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A01580 Summary:

BILL NOA01580
 
SAME ASSAME AS S00954
 
SPONSORKelles
 
COSPNSRMitaynes, Bichotte Hermelyn, Epstein, Paulin, Gonzalez-Rojas, Carroll R, Simon, Mamdani, Reyes, Lupardo, Gallagher, Steck, Rosenthal, Clark, Seawright, Kim, Forrest, Cruz, Jackson, Walker, Zinerman, Septimo, Davila, Burdick, Stern, Anderson, Conrad, Jacobson, McMahon, Lunsford, Sayegh, Ramos, Colton, Lavine, Glick, Hevesi, Bronson, Burke, Taylor, Otis, Dinowitz, Shrestha, Chandler-Waterman, Eachus, Cunningham, Raga, Shimsky, Levenberg
 
MLTSPNSR
 
Add §508-b, Ed L
 
Establishes the teachers' fossil fuel divestment act; requires the New York state teachers' retirement system to divest the retirement system of any stocks, securities, equities, assets, or other obligations of corporations or companies included on an exclusion list of coal producers and oil and gas producers.
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A01580 Memo:

NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY
MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION
submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A1580
 
SPONSOR: Kelles
  TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the education law, in relation to requiring the New York state teachers' retirement system to divest the retirement system of any investments in corporations or companies included on an exclusion list of coal producers and oil and gas producers   SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS: Sec. 1- title of the bill: "Teachers' Fossil Fuel Divestment Act" Sec. 2 - legislative findings Sec. 3 - amends the Education law by adding a new section 508-b that sets forth definitions; requires the retirement board to create a fossil fuel company exclusion list; provides for alignment with fiduciary responsibilities of the retirement fund; requires the retirement fund to divest from any companies on the exclusion list and provides a timeline for such divestment; allows for Investment in index funds provided 1% or less of fund's assets are invested in coal, oil, gas producers; provides for public notice of divestments. Sec. 4 - effective date   JUSTIFICATION: Climate change Is a real and serious threat to the health, welfare, and prosperity of all New Yorkers, now and in the future. Maintaining the status quo of fossil fuel energy production will lead to catastrophic results. Accordingly, this legislation requires that the New York State Teachers' Retirement System divest from fossil fuels, so that the value created by New York State's teachers is not used to make investments that threaten the future they are working to build. In July 2019, New York State passed the climate leadership and community protection act, and committed to reducing statewide greenhouse gas emissions by 85% by 2050, and net zero emissions In all sectors of the economy. Other cities and states have chosen to pursue similar paths to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. There are no existing laws or duties that require New York State to invest in energy sources that are harmful to the environment, or in contradiction to the goals of the climate leadership and community protection act. To the contrary, there is no quarrel under New York law, as there could not be, with the exercise of legislative power to restrict the classes of investments that New York State public pension funds might make. Moreover, there are ample investments that are avail- able that do not present the same harms presented by fossil fuel compa- nies. Pension fund divestment has become common in recent years. In February, New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoll, the trustee of the New York State Common Retirement Fund, announced that the fund will divest $26.8 million of actively managed holdings in eight oil and gas compa- nies that it has determined are not ready to transition to a low-carbon economy. Many cities and states have recognized the harmful effects of investing in fossil fuels, and have committed to divesting. Over 1,100 institutional Investors representing more than $11 trillion in holdings have chosen to pursue full or partial divestment from fossil fuel producers, including the New York City Employees Retirement System, the New York City Board of Education Retirement System, the endowment and pension funds of the University of California system, and the sovereign wealth funds of Norway and Ireland. New York owes duties to its residents, and the New York State Teachers' Retirement System owes duties to future beneficiaries. These duties can and should reasonably include considerations of human interests, quality of life, public safety and security, and ultimately require a shift away from fossil fuels to help mitigate the future adverse effects of climate change. Accordingly, it is appropriate to amend the education law to require such divestment.   PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: A6331 of 2021-22: referred to governmental employees A1101 of 2023-24: referred to governmental employees   FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS: This bill will have no effect on revenue or spending.   EFFECTIVE DATE: This bill Is effective immediately.
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