22 U.S.C. § 8532 — Authority of State and local governments to divest from certain companies that invest in Iran

(a) Sense of Congress. Congress believes the U.S. should support any state or local government that, for moral, careful, or reputational reasons, divests from — or bars investing in — a company involved in Iran's energy sector, as long as Iran remains under U.S. sanctions. (b) Authority to divest. No matter what other law says, a state or local government may adopt and enforce measures meeting (d)'s requirements to divest its assets from, or bar investing them in, any person it determines — using publicly available, credible information — engages in the investment activities in (c). (c) Investment activities described. A person engages in these activities if they (1) have a $20,000,000+ investment in Iran's energy sector, including companies supplying oil or gas tankers or pipeline materials for it, or (2) are a financial institution extending $20,000,000 or more in credit for 45 days or more to someone who will use it to invest in Iran's energy sector. (d) Requirements. Any state or local measure under (b) must (1) give written notice to each affected person; (2) not apply to that person until at least 90 days after that notice; (3) let the person comment in writing, and drop the measure if the person shows they don't engage in the activities in (c); and (4) — Congress's sense — avoid mistakenly targeting people, verifying first that they really engage in those activities. (e) Notice to the Justice Department. Within 30 days of adopting a measure under (b), the state or local government must send the Attorney General written notice describing it. (f) No federal preemption. A measure authorized under (b) or (i) is not preempted by federal law or regulation. (g) Definitions. (1) 'Assets' generally means public money, including pension, retirement, annuity, or endowment funds controlled by a state or local government — except (2) it does not include employee benefit plans covered by title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. (2) 'Investment' includes (A) committing or contributing funds or property, (B) a loan or other credit, and (C) signing or renewing a contract for goods or services. (h) Effective date. (1) Except as (2) or (i) provide, this section applies to measures adopted before, on, or after July 1, 2010. (2) Except as (i) provides, the notice rules in (d) and (e) apply only to measures adopted on or after July 1, 2010. (i) Measures adopted earlier. (1) No matter what else this section or other law says, a state or local government may enforce a measure adopted before July 1, 2010 — without following (d)'s requirements, except as (2) says — that divests from, or bars investment in, a person the government determines, using public credible information, engages in Iran investment activities (without regard to (c)'s specific $20,000,000 threshold) or other Iran-related business named in the measure. (2) Such a measure must follow (d)(1), (d)(2), and the first sentence of (d)(3), starting two years after July 1, 2010. (j) Rule of construction. Nothing in this Act, or any other Iran-sanctions law, limits a state's authority to regulate the safety, soundness, and solvency of financial institutions under its jurisdiction, or the business of insurance under the McCarran-Ferguson Act.