U.S. State Anti-BDS Legislation

Individual state governments began taking action against the anti-Israel boycott, divest, and sanction (BDS) movement in 2015, with anti-BDS legislative enactments, legislative resolutions, and issuance of executive orders by state governors. The legislation falls into 2 main categories: (1) prohibition of public entities contracting with businesses that are engaged in BDS activities against Israel (and in some instances other countries); and (2) prohibition of government entities investing in companies that are engaged in BDS activities, requiring the divestment of prior holdings in those companies, and maintenance of a government list of those companies.Of the 3 tables below,

  • The 1st table lists all 50 states, with there being a checkmark for those 35 states (as of 15 Aug 2022) that have anti-BDS laws or executive orders in effect. There are also pop-ups that have short descriptions of the law or executive order, and links to the text, to the legislative background, and where appropriate, to information on scrutinized companies. States in the table that have adopted non-binding resolutions only have a link to the text.
  • The 2nd table lists the state enactments by basic type. States which have adopted resolutions of no legal effect are listed in the 2nd but not the 1st table.
  • The 3rd lists by date of enactment. 

The text of each enactment is available in PDF format from all 3 tables. For states which have amended legislation, the original and amending legislation are combined into one file in the 1st and 2nd tables but are separate in the 3rd.


I. List of All 50 States Indicating Which Have Anti-BDS Laws or Executive Orders in Effect [37 states as of 6 Jul 2023 – click on the state name for description and documentation] [Note: in some instances, links to state legislative websites will not work from outside the United States. They can be accessed through a VPN which utilizes a URL in the United States.]

AlabamaIndianaNebraskaSouth Carolina
AlaskaIowaNevadaSouth Dakota
ArizonaKansasNew HamshireTennessee
ArkansasKentuckyNew JerseyTexas
CaliforniaLouisianaNew MexicoUtah
ColoradoMaineNew YorkVermont
ConnecticutMarylandNorth CarolinaVirginia
DelawareMassachusettsNorth DakotaWashington
FloridaMichiganOhioWest Virginia
GeorgiaMinnesotaOklahomaWisconsin
HawaiiMississippiOregonWyoming
IdahoMissouriPennsylvania
IllinoisMontanaRhode Island

II. Categorization of State Enactments by Type

Prohibits State or political subdivision from investing in companies involved in a boycott against IsraelProhibits State or political subdivision from contracting with businesses involved in a boycott against IsraelProhibits State or political subdivision from contracting with businesses involved in certain boycotts (Israel not specified)Prohibits State or political subdivision from contracting with businesses which discriminates against Israel or other countriesLegislative Resolutions condemning BDS (no legal effect)
Arizona1Arizona1,2AlabamaCaliforniaAlabama8
Arkansas1Arkansas1,4KentuckyOhioOklahoma9
ColoradoFlorida1MichiganTennessee8
Florida1Georgia6PennsylvaniaVirginia
IllinoisIdahoRhode Island
IndianaIowa1South Carolina
Iowa1Kansas3
MississippiLouisiana
Nevada1Maryland7
New Hamshire1Minnesota
New JerseyMissouri
New YorkNevada1
North Carolina1New Hamshire1
North Dakota1North Carolina1
Texas5North Dakota1
South Dakota
Oklahoma9
Tennessee8
Texas5
Utah
West Virginia
Wisconsin

1 The provisions in Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, and North Dakota include both of the first two categories.
2 On September 27, 2018,  a preliminary injunction was issued enjoining enforcement of the contracting prohibition (the injunction did not affect the investing prohibition). After the law was amended, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals vacated the preliminary injunction and directed the lower court to dismiss the case as moot. For additional information and litigation documents see the BDS Litigation page.
3 A lawsuit challenging the Kansas statute was dismissed upon agreement of the parties after approval of a legislative amendment narrowing the scope of the prohibition. For additional information and litigation documents see the BDS Litigation page
.
4 The Arkansas statute was challenged in a lawsuit filed in December 2018. It was struck down on appeal. However, the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals held an en banc rehearing and reversed. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case. For additional information and litigation documents see the BDS Litigation page.
5 There have been four challenges to the Texas statute.  In two of the cases, an injunction was issued against the statute, but after it was amended, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals vacated the injunction and ordered both cases dismissed as moot. In the other two, both were ordered dismissed on appeal by the 5th Circuit for lack of standing. For additional information and litigation documents see the BDS Litigation page.
6 The Georgia statute was challenged in a lawsuit filed in February 2020. After the statute was amended in 2022, the suit was dismissed for mootness and lack of standing. The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal. For additional information and litigation documents see the BDS Litigation page.
7 The Maryland Executive Order was challenged in a lawsuit filed in January 2019. The case was dismissed by the District Court and upheld by the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals on appeal. For additional information and litigation documents see the BDS Litigation page.
The joint resolution has been superseded by legislation.
The Oklahoma house resolution, adopted on 4 May 2022, does not affect existing legislation.


