New Jersey governor signs legislation to bar Russian investments

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy signed legislation to bar government dealings with companies associated with the governments of Russia and Belarus.

S-1889/A-3090, introduced following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, would stop public investments and other financial agreements with businesses and people with Russian and Belarusian interests. It also bans companies or people with investments in Russia and Belarus from securing state or local government professional service contracts and from receiving other tax credits and economic incentives.

“This is an international crisis we can influence here in New Jersey by supporting the courageous people of Ukraine,” state Sen. Paul Sarlo, D-Bergen, said in a statement.

ussia’s finances and the profiteering of Putin and his oligarchs, including sanctions on tax breaks for developers,” Sarlo added. “They obviously have no respect for human rights, but we can make them pay an increasingly heavy price for their actions.”

Separately, Murphy previously signed an executive order, No. 291, to require state agencies to investigate whether they can halt or rescind certifications, licenses, permits and registrations for businesses that invest in companies controlled by Russia and Belarus or its “instrumentalities.”

“Treasury has already begun to carry out the governor’s recent executive order and we stand ready and willing to help implement this new legislation in order to ensure taxpayer dollars are not supporting Russia’s indefensible invasion of Ukraine,” State Treasurer Elizabeth Maher Muoio said in a statement.

“To date, we have assessed the pension fund’s exposure to Russian investments and are in the process of identifying what state contracts, if any, might have ties to Russian businesses,” Muoio added. “We will use the power of our purse to stand in solidarity with the people of Ukraine.”