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California State Legislature bill updates 03/03/2015; Assembly Bill

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  • California State Legislature bill updates 03/03/2015; Assembly Bill

    US Official News
    March 5, 2015 Thursday


    California State Legislature bill updates 03/03/2015; Assembly Bill
    No. 1410 Introduced by Assembly Members Nazarian, Achadjian, and Wilk

    Sacramento

    California State Legislature has issued the following bill updates:

    Assembly BillNo. 1410
    Introduced by Assembly Members Nazarian, Achadjian, and Wilk
    February 27, 2015
    An act to amend Section 16642 of, and to add Section 7513.75 to, the
    Government Code, relating to investments.
    LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

    AB 1410, as introduced, Nazarian. Public employees' retirement:
    investments: Turkish investment vehicles.

    The California Constitution provides that the Legislature may by
    statute prohibit retirement board investments if it is in the public
    interest to do so, and providing that the prohibition satisfies
    specified fiduciary standards.

    Existing law prohibits the Public Employees' Retirement System and the
    State Teachers' Retirement System from investing public employee
    retirement funds in a company with active business operations in Sudan
    and in Iran, as specified.

    This bill would additionally prohibit the Public Employees' Retirement
    System and the State Teachers' Retirement System from investing public
    employee retirement funds in a Turkish investment vehicle, as
    specified. The bill would require the Board of Administration of the
    Public Employees' Retirement System and the Teachers' Retirement Board
    of the State Teachers' Retirement System to sell or transfer any
    investments in a Turkish investment vehicle.

    This bill would require these boards, on or before January 1, 2017,
    and annually thereafter, to report to the Legislature any investments
    in a Turkish investment vehicle and the sale or transfer of those
    investments, subject to the fiduciary duty of these boards.

    This bill would indemnify from the General Fund and hold harmless the
    present, former, and future board members, officers, and employees of
    and investment managers under contract with those retirement systems.

    Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
    State-mandated local program: no.

    The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
    P2 1
    SECTION 1.

    The Legislature finds and declares the following:

    2(a)?The State of California has officially recognized the
    3Armenian Genocide each year for decades and has repeatedly
    4urged the Republic of Turkey to acknowledge the facts of the
    5Armenian Genocide and work toward a just resolution, honor its
    6obligations under international treaties and human rights laws, to
    7end all forms of religious discrimination and persecution, and to
    8return Christian church properties to their rightful owners.

    9(b)?Genocide is defined by the United Nations as an act
    10`committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national,
    11ethnical, racial or religious group'.

    12(c)?Genocide denial is widely viewed as among the final stages
    13of genocide and serves to perpetuate the effects of genocide even
    14after the active phases of extermination, massacres, forced marches,
    15and deportation has ended.

    16(d)?The government of Turkey has engaged and continues to
    17engage in an ongoing campaign of genocide denial and historical
    18revisionism by refusing to acknowledge its responsibility for the
    19Armenian Genocide, refusing to compensate its victims, and
    20actively pursuing a well-funded political lobbying campaign
    21throughout the United States, including in California, to rewrite
    22history and defeat legislation recognizing the Armenian Genocide.

    23(e)?The government of Turkey has engaged and continues to
    24engage in efforts to effect Armenian cultural erasure since the
    25founding of the Republic of Turkey, including, but not limited to,
    26ethnic cleansings and the destruction of sacred Armenian religious
    27sites.

    28(f)?Reference in Turkey by any scholar, journalist, or other
    29person to the massacre and deportation of Armenians in 1915 to
    301923, inclusive, as genocide can be criminally prosecuted under
    31Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code.

    P3 1(g)?The State of California is home to the largest
    2Armenian-American population in the United States, and
    3Armenians living in California, most of whom are direct
    4descendants of the survivors of the Armenian Genocide, have
    5enriched our state through their leadership and contributions in
    6business, agriculture, academia, government, and the arts, yet
    7continue to suffer the effects of the continued denial campaign by
    8the government of Turkey.

    9(h)?The State of California, as the world's eighth largest
    10economy, and in accordance with principles of human rights and
    11justice, has taken the lead in adopting legislation to divest from
    12South Africa for its policy of apartheid, Sudan for its genocide in
    13Darfur, and Iran for its support of international terrorism, imposing
    14economic consequences upon regimes that engage in conduct and
    15policy that violate human rights or constitute crimes against
    16humanity.

    17(i)?The State of California, through its Public Employees'
    18Retirement System (PERS) and its State Teachers' Retirement
    19System (STRS), directly invests public funds in the government
    20of Turkey, which then reaps profits while actively denying the
    21Armenian Genocide, funding its continued campaign of denial, at
    22least in part, through these investments in its economy.

    23(j)?By investing public funds in the government of Turkey, the
    24State of California as the embodiment of its citizens contradicts
    25its longstanding, just position of recognizing the Armenian
    26Genocide and urging the government of Turkey to acknowledge
    27its responsibility and work toward a just resolution by honoring
    28its obligations under international treaties and human rights laws,
    29to end all forms of religious discrimination and persecution, and
    30to return Christian church properties to their rightful owners.