III. Chronology of Enactments

StateDate Signed Into LawText As Enacted
Tennessee1April 24, 2015Tenn. Sen. J. Res. 170
South CarolinaJune 4, 2015S. Carolina Code Sec. 11-35-5300
IllinoisJuly 23, 2015Ill. Pension Code Sec. 1-110.16
Alabama2February 16, 2016Ala. Sen. J. Res. 6
VirginiaMarch 9, 2016Virginia House J. Res. 177
FloridaMarch 10, 2016Laws of Florida Ch. 2016-36
Arizona3March 17, 2016Ariz. Rev. Stat. Title 35, Ch. 2, Art. 9
ColoradoMarch 18, 2016Colo. Rev. Stat. Art. 54.8 Part 2
IndianaMarch 23, 2016Indiana-Code-IC-5-10.2-11
Georgia4April 26, 2016Georgia Code Sec. 50-5-85
Alabama2May 10, 2016Alabama Act 2016-312
Iowa5May 10, 2016Iowa Code 12J.1-7
New YorkJune 5, 2016New York Exec. Order No. 157
Rhode IslandJuly 14, 2016R.I. Chap. 477 Laws of 2016
New JerseyAugust 16, 2016N.J. Pub. L. 2016 Ch.-24
CaliforniaSeptember 24, 2016Cal. Pub. Contract Code Sec. 2010
PennsylvaniaNovember 4, 2016Penn. Pub. Law 2016-163
Ohio13December 19, 2016Ohio 131-HB-476
MichiganJanuary 5, 2017Michigan Public Act 526 of 2016
ArkansasMarch 29, 2017Arkansas Act 710 of 2017
Texas6May 2, 2017Texas H.B. 89 of 2017
Minnesota7May 3, 2017Minn. Laws of 2017, Ch. 21 2017
Minnesota7May 30, 2017Minn. Laws of 2017, Ch. 21 (Amend.)
NevadaJune 2, 2017Nevada Ch. 304 Laws of 2017
Kansas8June 16, 2017Kansas House Bill 2409
North CarolinaJuly 27, 2017N. Carolina Sess. Law 2017-193
MarylandOctober 23, 2017Maryland E.O. 01.01.2017-25
Wisconsin9October 27, 2017Wisconsin Exec. Order 2017-261
Wisconsin9April 3, 20182017 Wisc. Act 248
Kansas8April 18, 2018Kansas House Bill 2482 (Amend.)
Louisiana10May 22, 2018Exec. Order JBE-2018-15
Kentucky11November 15, 2018Exec. Order 2018-905
Arizona3April 16, 2019Ariz. SB 1167 (Amend.)
MississippiMarch 15, 2019Mississippi HB 761
Kentucky11March 25, 2019Kentucky Ch. 58 of Acts of 2019
Texas6May 7, 2019H.B. 793 of 2019 (Amend.)
Louisiana10June 6, 2019Louisiana Law No. 155 of 2019
South DakotaJanuary 14, 2020Exec. Order 2020-01
OklahomaMay 21, 2020Oklahoma HB 3697
MissouriJuly 13, 2020Missouri SB 739
UtahMarch 17, 2021Utah SB 186
IdahoApril 22, 2021Idaho Sess. Law Ch. 284
West VirginiaApril 26, 2021West Virginia HB 2933
Georgia4February 21, 2022Georgia HB 383 (Amend.)
Iowa5March 23, 2022Amendment to 12J.2
Arizona3March 23, 2022Ariz. SB 1250 (Amend.)
Tennessee1April 8, 2022Tenn. Pub. Ch. 775
Ohio13April 20, 2022Ohio 134-SB-135 (Amend.)
Oklahoma12May 4, 2022Oklahoma H.Res. 1063
North DakotaApril 6, 2023N. Dakota H.B. 1368
New HamshireJuly 6, 2023Exec. Order 2023-05

1   The Tennessee joint resolution, adopted on 24 Apr 2015, was superseded by legislation on 8 Apr 2022.
2   The Alabama joint resolution, adopted on 16 Feb 2016, was superseded by legislation on 10 May 2016.
3   The Arizona statute, originally signed into law on 17 Mar 2016, was amended on 16 Apr 2019, and again on 23 Mar 2022.
4   The Georgia statute, originally signed into law on 26 Apr 2016, was amended on 21 Feb 2022.
 The Iowa statute, originally signed into law on 10 May 2016, was amended on 22 Mar 2022.
6   The Texas statute, originally signed into law on 2 May 2017, was amended on 7 May 2019.
7   The Minnesota statute, originally signed into law on 3 May 2017, was amended on 30 May 2017.
8   The Kansas statute, originally signed into law on 16 Jun 2017, was amended on 18 Apr 2018.
9   The Wisconsin executive order was superseded by legislative enactment, as of 3 Apr 2018.
10  The Louisiana executive order was superseded by legislative enactment, as of 6 Jun 2019.
11  The Kentucky executive order was superseded by legislative enactment, as of 27 Aug 2019.
12  The Oklahoma house resolution, adopted on 4 May 2022, does not affect existing legislation.
13  The Ohio statute, originally signed into law on 19 Dec 2016, was amended on 20 Apr 2022.