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STATE OF OKLAHOMA
1st Session of the 59th Legislature (2023)
HOUSE BILL 2340 By: Lepak
AS INTRODUCED
An Act relating to government contracts; making
legislative findings with respect to certain
collusive activity; defining terms; prohibiti ng
certain government entities from entering into
certain contracts; specifying violative contractual
provisions; providing exceptions; prohibiting certain
actions with respect to financial institutions;
authorizing enforcement of act; authorizing Attorney
General to engage in discovery of information;
providing for recovery of treble damages; providing
for codification; and providing an effective date .
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statut es as Section 9301 of Title 74, unless there
is created a duplication in numb ering, reads as follows:
The Legislature finds that:
1. Numerous essential American industries —including fossil fuel
production, agriculture, timber production, and firearms —are being
targeted for boycotting, divesting, and sanctioning by large
corporations and public and private institutional investors;
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2. The goal of these colluding parties is to starve targeted
legal industries of capital, restrict their productivity, and
redirect that capital to favored industries;
3. These parties are working in concert with many state and
federal lawmakers and regulators , as evidenced most recently by new
climate disclosure rules from the United States Securities and
Exchange Commission;
4. Restricting the supply of energy and other essential
commodities, without effective substitutes for those commodities,
only serves to raise prices on consumers, profoundly impacting the
poorest among us;
5. Denying financing to American companies, who a re among the
most socially and environmentally responsible companies in the
world, only serves to support hostile nations and less responsible
producers;
6. Banks and insurance companies are inc reasingly denying
financing to creditworthy companies to marke t their environmental
credentials to the detriment of consumers, shareholders and society;
7. Institutional investors are divesting from entire ind ustries
and pressuring corporations to commit to environmental goals, such
as reducing greenhouse gas emissi ons to zero by 2050, to burnish
their environmental credentials or promote their own environmental,
social, and governance funds at the expense of i nvestor returns;
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8. Large investment firms, t hrough their proxy votes on
shareholder resolutions and board elections, are colluding to force
companies to direct money, time, and attention away from their core
responsibility of increasing shareholder retur ns, driving capital
allocation decisions and p olitical change outside the democratic
process;
9. Corporations are boycotting and sanctioning essential legal
industries, such as fossil fuel and agriculture producers, by
denying them capital, refusing to pr ovide them with products or
services or imposing undue burdens on them;
10. The collusion of corporations, and institutions to boycott,
divest from, or sanction any industry may violate existing antitrust
and fiduciary duty laws and harms consumers, share holders, and this
state; and
11. States, when financially prudent, should avoid doing
business with compani es that engage in such potentially illegal
conduct, and threaten harm to this state, its businesses, and
citizens.
SECTION 2. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 9302 of Title 74, unless there
is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
As used in this act:
1. "Company" means a for-profit organization, associat ion,
corporation, partnership, joint venture, limited pa rtnership,
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limited liability partnership, or limited liability company,
including a wholly owned subsidiary, majority -owned subsidiary,
parent company, or affiliate of those entities or business
associations. For the purposes of this section, "company" does not
include sole proprietorships ;
2. "Governmental entity" means a state agency or political
subdivision of this state ;
3. "Ordinary business purpose " does not include any purpose to
further social, political, or ideological interests. A company may
reasonably be determined to have taken an action, or considere d a
factor, with a purpose to further social, political, or ideological
interests based upon evidence indicating such a purpose , including,
but not limited to branding, advertising, statements, explanations,
reports, letters to clients, communications with portfolio
companies, statements of principles, or commitments, or
participation in, affiliation with, or status as a signatory to, any
coalition, initiative, joint statement of principles, or a greement;
4. "Economic boycott" means, without an ordinary bu siness
purpose, refusing to deal with, terminating business activities
with, or otherwise taking any commercial action that is i ntended to
penalize, inflict economic harm on, limit commercial re lations with,
or change or limit the activities of a company b ecause the company,
without violating controlling federal or state law:
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a. engages in the exploration, production, utilizat ion,
transportation, sale, or manufacturing of, fossil
fuel-based energy, timber, mining, or agriculture ,
b. engages in, facilitates, or supports the manufacture,
import, distribution, marketing or advertising, sale,
or lawful use of firearms, ammunition or component
parts and accessories of firearms or ammunition ,
c. does not meet, is not expected to meet, or does not
commit to meet environmental standards or disclosure
criteria, in particular to eliminate, reduce, offset,
or disclose greenhouse gas emissions,
d. does not meet, is not expected to meet, or does not
commit to meet corporate board, or employment,
composition, compensation, or disclosure criteria that
incorporates characteristics protected in this state
under applicable federal or state law protecting civil
rights,
e. does not facilitate, is not expected to facili tate, or
does not commit to facilitate access to abortion, sex
or gender change, or transgender surgery; or
f. does business with a company described by
subparagraphs a through c of this paragraph.
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SECTION 3. NEW LAW A new section o f law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 9303 of Title 74, unless there
is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
A. This section applies only to a contract that:
1. Is between a governmental entity and a company with ten (10)
or more full-time employees; and
2. Will pay a company One Hundred Thousand Dollars
($100,000.00) or more over the term of the contract t hat is to be
paid wholly or partly from public funds of the governmental entity;
provided, however, the provisions of this paragraph shall apply
separately to all comp anies in a multiple party contract.
B. Except as provided by this section, a governmental entity
may not enter into a contract with a company for goods or services
unless the contract contains a written verification from the company
that it:
1. Does not engage in economic boycotts; and
2. Will not engage in economic boycotts during the term of the
contract.
C. Subsection B of this section does not apply to a
governmental entity that determines the req uirements of subsection B
of this section are inconsistent with the governmental entity's
constitutional or statutory dutie s related to the issuance,
incurrence, or management of debt obligations or the deposit,
custody, management, borrowing, or investmen t of funds or that
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prevent the governmenta l entity from obtaining the supplies or
services to be provided in an economicall y practicable manner.
SECTION 4. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Sect ion 9304 of Title 74, unless there
is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
A. No party may take action to penalize or threaten to penalize
any financial institution for compliance with this a ct.
B. Any party taking such action shall have caused harm to this
state, including by interfering with the state's sovereign interests
in administering its p rograms and with the state 's commercial
relationships with its financial institutions.
SECTION 5. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 9305 of Title 74, unless there
is created a duplicat ion in numbering, reads as follows:
A. This act, or any contract subject to this a ct, may be
enforced by the Attorney General.
B. If the Attorney General has reasonable cause to believe that
a person has engaged in, is engaging in, or is about to engage in, a
violation of this article, the Attorney General may:
1. Require such person to file on such form s as the Attorney
General prescribes a statement or report in writin g, under oath, as
to all the facts and circumstances concern ing the violation, and
such other data and information as he may deem necessary ;
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2. Examine under oath any person in connection with the
violation;
3. Examine any record, book, document, account or paper as may
be necessary; and
4. Pursuant to an order of the district court, impound any
record, book, document, account, paper, or sample or material
relating to such practice and retain the same in his possession
until the completion of all pr oceedings undertaken under this act or
in the courts.
C. In addition to any other remedies available at law or
equity, a company that enters into a contract with a government
entity containing any v erifications required by Section 2 of this
act and engages in any economic boycott during the term of the
contract shall be obligated to pay damages to the state in an amount
equal to three times all monies paid to the company under the
contract.
SECTION 6. This act shall bec ome effective November 1, 2023.
59-1-5411 MAH 01/19/23