Senate unanimously approves bill to increase sanctions on Iran, sends to governor

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida lawmakers sent a bill to Gov. Ron DeSantis’ desk to implement more sanctions on Iran.

The legislation HB 5-C (SB 10-C) amends the Protect Florida Investment Act to expand the definition of “scrutinized company” with activities in Iran that will be subject to divestment from specific state funds and will be ineligible for future investment.

The bill would require the State Board of Administration to divest its current holdings in the Florida Retirement System Portfolio from a company that meets the “broader definition.”

Sen. Bryan Avila, R-Hialeah Gardens, and Rep. John Snyder, R-Stuart, sponsored the bill.

The bill passed 39-0 in the Senate and 100-2 in the House. Florida Democrats that voted against the bill include Reps. Anna Eskamani, D-Miami, and Angie Nixon, D-Jacksonville.

“By us divesting from companies that do business with Iranian regime and expanding the definition to include all of these other sectors, this will set the standard for the federal government to act,” Avila said.

A press release from the House said the bill “demonstrates Florida’s refusal to do business with those who support terrorist regimes.”

Avila previously said that a company will be labeled as “scrutinized” if it has more than 10% of its assets or revenue linked to Iran and fails to identify a plan to cease its operations in the nation within one year.

“The definition of ‘scrutinized company’ is expanded to include any company doing business with the government of Iran in the energy, petrochemical, financial, construction, manufacturing, textile, mining, metals, shipping, shipbuilding and port sectors,” Avila said.

The other definition of the label is if a company knowingly has more than $20 million in investment in those Iranian sectors.

Avila said these scrutinized companies will be “barred from bidding on, submitting a proposal for or entering into or renewing a contract with an agency or local government entity for goods and services of $1 million or more.”

On Oct. 10, DeSantis had announced the proposal to implement more sanctions against Iran.

Hamas, which is backed by Shi’ite Iran, has contributed to the deaths of at least hundreds of individuals, including some reports of U.S. citizens. In defense of Israel, DeSantis vowed to “punish Iran” through Florida’s upcoming legislative session.

“While our laws already have strong sanctions against regimes that support terrorism, a conflict of this scale certainly warrants a fresh look at further steps we can take to strengthen existing sanctions against the Islamic Republican of Iran and other state and corporate sponsors of terror,” said Senate President Kathleen Passidomo, R-Naples, previously.

During the floor vote in the House, Eskamani shared her emotional connection to why she planned to oppose the bill.

“I have a lot of family in Iran. Majority of my family is in Iran,” she said. “And I cannot vote for something that could potentially hurt my family in Iran. And so members, I will be voting no on this.”

Snyder responded to Eskamani’s concerns by explaining exactly what type of companies would potentially lose funding.

“As we are expanding this list of scrutinized companies, while it does encompass all sectors of the Iranian economy, there is a very clear provision that the company must have business operations and contracts with or provision of supplies of services to the government of Iran,” he said previously.