
145	145	5.10held invalid, that invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications that can be given
146	146	5.11effect without the invalid provision or application.
147	147	5Sec. 5.
148	148	REVISOR BD/MI 25-0121012/11/24