The St. Louis branch of the American Jewish Committee is asking the Missouri Legislature in Jefferson City to send the Iranian government in Tehran a strong symbolic message.

The AJC wants the legislature to pass a bill this spring that would ban companies that have invested in Iran’s petroleum sector from doing business with the state or local governments in Missouri.

The threshold would be $20 million or more in business with Iran’s petroleum sector. Iran imports almost half of the refined gasoline it consumes, as well as about 10 percent the diesel fuel it burns. If Missouri gets on the secondary-boycott bandwagon, it would add its voice to those states that oppose Iran’s nuclear weapons program.

Shell, BP and Total are among the global energy companies that are believed to sell fuel to Iran.

State Sen. John Lamping, R-Ladue, is the lead sponsor of Senate Bill 722. A similar bill is expected to be introduced in the Missouri House. Gov. Jay Nixon, who would sign a bill into law, has not taken a position on it.

The effort in Jefferson City this legislative session is part of a national AJC campaign to get all state legislatures to pass similar bills.

“This is more of a preventive measure,” said a Lamping aide.

“This is one piece of the puzzle,” said Kara Newmark, chair of the local AJC’s foreign relations committee.

Asked if Missouri does business with companies that have invested in Iran’s petroleum sector, Newmark said the details of the state’s business practices were not the issue as much as that Missouri’s government should send a message to Tehran.

“Iran is acquiring a nuclear weapon. The AJC nationally has adopted a strategy in all 50 states to take what Congress did in 2010 even farther,” Newmark said.

The California, Florida and New York legislatures have passed similar bills, as Congress encouraged them to do when it passed the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability and Divestment Act in 2010.

President Barack Obama signed the law in 2010 as part of a larger effort to put economic pressure on Iran.

Of the 47 states that have not passed their own laws, Newmark said, Missouri is the farthest along in the process, which “is going to happen very quickly.”

The Senate Committee on Financial and Governmental Organizations and Elections held a hearing on the bill Monday. A Lamping aide said the bill is expected to be voted out of committee with minor changes.

Newmark said she expects little to no opposition in either the Senate or the House in Jefferson City. “It’s a softball, and there’s political capital to be gained” in an election year, she said. “It’s a no-brainer.”

Even though Missouri state government through its many agencies, as well as hundreds of local political entities, may not do business with companies that have investments in Iran’s petroleum sector, the point is to register a bloc of solidarity against Iran’s effort to develop a nuclear weapon. That weapon could be used against Israel, if the threats of some of Iran’s leaders are carried out, analysts agree.

National and international news reports have kept up a drumbeat about whether Israel will attack Iran to cripple its nuclear weapons program as well as how effectively U.N. and individual countries’ sanctions are working to change the behavior of the Iranian government.

If Lamping’s bill becomes law, businesses that would be covered would be required to certify they have not done business with Iran’s petroleum sector over the previous three-year period. Failure to comply could result in a fine of $250,000 or twice the value of the contract, whichever is larger.