HB 18-1111: Modifications To PERA Public Employees' Retirement Association Board Of Trustees 

Currently, the board of trustees (board) of the public employees' retirement association (PERA) is composed of the following 15 trustees: The state treasurer; 3 elected members of the state division; 4 elected members of the school division; One elected member of the local government division; One elected member of the judicial division; 2 elected retirees; and 3 trustees appointed by the governor and confirmed by the senate who are not PERA members or retirees and who are experts in certain fields. There is also one ex officio trustee from the Denver public schools division. The bill modifies the composition of the board by: Eliminating one elected member trustee position from the state division; Eliminating 3 elected member trustee positions from the school division; Requiring both elected members from the state division and the members from the school division, the local government division, and the judicial division to be at least 20 years from retirement eligibility; and Adding 4 more trustees appointed by the governor and confirmed by the senate who are not PERA members or retirees and who are experts in certain fields to replace the eliminated elected member trustee positions. The additional appointed trustees must have significant experience and competence in investment management, finance, banking, economics, accounting, pension administration, or actuarial analysis. The bill does not change the inclusion on the board of the state treasurer, the elected members from the local government division and the judicial division, or the ex officio trustee from the Denver public schools division. In addition, PERA's nonstatutory governance manual permits a trustee of the board to make reasonable requests for information from PERA when the information is necessary for the purposes of fulfilling the trustee's duties as a member of the board. The governance manual also includes limitations on the nature of requests for information that a trustee can make. The bill authorizes a trustee, in his or her capacity as a member of the board and in furtherance of his or her fiduciary duties and obligations to the members and benefit recipients of PERA, to review all records or information within the custody and control of PERA. Upon request of a trustee, the executive director of PERA or the board is required to provide access to any records or information requested. Neither the executive director nor the board may deny a trustee's request for records or information based on the expenditure of staff time or the need to use outside resources to fill the request, or any other reason. A trustee is prohibited from using any records or information provided for personal use and PERA is required to keep certain information confidential when providing requested records or information to a trustee. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)  

CEA opposes HB 1111 because it eliminates critical voices of educators on the PERA Board by reducing the School Division to a single seat. The provisions of bill are discriminatory due to the mandate that certain seats be held by members more than 20 years away from retirement. Current law owes the duty of confidentiality to all members. For more information visit: http://www.securepera.org/2018/01/hb-1111-pera-board-composition-access-to-member-data/