Bill Text: NY S04596 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Amended
Bill Title: Relates to limitations on investments of public pension funds.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 20-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-01-24 - PRINT NUMBER 4596A [S04596 Detail]
Download: New_York-2017-S04596-Amended.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 4596--A 2017-2018 Regular Sessions IN SENATE February 21, 2017 ___________ Introduced by Sens. KRUEGER, ADDABBO, ALCANTARA, AVELLA, BAILEY, BRES- LIN, CARLUCCI, COMRIE, DILAN, HAMILTON, HOYLMAN, MONTGOMERY, PARKER, PERALTA, SANDERS, SAVINO, SERRANO -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Civil Service and Pensions -- recommitted to the Committee on Civil Service and Pensions in accordance with Senate Rule 6, sec. 8 -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said commit- tee AN ACT to amend the retirement and social security law, in relation to limitations on investments of public pension funds The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "fossil 2 fuel divestment act". 3 § 2. Section 423 of the retirement and social security law, as amended 4 by chapter 770 of the laws of 1970, is amended to read as follows: 5 § 423. Investments. [a.] 1. On and after April first, nineteen 6 hundred sixty-seven, the comptroller shall invest the available monies 7 of the common retirement fund in any investments and securities author- 8 ized by law for each retirement system and shall hold such investments 9 in his name as trustee of such fund, notwithstanding any other provision 10 of this chapter. Participating interests in such investments shall be 11 credited to each retirement system in the manner and at the time speci- 12 fied in [paragraph] subdivision two of section four hundred twenty-two 13 of this article. 14 [b.] 2. (a) To assist in the management of the monies of the common 15 retirement fund, the comptroller shall appoint an investment advisory 16 committee consisting of not less than seven members who shall serve for 17 his term of office. A vacancy occurring from any cause other than expi- 18 ration of term shall be filled by the comptroller for the remainder of 19 the term. Each member of the committee shall be experienced in the field EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD05953-02-8S. 4596--A 2 1 of investments and shall have served, or shall be serving, as a senior 2 officer or member of the board of an insurance company, banking corpo- 3 ration or other financial or investment organization authorized to do 4 business in the state of New York. The committee shall advise the comp- 5 troller on investment policies relating to the monies of the common 6 retirement fund and shall review, from time to time, the investment 7 portfolio of the fund and make such recommendations as may be deemed 8 necessary. 9 (b) The comptroller shall appoint a separate mortgage advisory commit- 10 tee, with the advice and consent of the investment advisory committee, 11 to review proposed mortgage and real estate investments by the common 12 retirement fund. In making investments, as authorized by law, the comp- 13 troller shall be guided by policies established by each committee from 14 time to time; and, in the event the mortgage advisory committee disap- 15 proves a proposed mortgage or real estate investment, such shall not be 16 made. 17 (c) No officer or employee of any state department or agency shall be 18 eligible for membership on either committee. Each committee shall 19 convene periodically on call of the comptroller, or on call of the 20 chairman. The members of each committee shall be entitled to reimburse- 21 ment for their actual and necessary expenses but shall receive no 22 compensation for their services. 23 3. (a) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, the comp- 24 troller shall not have the power to invest the available monies of the 25 common retirement fund in any stocks, debt or other securities of any 26 corporation or company, or any subsidiary, affiliate or parent of any 27 corporation or company, among the two hundred largest publicly traded 28 fossil fuel companies, as established by carbon content in the compa- 29 nies' proven oil, gas and coal reserves. The comptroller shall, in 30 accordance with sound investment criteria and consistent with his or her 31 fiduciary obligations, divest any such stocks or other securities wheth- 32 er they are owned directly or held through separate accounts or any 33 commingled funds. Divestment pursuant to this subdivision must be 34 completed within five years of the effective date of this subdivision, 35 with the exception of companies engaged in the mining, extraction or 36 production of coal, divestment from which must be completed no later 37 than one year after the effective date of this subdivision. 38 (b) The comptroller shall be permitted to cease divesting from compa- 39 nies under paragraph (a) of this subdivision, reinvest in companies from 40 which it divested under paragraph (a) of this subdivision, or continue 41 to invest in companies from which it has not yet divested upon clear and 42 convincing evidence showing that as a direct result of such divestment, 43 the total and aggregate value of all assets under management by, or on 44 behalf of, the common retirement fund becomes or shall become: (i) equal 45 to or less than ninety-nine and one-half percent; or (ii) one hundred 46 percent less fifty basis points of the hypothetical value of all assets 47 under management by, or on behalf of, the common retirement fund assum- 48 ing no divestment from any company had occurred under said paragraph (a) 49 of this subdivision. Cessation of divestment, reinvestment or any 50 subsequent ongoing investment authorized by this section shall be 51 strictly limited to the minimum steps necessary to avoid the contingency 52 set forth in the preceding sentence. For any cessation of divestment, 53 and in advance of such cessation, authorized by this subdivision, the 54 comptroller shall provide a written report to the attorney general, the 55 senate standing committee on civil service and pensions, and the assem- 56 bly standing committee on governmental employees, updated semi-annuallyS. 4596--A 3 1 thereafter as applicable, setting forth the reasons and justification, 2 supported by clear and convincing evidence, for its decisions to cease 3 divestment, to reinvest or to remain invested in fossil fuel companies. 4 (c) Within sixty days of the effective date of this subdivision, the 5 comptroller shall facilitate the identification of fossil fuel companies 6 from which the common retirement fund is required to divest under para- 7 graph (a) of this subdivision, and file a copy of this list with the 8 attorney general, the senate standing committee on civil service and 9 pensions, and the assembly standing committee on governmental employees. 10 Annually thereafter, the public fund shall file a report with the attor- 11 ney general, the senate standing committee on civil service and 12 pensions, and the assembly standing committee on governmental employees 13 that includes: (i) all investments sold, redeemed, divested or withdrawn 14 in compliance with paragraph (a) of this subdivision; and (ii) all 15 prohibited investments from which the common retirement fund has not yet 16 divested under paragraph (a) of this subdivision. 17 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
