Governor announces Iran divestment plan
1/22/2008 - 11:26am
Colorado has a plan to stop investing in companies that do business in Iran, where the controlling regime has called for the “destruction of Israel and a world without America.”
Gov. Bill Ritter announced a policy this morning that he says will protect the pensions of current and former state workers through a phased divestment strategy.
The Public Employees’ Retirement Association of Colorado has several hundred million dollars tied to Iran, officials estimate.
A plan developed by lawmakers and the PERA board of trustees calls for the state to create a list of public companies that have more than $20 million of investments in Iran’s energy sector. The board can then decide whether to divest in those companies, which include Shell Oil.
Also, the board is declaring a moratorium on any new investments in corporations doing business in Iran.
The policy allows much more flexibility than a law passed last year requiring divestment from Sudan. The difference is that the state pension fund had identified $137 million worth of investments it would be forced to sell under the Sudan bill, far less than expected from a divestment in Iran.
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