Panel tables bill preventing investing in companies with business in Iran

A Senate panel on Thursday tabled a bill that would have prevented the Utah State Retirement Investment Fund from investing in some companies that do business in Iran.

The Senate Retirement Committee tabled HB39 on Thursday, which makes it unlikely the bill will resurface. Dan Anderson of the Utah Retirement System called divestment an "inappropriate tool," saying the state should engage companies in question through a more direct way than retirement investments.

And Sen. Brent Goodfellow, D-West Valley, questioned how to track investments in a world of global business.

But Rep. Julie Fisher, R-Fruit Heights, said it would cost the state less than $30,000 annually to divest from firms with "scrutinized" activities in Iran. It's a move she characterized as something that would join Utah with other states working toward a change of policy in Iran.

"Do we walk softly? I don't think that's how we brought the Soviet Union down," Fisher said. "We are at war. This is life or death."