State Teachers' Retirement System: board of administration: investments.

The California Constitution grants the retirement board of a public pension or retirement system plenary authority and fiduciary responsibility for investment of moneys and administration of the system, as specified. The California Constitution also requires the retirement board of a public pension or retirement system, consistent with the exclusive fiduciary responsibilities vested in it, to have the sole and exclusive power to provide for actuarial services in order to assure the competency of the assets of the public pension or retirement system. The Teachers' Retirement Law creates the State Teachers' Retirement System for the provision of service, disability, and other benefits to members. The law requires the assets of the plan, including, but not limited to, employee contributions, employer contributions, and investment income, to be deposited into the Teachers' Retirement Fund, and continuously appropriates the fund for, among other things, the payment of member benefits. The Teachers' Retirement Law authorizes the board to appoint investment managers to manage the assets of the fund. This bill would provide that, without regard to state contracting laws, except as specified, the board is authorized to contract for services for the investment of the fund under the terms and conditions and utilizing the processes the board deems necessary and consistent with its fiduciary duties. The bill would require the board's processes to be competitive, except as specified, and would prescribe standards for those processes. The bill would grant an investment manager, as specified, who is not selected in the course of a noncompetitive contract process for investment services to have the opportunity to protest. The bill would also make conforming changes.