    31(k)?It is the government of Turkey, not the people of Turkey,
    32that is responsible for Turkey's continued egregious violations of
    33human rights and active pursuit of genocide denial, cultural erasure,
    34and historical revisionism.

    35(l)?PERS currently has investment holdings in bonds directly
    36issued by the Republic of Turkey in excess of $185,000,000.

    37(m)?STRS currently has investment holdings in bonds directly
    38issued by the Republic of Turkey in excess of several hundred
    39million dollars.

    P4 1(n)?Investment in the Republic of Turkey enables its government
    2to continue to deny justice to the Armenian people.

    3(o)?Divesting these funds would ensure that the State of
    4California is in no way complicit in the continued denial of the
    5Armenian Genocide by the government of Turkey and would
    6encourage said government to acknowledge the Armenian
    7Genocide and to reach a fair and just resolution of reparations for
    8the survivors of the Armenian Genocide.
    9
    SEC. 2.

    Section 7513.75 is added to the Government Code, to
    10read:
    11
    7513.75.

    (a)?As used in this section, the following terms have
    12the following meanings:

    13(1)?`Board' means the Board of Administration of the Public
    14Employees' Retirement System or the Teachers' Retirement Board
    15of the State Teachers' Retirement System, as applicable.

    16(2)?`Government of Turkey' means the government of Turkey
    17or its instrumentalities or political subdivisions. `Government of
    18Turkey' also includes any and all investment vehicles, government
    19bonds, or financial institutions and entities that are owned,
    20controlled, or operated by the government of Turkey.

    21(3)?`Turkey' means the Republic of Turkey or any territory
    22 under the administration or control of Turkey.

    23(4)? `Public employee retirement funds' means the Public
    24Employees' Retirement Fund described in Section 20062 and the
    25Teachers' Retirement Fund described in Section 22167 of the
    26Education Code.

    27(b)?The board shall not invest public employee retirement funds
    28in any investment vehicle in Turkey that meets either of the
    29following criteria:

    30(1)?The investment vehicle is issued by the government of
    31Turkey.

    32(2)?The investment vehicle is owned, controlled, or managed
    33by the government of Turkey.

    34(c)?On or before June 30, 2016, the board shall determine which
    35Turkish investment vehicles are subject to divestment.

    36(d)?After the determination described in subdivision (c), the
    37board shall determine, by the next applicable board meeting, if a
    38Turkish investment vehicle meets the criteria described in
    39subdivision (b). If the board plans to invest or has investments in
    40a company that meets the criteria described in subdivision (b), that
    P5 1planned or existing investment shall be subject to subdivisions (g)
    2and (h).

    3(e)?Investments of the board in an investment vehicle that does
    4not meet the criteria described in subdivision (b) are not subject
    5to subdivision (h) if the company does not subsequently meet the
    6criteria described in subdivision (b). The board shall identify the
    7reasons why that investment vehicle does not satisfy the criteria
    8described in subdivision (b) in the report to the Legislature
    9described in subdivision (i).

    10(f)?(1)?Notwithstanding subdivisions (d) and (e), if the board's
    11investment in a company described in subdivision (b) is limited
    12to investment via an externally and actively managed commingled
    13fund, the board shall contact that fund manager in writing and
    14request that the fund manager remove that investment vehicle from
    15the fund as described in subdivision (h). On or before June 30,
    162016, if the fund or account manager creates a fund or account
    17devoid of investment vehicles described in subdivision (b), the
    18transfer of board investments from the prior fund or account to the
    19fund or account devoid of the investment vehicles shall be deemed
    20to satisfy subdivision (h).

    21(2)?If the board's investment in an investment vehicle described
    22in subdivision (b) is limited to an alternative fund or account, the
    23alternative fund or account manager creates an actively managed
    24commingled fund that excludes investment vehicles described in
    25subdivision (b), and the new fund or account is deemed to be
    26financially equivalent to the existing fund or account, the transfer
    27of board investments from the existing fund or account to the new
    28fund or account shall be deemed to satisfy subdivision (h). If the
    29board determines that the new fund or account is not financially
    30equivalent to the existing fund, the board shall include the reasons
    31for that determination in the report described in subdivision (i).

    32(3)?The board shall make a good faith effort to identify any
    33private equity investments that involve investment vehicles
    34described in subdivision (b), or are linked to the government of
    35Turkey. If the board determines that a private equity investment
    36clearly involves an investment vehicle described in subdivision
    37(b), or is linked to the government of Turkey, the board shall
    38consider, at its discretion, if those private equity investments shall
    39be subject to subdivision (h). If the board determines that a private
    40equity investment clearly involves a company described in
    P6 1subdivision (b), or is linked to the government of Turkey and the
    2board does not take action as described in subdivision (h), the
    3board shall include the reasons for its decision in the report
    4described in subdivision (i).

