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CityAndStatePA .com
March 21, 2022
Pushing back against Putin How Pennsylvania is responding to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. By Justin Sweitzer
Pennsylvania has divested itself of Russian financial investments. Officials from across the political spectrum – including Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf and Republican House Majority Leader Kerry Benninghoff – supported efforts to divest the state of investments tied to Russia. Beginning in late February, Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacy Garrity, a Republican, began selling off investments the state had in Russian companies. According to Samantha Heckel, a spokesperson for Garrity, the state Treasury had a total of $2.9 million invested in 31 Russian companies. Following the invasion, the Treasury sold its interest in 28 of the companies. Proceeds from the sales were then distributed throughout the state Treasury’s indexed portfolio, Heckel said.
“The final three securities are American Depositary Receipts, which have been halted from trading as part of the sanctions,” Heckel said. “As a result, we won’t be able to divest from those securities unless the trading halt is removed. At the same time, it’s important to note that the sanctions in place prevent the three companies from accessing any of those funds.” Pennsylvania’s two largest pension funds also took action to sell investments in Russian companies. In an emergency board meeting in early March, the Public School Employees’ Retirement System board voted to divest PSERS from investments in Russia and Belarus as quickly as possible. Later, the board of the State Employees’ Retirement System, known as SERS, directed staff to divest the pension fund of all Russian-affiliated assets. According to SERS, the fund had roughly $7 million invested in Russian-related investments as of the beginning of March. Russian products have been pulled from state-owned liquor stores. In a letter sent to the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board at the end of February, Wolf asked the board to stop selling Russian-made products at state stores “as a small show of solidarity and support for the people of Ukraine, and an expression of our collective revulsion with the unprovoked actions of the Russian state.” The PLCB quickly acted on Wolf’s request, but the move was largely symbolic in nature, as the state’s Fine Wine & Good Spirits Stores only carry two products sourced from Russia: Russian Standard and Ustianochka 80-proof vodkas. The stores
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USSIA’S INVASION of Ukraine has prompted widespread condemnation across the globe, and to date, the U.S. has levied a range of penalties on Russian banks, oligarchs and media entities in an attempt to weaken the Russian government and cut off the country from international financial resources. State-level actions may not have the impact national and international penalties do, but that hasn’t stopped Pennsylvania officials from working to limit the state’s financial dealings with Russia and show support for the Ukrainian people. Below is a roundup of the major actions Pennsylvania officials have taken in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine thus far.
