Kansas Lawmakers Vote 99-13 To Pass Anti-BDS Bill
(JTA) — Both houses of the Kansas State Legislature have passed a bill that would bar the state from doing business with companies that boycott Israel.
The bill still must be signed by state Gov. Sam Brownback, who is expected to do so, the Lawrence Journal World reported.
A final version of the bill passed both houses of the legislature on Wednesday. It first passed the Senate by a vote of 36-3 and few hours later passed the House by a vote of 99-13.
An amendment to the bill allows the state’s secretary of administration to waive the boycott law if the secretary “determines that compliance is not practicable or in the best interest of the state.”
The bill says the anti-BDS, or Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions, legislation applies to Israel and “territories under its jurisdiction,” which means the West Bank and eastern Jerusalem.
In May, the Kansas branch of the American Civil Liberties Union sent a letter to lawmakers, saying the bill was an unconstitutional infringement on the right of free speech.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30