This week saw some movement in bills related to ATRS and the other retirement systems. The ATRS appropriation bill, SB66, passed both the Senate and House with no opposing votes. It is now on the Governor's desk awaiting her signature. On Tuesday, the Joint Public Retirement Committee heard several bills from two of the state's other retirement systems and gave a "do pass" recommendation to all but one of them. On Wednesday, HB1365 failed to pass the House State Agencies & Governmental Affairs Committee. This is the bill that would remove the requirements for minority representation on the ATRS Board and other state boards and commissions. It is still possible that bill could be brought back up at a future committee meeting for consideration.

Next Tuesday the 18th, the Committee is scheduled to hear the seven bills in the ATRS Legislative Package. The Legislature's actuary is finalizing his review of the bills, and his reports should be posted to the Legislature's website by Monday. Our own actuaries have already reviewed the bills and determined that none of the bills will result in any material cost to ATRS. You can review a summary of the seven bills on the ATRS website here.

As a reminder, all of the Committee's meetings are live-streamed. You can watch Tuesday's meeting by going to the Legislature's website, scrolling down to the entry for Joint Public Retirement Committee under Tuesday, February 18, and click on the "Video" button on the right. The meeting isn't listed on the website at the time of my writing this email, but it should be listed there by Monday. The meeting will begin after the House and Senate adjourn for the day on Tuesday. That could be anytime after 2pm that day.

In last week's email, I discussed our possible concerns with HB1352 and its restrictions on investments in China. We are still having ongoing discussions with the Governor's Office, the sponsors, and the other retirement systems. I am still cautiously optimistic that the bill will be amended to address our concerns. If that changes, I will let you know at once.

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