On September 11, the California State Senate passed bill AB 1320 to sever economic ties with Turkey, with 33 of the 40 state senators voting in favor and the remaining 7 abstaining, reported the Armenian Assembly of America.
California State Senator Andreas Borgeas (Republican-8th District), whose district includes California’s San Joaquin Valley, was responsible for presenting this bill from the floor of the state senate and for managing the entire process. This was announced by the press service of the Armenian Assembly of America.
AB 1320 has now moved to the California State Assembly, where it has received broad support from both parties and where it will be put to a bipartisan vote before being sent to California Governor Gavin Newsom.
The legislator who introduced this bill and its principal author is California State Assembly member Adrin Nazarian (Democrat-46th District). The bill is officially known as “Public Employees’ Retirement Systems: Prohibited Investments: Turkey.”
The bill prohibits California’s public pension agencies, CalPERS and CalSTRS, from making new investments or continuing existing investments in debt securities and bonds issued and controlled by the government of Turkey, while the U.S. government applies sanctions against Turkey for its official denial of the Armenian Genocide.
