Public Retirement Proxy Voting Disclosure Act

States rely on the fiduciaries of their public retirement funds to make decisions that will maximize their returns and keep their funds strong. Strong funds are important not only to plan beneficiaries but also to the taxpayers who could be called on to supplement deficient funds. This model bill ensures the public has information related to proxy voting by public retirement systems.

Summary: AN ACT relating to proxy voting by public retirement systems.

SECTION 1. Disclosure of Public Retirement Proxy Votes

  1. The [governing body of a public retirement system] shall produce an annual report tabulating and describing all the shareholder votes cast by the board or the board’s fiduciaries for the period January 1 to December 31.1 For each shareholder vote cast during the calendar year, the report required by this subsection shall contain a vote caption, the board or fiduciary’s vote, the recommendation of company management, and, if applicable, the proxy advisor or other service provider’s recommendation. The board shall publish the report required by this section on its website no later than March 1 of the calendar year following the calendar year addressed in the report.
  2. As used in this Section, the following terms are defined.
    1. Company” means a publicly traded, for-profit corporation, limited liability company, partnership, or other business entity.
    2. “Proxy advisor or other service provider” means a person who, for compensation, provides advice or a recommendation on how to vote on a shareholder vote.
    3. “Shareholder” means a shareholder, unitholder, limited partner, or other equity owner of a company.
    4. “Shareholder vote” means any vote by a company’s shareholders on a proposal included in the company’s proxy statement, including but not limited to director nominations or elections, or any proposal relating to director nominations or elections, executive compensation, corporate transactions, corporate structure, auditor selection, or company policy on any subject.
1 This subsection is based on W. Va. Code Ann. § 12-6-11a(f).

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