New Anti-Boycott Bills Pop Up Even as Texas Law Blocked Over Constitutional Concerns
/State-level Advocates Pushing Back in Virginia and Beyond
Visit our legislation site to learn more about measures targeting palestine advocacy.
A coalition of civil rights and human rights groups urged Virginia lawmakers to oppose H.B. 1161, a new anti-boycott bill targeting advocacy for Palestinian rights.
Palestine Legal sent a letter to state lawmakers joined by eight organizations, including the Center for Constitutional Rights and the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
If enacted, H.B. 1161 would infringe on Virginians’ core political speech, in violation of the First Amendment.
H.B. 1161 would prohibit state contracts with entities that boycott for justice in Palestine. State contractors and sub-contractors would be required to provide written certification that they will not engage in boycotts of Israel or its illegal settlements. The bill excludes contracts whose total value is less than $10,000.
A similar 2016 bill was defeated due to pressure from civil rights groups and state level advocates who argued that the legislation would infringe upon freedom of expression protected by the First Amendment.
Similar bills have been introduced in Nebraska, Alaska, and Tennessee. Nebraska’s anti-boycott bill, L.B. 845, failed to move out of committee after state-level advocates mobilized to raise concerns that the bill would violate their constitutional rights–evidence of the power of people showing up to voice their concerns.
The impact of legislation targeting Israel boycotts goes far beyond chilling advocacy for Palestinian rights. Israel anti-boycott laws have become a model for legislation targeting protests regarding other social justice issues, including climate change and gun violence.
Courts have recognized the constitutional defects in laws targeting boycotts for justice. Laws similar to those introduced in Virginia and Nebraska have been found unconstitutional by federal judges in Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Kansas, and Texas.
To date, not a single anti-boycott law has been upheld on the merits. Instead, courts have blocked state anti-boycott laws and affirmed that boycotts for Palestinian rights are protected by the First Amendment.
In response, state legislatures have amended the laws to exclude the plaintiffs and moot the lawsuits, but these measures fail to remedy the constitutional defects identified by the courts. Texas tried to skirt accountability by amending its anti-boycott law in 2019 after a federal court found an earlier version of the law unconstitutional.
But in January 2022, a second federal court blocked enforcement of Texas’ amended law against Palestinian-American contractor Rasmy Hassouna, citing concerns that the law would violate the First Amendment.
“The Court does find that Hassouna authentically holds a pro-Palestinian point of view that is protected by the First Amendment.”
—United States District Judge Andrew S. Hanen
Lawmakers and those pushing anti-boycott laws that aim to crack down on justice movements should take heed: These attacks on our collective right to boycott will fail.
Virginia’s right-wing governor has recently come under fire for measures targeting critical race theory and COVID-19 mask mandates in public schools.
Virginians, take action to urge your legislators to oppose this unconstitutional bill via AJP Action or via JVP Action.
To learn how to get involved in state-level advocacy efforts, contact the Virginia Coalition for Human Rights or Nebraskans for Peace or connect with a coalition in your state.
For more information, check out our Legislation page.