Bill: SB 509, 85(R) - 2017
Committee
Senate State Affairs
Vote Recommendation
| Vote Recommendation |
Economic Freedom |
Property Rights |
Personal Responsibility |
Limited Government |
Individual Liberty |
| Yes |
Neutral |
Neutral |
Neutral |
Positive |
Positive |
Author(s)
Joan Huffman
Bill Caption
Relating to the evaluation of investment practices and performance of certain public retirement systems.
Fiscal Notes
Estimated Two-year Net Impact to General Revenue Related Funds for SB509, Committee Report 1st House, Substituted: a negative impact of ($204,930) through the biennium ending August 31, 2019.
The bill would make no appropriation but could provide the legal basis for an appropriation of funds to implement the provisions of the bill.
Bill Analysis
SB 509 would require public retirement systems to hire an independent firm to evaluate their investment practices and performance. This evaluation must be conducted once every three years if the retirement system has a total book value of assets over $100 million. If it has a book value between $30 and $100 million, the evaluation must be conducted once every six years. If it has a book value less than $30 million, the evaluation is not required. The retirement system will pay for the costs of this evaluation, and must submit an annual comprehensive report to the governor, lieutenant governor, speaker of the house, and any related legislative committees.
Vote Recommendation Notes
Texas Action supports this bill. Due to the current state of our pension system, regular checks on the practices and performance of these smaller funds is a reasonable method of promoting financial accountability, given the lack of self-governance local entities have demonstrated. This is a proactive step towards recognizing and combating pension insolvency that has run rampant throughout the state, jeopardizing our financial well-being. These provisions uphold our principles of limited government and individual liberty, and thus we support this legislation.
