NY State Senate Bill 2023-S1912

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Civil Service And Pensions Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Actions

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 03, 2024	referred to civil service and pensions
Jan 17, 2023	referred to civil service and pensions

2023-S1912 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Civil Service And Pensions
Law Section:: Retirement and Social Security Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §423, R & SS L
Versions Introduced in 2021-2022 Legislative Session:: S9160

2023-S1912 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Allows any enrollee of the New York State common retirement fund to request a list of investment managers on contract with the office of state comptroller to make investment contracts for the office of state comptroller division of pensions, investment, and cash management and the contents of any contracts and opportunistic investment contracts made by such investment manager.

2023-S1912 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S1912

SPONSOR: CLEARE
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the retirement and social security law, in relation to
disclosing certain investment managers and investments

 
PURPOSE:

This bill is to amend the retirement and social security law for
disclosing any investment manager and any investment contract associated
with the New York state common retirement fund.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1: Amends Section 423 of the retirement and social security law,
disclosing any investment manager and any investment contract associated
with the New York state common retirement fund.

Section 2: Sets the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Similar to many other states in the U.S., the New York State common
retirement fund shall be held by the state comptroller as trustee and
probably invested into high-fee hedge funds, private equity firms and
other so-called "alternative investments". Those investment contracts
are usually signed by public officials and investment managers from Wall
Street private firms. However, the ordinary retirees often have no abil-
ity to control it. This kind of setup generates possibility for the fund
beneficiaries to be treated unfairly and charged high fees.

In 2016, Rhode Island Retired Teachers Association reported to the Secu-
rities and Exchange Commission and the FBI that some of the financial
firms managing Rhode Island pension money claim the right to offer
different fee rates, inside information and cash-out rights to some
investors but not to others. In the same year, the New Jersey State
Investment Council unanimously approved to reduce the state pension fund
allocation in hedge fund by more than half from the current 12.5% to 6%
due to the high management fees.

For a fair investment environment, this legislation will amend retire-
ment and social security law, in relation to disclosing any investment
manager and any investment contract associated with the state common
retirement fund upon request by any enroller of the fund.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New bill

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:

None

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall have
become a law.

2023-S1912 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   1912
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             January 17, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  CLEARE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Civil Service and Pensions
 
 AN ACT to amend the retirement and social security law, in  relation  to
   disclosing certain investment managers and investments
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Section 423 of the retirement and social security  law,  as
 amended  by  chapter  770  of  the  laws  of 1970, is amended to read as
 follows:
   § 423. Investments.  1. a. On and after April first, nineteen  hundred
 sixty-seven,  the  comptroller  shall invest the available monies of the
 common retirement fund in any investments and securities  authorized  by
 law  for  each  retirement system and shall hold such investments in his
 name as trustee of such fund, notwithstanding  any  other  provision  of
 this chapter. Participating interests in such investments shall be cred-
 ited  to  each retirement system in the manner and at the time specified
 in [paragraph] SUBDIVISION two of section  four  hundred  twenty-two  of
 this article.
   b.  To assist in the management of the monies of the common retirement
 fund, the comptroller shall appoint  an  investment  advisory  committee
 consisting  of  not less than seven members who shall serve for his term
 of office. A vacancy occurring from any cause other than  expiration  of
 term  shall  be filled by the comptroller for the remainder of the term.
 Each member of the committee  shall  be  experienced  in  the  field  of
 investments  and  shall  have  served,  or shall be serving, as a senior
 officer or member of the board of an insurance company,  banking  corpo-
 ration  or  other  financial or investment organization authorized to do
 business in the state of New York. The committee shall advise the  comp-
 troller  on  investment  policies  relating  to the monies of the common
 retirement fund and shall review, from  time  to  time,  the  investment

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD03065-01-3
 S. 1912                             2

 
 portfolio  of  the  fund  and make such recommendations as may be deemed
 necessary.
   2.  The comptroller shall appoint a separate mortgage advisory commit-
 tee, with the advice and consent of the investment  advisory  committee,
 to  review  proposed  mortgage and real estate investments by the common
 retirement fund. In making investments, as authorized by law, the  comp-
 troller  shall  be guided by policies established by each committee from
 time to time; and, in the event the mortgage advisory  committee  disap-
 proves  a proposed mortgage or real estate investment, such shall not be
 made.
   3. No officer or employee of any state department or agency  shall  be
 eligible  for  membership  on  either  committee.  Each  committee shall
 convene periodically on call of the  comptroller,  or  on  call  of  the
 chairman.  The members of each committee shall be entitled to reimburse-
 ment for their actual  and  necessary  expenses  but  shall  receive  no
 compensation for their services.
   4.  A.  ANY  INVESTMENT  MANAGER  ON CONTRACT WITH THE OFFICE OF STATE
 COMPTROLLER TO MAKE INVESTMENT CONTRACTS FOR THE OFFICE OF  STATE  COMP-
 TROLLER  DIVISION  OF PENSIONS, INVESTMENT, AND CASH MANAGEMENT SHALL BE
 DISCLOSED TO ANY ENROLLEE OF THE NEW YORK STATE COMMON  RETIREMENT  FUND
 UPON REQUEST.
   B.  THE CONTENTS OF INVESTMENT CONTRACTS FOR THE OFFICE OF STATE COMP-
 TROLLER DIVISION OF PENSIONS, INVESTMENT, AND CASH  MANAGEMENT  AND  THE
 CONTENTS OF OPPORTUNISTIC INVESTMENT CONTRACTS SHALL BE DISCLOSED TO ANY
 ENROLLEE OF THE NEW YORK STATE COMMON RETIREMENT FUND UPON REQUEST.
   C.  FOR  THE  PURPOSES  OF  THIS  SUBDIVISION  THE TERM "OPPORTUNISTIC
 INVESTMENT" SHALL MEAN ANY ONE-OFF INVESTMENT  THAT  IS  BROUGHT  BY  AN
 INVESTMENT  MANAGER  AND  CAN  ONLY  BE  SOURCED THROUGH SUCH INVESTMENT
 MANAGER AND SHALL INCLUDE PRIVATE EQUITY FUNDS,  HEDGE  FUNDS  AND  REAL
 ESTATE  FUNDS.  SUCH  INVESTMENTS  MAY  BE AVAILABLE ONLY FOR A SET TIME
 PERIOD DETERMINED BY THE INVESTMENT MANAGER AND  AT  A  SET  PRICE  ALSO
 DETERMINED BY THE INVESTMENT MANAGER. OPPORTUNISTIC INVESTMENTS MAY ALSO
 INCLUDE PUBLIC MARKET PRODUCTS AND NICHE STRATEGIES.
   §  2.  This  act  shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall
 have become a law.

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Senate Bill S1912

Sponsored By

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Civil Service And Pensions Committee

2023-S1912 (ACTIVE) - Details

2023-S1912 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2023-S1912 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2023-S1912 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments

Senate Bill S1912

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Sponsored By

Cordell Cleare

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Civil Service And Pensions Committee

2023-S1912 (ACTIVE) - Details

2023-S1912 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2023-S1912 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2023-S1912 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments