Saint Paul – Governor Tim Pawlenty and six other governors have sent a letter to United States Senate leaders urging swift passage of the Iran Sanctions Enabling Act (S. 1065), a bill which passed the U.S. House of Representatives earlier this month by a 414-6 margin and is scheduled for a vote in the U.S. Senate Banking Committee today, Thursday, October 29.

The bill permits state and local governments to divest public funds from companies that do more than $20 million a year in business with Iran's energy sector.

Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Colorado Governor Bill Ritter, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley, Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm, and New York Governor David Paterson signed the letter.

Under the legislation, state and local governments would acquire new legal authorities that would make it easier to divest from companies investing more than $20 million in Iran's energy sector. The legislation extends legal protections to shield state and local governments, and investment fund managers, from civil or criminal lawsuits in response to divestment decisions.

“In order for diplomacy to succeed, the Iranian government must know that it faces a very bleak economic future if it does not change course,” Governor Pawlenty said. “State and local governments can play an important role in this effort.”

Thirteen states have already passed legislation authorizing the divestment of state funds from companies that have economic interests in the Iranian oil and natural gas sectors. Another six states have adopted Iran divestment policies. In their letter, the governors wrote that passage of the Iran Sanctions Enabling Act would likely encourage “more of our fellow governors [to] engage in similar efforts, thus dramatically increasing leverage to influence this urgent matter.”

Click here to view the letter as a PDF