House Amendment 61
H 4300 - Session 125 (2023-2024)
Appropriations Bill, 2023-2024

Amend the bill, as and if amended, page 450, after line 35, by adding a new SECTION to read:

/ SECTION 99-E190- RETIREMENT SYSTEM INVESTMENT COMMISSION

(RSIC: Proxy Voting Rights) In the current fiscal year, the Retirement System Investment Commission (Commission) shall not use any funds authorized in Section 99 in Part 1A of this act, including amounts authorized for salaries, to make any commitment to invest in a new investment vehicle or make any additional investments into an existing investment vehicle, unless required by law or contract, regarding its public or private equity portfolios, unless the group trust that holds the assets of the retirement systems (or the Commission or the Public Employee Benefit Authority (PEBA), as applicable) possesses the legal right to vote its proportion of any and all underlying corporate shares of the companies owned by the investment vehicle. However, the Commission may invest in any such new or existing investment vehicle, if, by written agreement with the manager of the investment vehicle or the investment vehicle itself, as appropriate, the group trust (or the Commission or PEBA, as applicable) contractually possesses the right to vote its proportion of the underlying shares owned by such investment vehicle. The group trust (or the Commission or PEBA, as applicable) may contract with a proxy firm or advisory service provider to manage the voting of shares. Further, consistent with its fiduciary duty to the group trust, the plan participants, and retirees, the Commission shall begin to divest holdings in prohibited investment vehicles as set forth above. On or before January thirty-first of the current fiscal year, the Commission shall provide a written report to the General Assembly regarding its compliance with this proviso and its plans, including the timeframe and effects on the value of the assets in the retirement systems, to completely divest from all prohibited investment vehicles as set for the above./

Amend totals and titles to conform.