Section 12H.3. Identification of companies — notice.

  1.  a.  By March 1, 2012, the public fund shall make its best efforts to identify or have identified all scrutinized companies in which the public fund has direct or indirect holdings or could possibly have such holdings in the future and shall create and make available to the public a scrutinized companies list for that public fund. The list shall further identify whether the company has inactive business operations or active business operations. The public fund shall review and update, if necessary, the scrutinized companies list and the determination of whether a company has inactive or active business operations on a quarterly basis thereafter.

  b.  In making its best efforts to identify or have identified scrutinized companies and companies with inactive business operations or active business operations, the public fund may review and rely, in the best judgment of the public fund, on publicly available information regarding companies with business operations in Iran, and including other information that may be provided by nonprofit organizations, research firms, international organizations, and government entities. The public fund may also contact asset managers and institutional investors for the public fund to identify scrutinized companies based upon industry-recognized lists of such companies that the public fund may have indirect holdings in.

  c.  The Iowa public employees’ retirement system, acting on behalf of the system and other public funds subject to this section, may develop and issue a request for proposals for third-party services to complete the identification of scrutinized companies and the compilation of a scrutinized companies list. The request for proposals may request bids for optional services related to this purpose, including but not limited to provision of notice of such scrutinized companies as required in subsection 2. The Iowa public employees’ retirement system shall consult with all other public funds on the development of the request for proposals, however selection of a successful proposal and the final scope of services to be provided shall be determined only by those public funds that have agreed to utilize the third-party services. If more than one public fund decides to utilize the third-party services, the participating public funds shall equally share the costs of such services.

  2.  a.  For each company on the scrutinized companies list with only inactive business operations in which the public fund has direct or indirect holdings, the public fund shall send or have sent a written notice informing the company of the requirements of this chapter and encouraging it to continue to refrain from initiating active business operations in Iran until it is able to avoid scrutinized business operations. The public fund or its representative shall continue to provide such written notice on an annual basis if the company remains a scrutinized company with inactive business operations.

  b.  For each company on the scrutinized companies list with active business operations in which the public fund has direct or indirect holdings, the public fund shall send or have sent a written notice informing the company of its status as a scrutinized company with active business operations and that it may become subject to divestment and restrictions on investing in the company by the public fund. The notice shall offer the company the opportunity to clarify its Iran-related activities and shall encourage the company to either cease its scrutinized business operations or convert such operations to inactive business operations in order to avoid becoming subject to divestment and restrictions on investment in the company by the public fund. The public fund or its representative shall continue to provide such written notice on an annual basis if the company remains a scrutinized company with active business operations.

2011 Acts, ch 82, §3