    5(g)?Except as described in subdivisions (e) and (f), the board,
    6in the board's capacity of shareholder or investor, shall notify any
    7investment vehicle described in subdivision (d) that the investment
    8vehicle is subject to subdivision (h) and permit that investment
    9vehicle to respond to the board. The board shall request that the
    10investment vehicle take substantial action to disassociate itself
    11from the government of Turkey no later than 90 days from the date
    12the board notified the investment vehicle under this subdivision.
    13If the board determines that an investment vehicle has taken
    14substantial action or has made sufficient progress toward substantial
    15action before the expiration of that 90-day period, that investment
    16vehicle shall not be subject to subdivision (h). The board shall, at
    17intervals not to exceed 90 days, continue to monitor and review
    18the progress of the investment vehicle until that investment vehicle
    19has taken substantial action in Turkey. An investment vehicle that
    20fails to complete substantial action within one year from the date
    21of the initial notice by the board shall be subject to subdivision
    22(h).

    23(h)?If an investment vehicle described in subdivision (d) fails
    24to complete substantial action by the time described in subdivision
    25(g), the board shall take the following actions:

    26(1)?The board shall not make additional or new investments or
    27renew existing investments in that investment vehicle.

    28(2)?The board shall liquidate the investments of the board in
    29that investment vehicle no later than 18 months after this
    30subdivision applies to that investment vehicle. The board shall
    31liquidate those investments in a manner to address the need for
    32investment vehicles to take substantial action in Turkey and
    33consistent with the board's fiduciary responsibilities as described
    34in Section 17 of Article XVI of the California Constitution.

    35(i)?On or before January 1, 2017, and every year thereafter, the
    36board shall file a report with the Legislature. The report shall
    37describe the following:

    38(1)?A list of investments the board has in investment vehicles
    39that satisfy the criteria in subdivision (b), including, but not limited
    P7 1to, the issuer, by name, of the stock, bonds, securities, and other
    2evidence of indebtedness.

    3(2)?A detailed summary of the association between an
    4investment vehicle described in paragraph (1) and the government
    5of Turkey.

    6(3)?Whether the board has reduced its investments in an
    7investment vehicle that satisfies the criteria in subdivision (b).

    8(4)? If the board has not completely reduced its investments in
    9an investment vehicle that satisfies the criteria in subdivision (b),
    10when the board anticipates that the board will reduce all
    11investments in that investment vehicle or the reasons why a sale
    12or transfer of investments is inconsistent with the fiduciary
    13responsibilities of the board as described in Section 17 of Article
    14XVI of the California Constitution.

    15(5)?Any information described in subdivisions (d) and (e).

    16(6)?A detailed summary of investments that were transferred to
    17funds or accounts devoid of Turkish investment vehicles as
    18described in subdivision (f).

    19(7)?An annual calculation of any costs or investment losses or
    20other financial results incurred in compliance with the provisions
    21of this section.

    22(j)?If the board voluntarily sells or transfers all of its investments
    23in a Turkish investment vehicle in accordance with this section,
    24this section shall not apply except that the board shall file a report
    25with the Legislature related to that investment vehicle as described
    26in subdivision (i).

    27(k)?Nothing in this section shall require the board to take action
    28as described in this section if the board determines, and adopts
    29findings, in good faith and based on credible information available
    30to the public, that the action described in this section would fail
    31to satisfy the fiduciary responsibilities of the board as described
    32in Section 17 of Article XVI of the California Constitution.

    33(l)?This section shall be known, and may be cited, as the
    34California Public Divest from Turkey to End the Perpetuation of
    35the Armenian Genocide Act.
    36
    SEC. 3.

    Section 16642 of the Government Code is amended
    37to read:
    38
    16642.

    Present, future, and former board members of the Public
    39Employees' Retirement System or the State Teachers' Retirement
    40System, jointly and individually, state officers and employees,
    P8 1research firms described in subdivision (d) of Section 7513.6, and
    2investment managers under contract with the Public Employees'
    3Retirement System or the State Teachers' Retirement System shall
    4be indemnified from the General Fund and held harmless by the
    5State of California from all claims, demands, suits, actions,
    6damages, judgments, costs, charges and expenses, including court
    7costs and attorney's fees, and against all liability, losses, and
    8damages of any nature whatsoever that these present, future, or
    9former board members, officers, employees, research firms as
    10described in subdivision (d) of Section 7513.6, or contract
    11 investment managers shall or may at any time sustain by reason
    12of any decision to restrict, reduce, or eliminate investments
    13pursuant to Sectionsbegin delete 7513.6 and 7513.7.end deletebegin
    insert 7513.6, 7513.7, and
    147513.75.end insert
    15
    SEC. 4.

    The provisions of this act are severable. If any
    16provision of this act or its application is held invalid, that invalidity
    17shall not affect other provisions or applications that can be given
    18effect without the invalid provision or application.



    From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
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