Missouri lawmakers pass bill against boycotting Israel

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Missouri lawmakers on Thursday passed a bill to ban the state from doing business with companies that boycott Israel.

The GOP-led House approved the measure 95-40 on Thursday, the day before their Friday deadline to pass bills this year.

The bill is in response to a Palestinian-led boycott movement against Israel.

The BDS movement promotes boycotts, divestment and sanctions of Israeli institutions and businesses in what it says is a nonviolent campaign against Israeli abuses against Palestinians. Israel says the campaign masks a deeper goal of delegitimizing and even destroying the country.

The Missouri bill would require companies to sign a contract pledging not to boycott Israel in order to do business with Missouri. It wouldn't apply to contracts worth less than $100,000 or companies with fewer than 10 employees.

At least 27 other states have passed similar policies, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Republican Rep. Holly Rehder led the Senate bill through the House. She said doing anything to support the boycott movement goes against Missouri's economic policies and would be "absurd."

"The legislature has taken bold action to combat the insidious and hateful BDS movement that singles out Israel and encourages punitive actions against its economy and citizens," said Nancy Lisker, director of the American Jewish Committee St. Louis Region.

But the bill drew bipartisan opposition from lawmakers who said it tramples on Americans' right to free speech through protests.

Republican Rep. Tony Lovasco said awarding business contracts based on political opinions would be "incredibly dangerous." He said criticizing a government is not the same as criticizing the people who live in that country.

"I am incredibly critical of our government, for example," Lovasco said. "I'm not anti-American. I love this country. I don't want to be in a position where my criticism of our government's choices and how our government spends, or in my mind wastes our money, is going to result in my being placed in effectively a blacklist."

The measure now heads to Republican Gov. Mike Parson.

The legislation against boycotting Israel was one of several policies lawmakers approved Thursday in their rush to pass as many bills as possible before their Friday deadline.

Hyperloop

One bill would give the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission the authority to form a public-private partnership to build an ultrafast Hyperloop track connecting St. Louis and Kansas City. Hyperloop technology involves a tubular track through which a train-like pod carries passengers at speeds up to 640 mph. Missouri supporters are now advocating for a test track to be built in Missouri.

Driver's licenses

Another provision would allow people to add medical alerts to their driver's license or nondriver's identification. The bill would give people the option to note post-traumatic stress disorder, epilepsy, drug allergies, autism, dementia and other health conditions on their IDs.