Last week after our update email was written, four bills affecting ATRS and its members were filed. The good news is that three of them do not appear to threaten our independence or benefits. The fourth bill, if amended, should not cause us harm. The bills that we are tracking include:

• HB1317 - Increases the criminal penalties for making a "material false statement or representation" to ATRS or any other state retirement system for the purpose of obtaining or modifying a benefit. One of the other state retirement systems has asked for this change, and we do not see it causing any harm to our members or benefits. ATRS is currently neutral on this bill.
• HB1365 - Repeals requirements that certain state boards and commissions have minority board members, including the ATRS Board of Trustees. Under current law, ATRS Board Position #8 is reserved for minority ATRS members. If this bill passes, any active or retired ATRS member would be eligible to run for position #8 when it comes open in 2027. This bill would not affect the term of our current Board member in position #8, Anita Bell. Because the position would still be elected and the ATRS Board would remain independent, ATRS is currently neutral on this bill. 
• SB151 - Forfeits the retirement benefits of any elected public official who is convicted of a crime that would make them ineligible to hold office. The bill would apply only to members who join ATRS after the bill's effective date. ATRS is currently neutral on this bill.

The fourth bill is HB1352 which would restrict our ability to invest in China. For the last year or two, our investment managers have been hesitant to invest in China because of increased risk. China's business environment is not the same as it was 5-10 years ago, and the political and legal instability there makes it much harder to do business. Our investment managers do not think that a restriction on future investments would have any harm on our investment returns.

What is a concern, though, is the requirement in Section 3 of HB1352 that we divest some of our existing investments. If implemented in the wrong way, a divestment could cause us investment losses. I have been talking with the sponsors, and I am cautiously optimistic that the bill will be amended to address our concerns. For that reason, ATRS is neutral for the time being. If that changes and amendments are not made, I will alert you at once.

On Thursday, the Joint Budget Committee unanimously approved SB66 which is the appropriation act for ATRS. It should be heard on the Senate floor next week. On Tuesday the 11th, the Joint Public Retirement Committee will have its next meeting. At this point, I am not expecting that any ATRS bills will be considered that day.

If you have questions about how a bill may impact ATRS, or if you are concerned about something ATRS is proposing, please reach out to me at the email address or phone number below.

Also, if you are receiving this email as a forward and would like to be added to the distribution list, you can subscribe to these legislative updates here.

Mark White
ATRS Executive Director
MarkW@artrs.gov
Office: (501) 621-8853
Cell: (501) 541-2057