SB 389 - This act modifies provisions relating to duties of fiduciaries for public employee retirement systems. Specifically, investment fiduciaries are required to: (1) Not consider environmental, social, or governance characteristics in a manner that would override his or her fiduciary duties;
(2) Not be subject to any legislative, regulatory, or other mandates to invest with environmentally, socially, or other noneconomically motivated influence unless the mandates are consistent with the fiduciary's responsibility or as provided in the system's governing statutes, ordinances, charter, or documents with respect to the investment of system assets or other duties imposed by law relating to the investment, management, deposit, or custody of system assets; and
(3) Not be subject to any legislative, regulatory, or other mandates for divestment from any indirect holdings in actively or passively managed investment funds or in private assets, unless such mandates are consistent with the fiduciary's responsibility.
All shares of common stock held directly by a retirement system shall be voted solely in the economic interest of participants of the system. Voting shares for the purposes of furthering noneconomic environmental, social, political, ideological, or other goals is prohibited. The act creates provisions on proxy voting for such purposes.
This act is substantially similar to provisions in SB 827 (2024), HB 1937 (2024), HB 769 (2023), and in HCS/HB 863 (2023), and is similar to provisions in HCS/SS/SB 898 (2024) and SB 1113 (2024).
KATIE O'BRIEN