Texas Hurricane Relief Program Removes 'No Israel Boycott' Pledge
DICKINSON (AP) — A Houston suburb has removed a requirement from a hurricane repair grant program that homeowners must agree to not boycott Israel as a condition of receiving money.
The Galveston County Daily News reports that the Dickinson City Council on Tuesday voted to remove the requirement from the application of the city's Hurricane Harvey repair grant program.
Dickinson had initially included the boycott requirement to comply with a new state law that prohibits Texas agencies from contracting with companies that boycott Israel.
City management assistant Bryan Milward says businesses in Dickinson will still have to refrain from boycotting Israel in order to get relief funding, because the city interpreted that as a requirement of the new state law.
The American Civil Liberties Union has called the boycott requirement unconstitutional.
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