HB1013 HD1

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	1013
THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2023		H.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING TO THE REPEAL OF ACT 192, SESSION LAWS OF HAWAII 2007.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1. The purpose of this Act is to repeal Act 192, Session Laws of Hawaii 2007 (Act 192), that requires the Employees' Retirement System of the State of Hawaii, identified as the "public fund", to divest itself of investments in companies that provide significant support for genocide in Darfur, Sudan, and provide to the legislature annual publicly available reports regarding the status of the divestment and related duties of the public fund under Act 192.

SECTION 2. Under section 8 of Act 192, that Act shall be repealed upon the occurrence of any of the following:

"(1) The Congress or President of the United States declares that the Darfur genocide has been halted for at least twelve months:

(2) The United States revokes all sanctions imposed against the government of Sudan;

(3) The Congress or President of the United States declares that the government of Sudan has honored its commitments to cease attacks on civilians, demobilize and demilitarize the Janjaweed and associated militias, grant free and unfettered access for deliveries of humanitarian assistance, and allow for the safe and voluntary return of refugees and internally displaced persons; or

(4) The Congress or President of the United States, through legislation or executive order, declares that mandatory divestment of the type provided for in this chapter interferes with the conduct of United States foreign policy."

SECTION 3. In 2017, the United States revoked longstanding economic sanctions against Sudan. In United States Presidential Executive Order No. 13761, President Barack H. Obama noted "Sudan's positive actions over the past 6 months. These actions include a marked reduction in offensive military activity, culminating in a pledge to maintain a cessation of hostilities in conflict areas in Sudan, and steps toward the improvement of humanitarian access throughout Sudan, as well as cooperation with the United States on addressing regional conflicts and the threat of terrorism." Executive Order No. 13761 provided for revocation of the sanctions if the United States Secretary of State published notice in the Federal Register that Sudan had sustained the positive actions by a certain date, which was subsequently extended. On October 11, 2017, the Secretary of State published such notice of sustained positive actions in the Federal Register. As a result, U.S. persons are generally able to trade and do business with individuals and entities in Sudan, according to the U.S. Department of State.

In President Donald J. Trump's Memorandum of October 26, 2020, he certified pursuant to section 6(e) of the Comprehensive Peace in Sudan Act of 2004 (Public Law 108-497, as amended by the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act of 2006 (Public Law 109-344) that the Government of Sudan had taken demonstrable steps as follows to:

"(A) ensure that the armed forces of Sudan and any associated militias are not committing atrocities or obstructing human rights monitors or the provision of humanitarian assistance;

(B) demobilize and disarm militias supported or created by the Government of Sudan;

(D) allow an international commission of inquiry to conduct an investigation of atrocities in the Darfur region, in a manner consistent with United Nations Security Council Resolution 1564 (September 18, 2004), to investigate reports of violations of international humanitarian law and human rights law in the Darfur region by all parties, to determine also whether or not acts of genocide have occurred and to identify the perpetrators of such violations with a view to ensuring that those responsible are held accountable;

(E) cooperate fully with the African Union, the United Nations, and all other observer, monitoring, and protection missions mandated to operate in Sudan;

(F) permit the safe and voluntary return of displaced persons and refugees to their homes and rebuild the communities destroyed in the violence; and

(G) implement the final agreements reached in the Naivasha peace process and install a new coalition government based on the Nairobi Declaration on the Final Phase of Peace in the Sudan signed on June 5, 2004."

Based on the foregoing certification of President Donald Trump, the designation of Sudan as a state Sponsor of terrorism was rescinded.

On October 26, 2020, President Trump in his Certification of Rescission of Sudan’s Designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism that (i) the Government of Sudan has not provided any support for acts of international terrorism during the preceding 6-month period; and (ii) the Government of Sudan has provided assurances that it will not support acts of international terrorism in the future.

Therefore, one or more of the occurrences that shall trigger repeal of Act 192, Session Laws of Hawaii 2007, have been satisfied.

SECTION 4. Act 192, Session Laws of Hawaii 2007, is repealed.

SECTION 5. This Act shall take effect on June 30, 3000.