In California this week, a law was passed requiring state pension placement agents to register as lobbyists in the state. This is according to Pay to Play Law Blog, which said that the law is “aimed at terminating “bounty-based compensation” and unrestricted gift-giving.”
The legislation was pushed by California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS), state Controller John Chiang and Treasurer Bill Lockyer. As lobbyists, the California state pension placement agents must comply with California’s Political Reform Act of 1974. A similar law in New York, according to the blog’s authors, is much more restrictive, with an outright ban on placement agents in place.
Agents are banned from contributions to elected board officials, and must file quarterly compensation reports if doing business with CalPERS or the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS).
A goal of the bill was increased transparency. The blog reports that Lockyer said the legislation “embodies a principle that has been forgotten and flouted in California and across the nation: Workers, retirees and taxpayers come before politically-connected middlemen and wealthy Wall Street interests.”
Read the background on the legislation here, and the post from Pay to Play Law Blog here.
Tags: California, CalPERS, CalSTRS, Pay to Play, pension plans
