UANI Applauds Maryland Governor Martin O`Malley, State Lawmakers for Introducing Iran Debarment Legislation

News Release: Thu Feb 9, 2012

On Thursday, United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) applauded Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley and state lawmakers for sponsoring legislation that would bar companies active in Iran from doing business with the State of Maryland.

The legislation was introduced in the Maryland Senate last week, and Governor O’Malley has made it a key legislative priority for 2012.

UANI last year sent Governor O’Malley a copy of UANI's model contracting legislation, as well as a letter urging him to introduce it in Annapolis.

Said UANI President, Ambassador Mark D. Wallace, who in August 2011 wrote the Op-Ed "Time Has Come for States to Take Strong Action on Iran":

We applaud Governor O’Malley and Maryland lawmakers for introducing contract debarment, and we urge them to pass it quickly. Maryland can join other states in ensuring that its citizens’ tax dollars are not going to companies that do business in Iran.

Across America, state legislatures are joining the international effort to economically pressure the Iranian regime until it ends its quest for nuclear weapons. By working together, international bodies, nations, and state and local governments can send a strong and effective message to the regime to change course.

California, Florida, and New York have already passed Iran debarment legislation, adapted from UANI model legislation, and Indiana introduced such a bill last month. UANI unveiled the "Iran Business Certification Act" in June 2009, which shortly thereafter was introduced in U.S. Congress as the "Accountability for Business Choices in Iran Act."

As the Financial Times reported, California has been enforcing its law, the 2010 Iran Contracting Act, and has succeeded in pressuring several multinational corporations to end their business in Iran. Last year, the State of California published a list of companies now prohibited from doing business with California due to their work in Iran.

Click here to view UANI’s State Certification map.
Click here to visit UANI's model legislation home page.
Click here to read Ambassador Wallace's Op-Ed, "Time Has Come for States to Take Strong Action on Iran."