FIRST REGULAR SESSION
93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVE PEARCE.
Read 1st time April 1, 2005 and copies ordered printed.
STEPHEN S. DAVIS, Chief Clerk
AN ACT
To repeal section 30.720, RSMo, relating to financial institutions doing business in northern Ireland.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Section 30.720, RSMo, is repealed, to read as follows:
[30.720. 1. Beginning January 1, 1995, and each year thereafter, the state treasurer shall:
(1) Compile a list of banks, financial institutions or any other corporations that, directly or through subsidiaries, do business in Northern Ireland and in whose stock or obligations any state agency, including retirement systems, have invested any state funds;
(2) Determine whether each bank, financial institution or other corporation on the list has, during the preceding year, taken affirmative action to eliminate religious or ethnic discrimination in Northern Ireland.
2. In making the determination required by subdivision (2) of subsection 1 of this section, the state treasurer shall consider whether a bank, financial institution or other corporation has, during the preceding year, taken substantial action designed to lead toward the achievement of the following goals:
(1) Increasing representation of persons from underrepresented religious groups at all levels in its work force;
(2) Adequate security for employees who are members of minority religious groups, both at the workplace and while traveling to and from work;
(3) Creating a climate in the workplace free from religious or political provocation;
(4) Publicly advertising all job openings and making special recruiting efforts to attract applicants from underrepresented religious groups;
(5) Providing that layoff, recall and termination procedures do not favor workers who are members of particular religious groups;
(6) Abolishing job reservations, apprenticeship restrictions and differential employment criteria that discriminate on the basis of religious or ethnic origin;
(7) Developing new programs and expanding existing programs to prepare current employees who are members of minority religious groups for skilled jobs;
(8) Establishing procedures to assess, identify and recruit employees who are members of minority religious groups and who have potential for advancement; and
(9) Appointing senior management employees to oversee affirmative action efforts and the setting of timetables for carrying out the provisions of this subsection.
3. Whenever feasible, the state treasurer shall sponsor, cosponsor or support shareholder resolutions designed to encourage the bank, financial institution or other corporation in which the state treasurer or other state agency has invested state funds to pursue a policy of affirmative action in Northern Ireland.
4. Nothing in this section shall be construed to require the state treasurer or any other state agency to dispose of existing investments or to make future investments that violate sound investment policy.]