The State Treasurer wants to make her proposal urging public pension funds to make terror-free investments official, but not illegal, yet.
Treasurer Sarah Steelman is working with state lawmakers to pass a bi-partisan, non-binding resolution that would call on the state’s public pension funds to take a second look at who’s benefiting from their investments. The resolution calls for state pension funds to avoid investing in companies that have direct finanical ties with countries the U.S. State Department identifies as sponsors of terrorism. Those countries include Iran, Sudan, North Korea and Syria.
Steelman says her staff estimates that about $1 billion to $2 billion is being invested in companies tied to these countries. The resolution is only a recommendation and would not make such investments illegal. House Speaker Rod Jetton says he fully supports the effort. He says he expects the legislation to sail through both the Senate and the House.