SECTION 1.
The Legislature hereby finds and declares all of the following:(a) In imposing United States sanctions on Iran, Congress and the President have determined that the illicit nuclear activities of the Government of Iran, combined with its development of unconventional weapons and ballistic missiles, and its support of international terrorism, represent a serious threat to the security of the United States, Israel, and other United States allies in Europe, the Middle East, and around the world.
(b) On July 1, 2010, President Barack Obama signed into law H.R. 2194, the federal Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010 (Public Law 111-195), which puts strict limits on any foreign financial institution’s ability to open or maintain a correspondent account or a payable-through account with United States financial institutions if the Secretary of the Treasury determines that such a foreign financial institution knowingly does any of the following:
(1) Facilitates the efforts of the Government of Iran to acquire or develop weapons of mass destruction or their delivery systems.
(2) Provides support for organizations designated by the United States as foreign terrorist organizations.
(3) Facilitates the activities of persons subject to financial sanctions pursuant to United Nations Security Council resolutions imposing sanctions on Iran.
(4) Engages in money laundering or carries out any activity listed above.
(5) Facilitates a significant transaction or transactions or provides significant financial services for Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps or its agents or affiliates, or any financial institution whose property or interests in property are blocked pursuant to federal law in connection with Iran’s proliferation of weapons of mass destruction or their delivery systems, or Iran’s support for international terrorism.
(c) The federal Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010 (Public Law 111-195) imposes civil and criminal penalties on United States financial institutions that know or should have known that foreign financial institutions that maintain correspondent accounts or payable-through accounts with them are facilitating activities subject to sanctions.
(d) On December 21, 2011, President Obama signed into law H.R. 1540, the federal National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 (Public Law 112-81), which, subject to certain exceptions, places strict limits on any foreign financial institution’s ability to open or maintain a correspondent account or a payable-through account with United States financial institutions if the Secretary of the Treasury determines that a foreign financial institution knowingly conducted or facilitated any significant financial transaction with the Central Bank of Iran.
(e) The serious and urgent nature of the threat from Iran demands that states work together with the federal government and American allies to do everything possible, diplomatically, politically, and economically to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapons capability.
(f) There are moral and reputational reasons for this state to not engage in business with foreign companies that have business activities benefitting foreign states, such as Iran, that commit egregious violations of human rights, proliferate nuclear weapons capabilities, and support terrorism.
(g) In 2010, California enacted Chapter 573 of the Statutes of 2010 (Assembly Bill 1650 of the 2009–10 Regular Session) to prohibit companies with certain investments in Iran from bidding on or entering into contracts for goods or services with state or local governments.
(h) The concerns of the State of California regarding Iran are strictly the result of the actions of the Government of Iran.