Bill Text: NJ S305 | 2010-2011 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Clarifies that responsibility for investment of assets under management of Division of Investment vests in State Investment Council.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-01-12 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate State Government, Wagering, Tourism & Historic Preservation Committee [S305 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2010-S305-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
214th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2010 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Senator DIANE B. ALLEN
District 7 (Burlington and Camden)
Senator BILL BARONI
District 14 (Mercer and Middlesex)
SYNOPSIS
Clarifies that responsibility for investment of assets under management of Division of Investment vests in State Investment Council.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel
An Act clarifying responsibility for the investment of assets under the management of the Division of Investment and amending P.L.1950, c.270.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Section 6 of P.L.1950, c.270 (C.52:18A-84) is amended to read as follows:
6. The Division of Investment established hereunder shall be under the immediate supervision and direction of a director, who shall be a person qualified by training and experience to direct the work of such division. The director of such division shall be appointed by the State Treasurer from a list of one or more persons qualified for such office and submitted to the State Treasurer by the State Investment Council; provided, that the State Treasurer may require the submission of an additional list or lists. Each list so submitted by the council shall also contain the qualifications of each person whose name appears thereon who shall be certified by the council to the State Treasurer as qualified for the office of director of such division. The detailed qualifications of each person so named by the council shall be contained in such certification.
Any director so appointed shall serve without term but may be removed from office (a) by the State Treasurer, for cause, upon notice and opportunity to be heard at a public hearing, or (b) by the State Investment Council, if seven or more members thereof shall vote for such director's removal from office.
Any vacancy occurring in the office of the Director of the Division of Investment shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment.
The director of said division shall devote his entire time and attention to the duties of his office and shall not be engaged in any other occupation or profession. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the State Treasurer shall determine the salary of the director the amount of which shall not exceed $200,000.
Legal responsibility for the investment and reinvestment of the assets of any fund or account that have been placed by or pursuant to law under the management of the division shall, except as otherwise specifically provided by law, be vested in the State Investment Council acting through the division under the direction of the director thereof, and shall not be vested in the State Treasurer or transferred or assigned to any other public officer or any other person.
(cf: P.L.1998, c.38, s.2)
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill amends the statute establishing the Division of Investment in the Department of the Treasury to clarify that whenever the assets of any fund or account have been placed under the management of the division, legal responsibility for investing those assets shall, except as otherwise specifically provided by law, be vested in the State Investment Council acting through the division under the direction of the director of the division, and shall not be vested in the State Treasurer nor transferred or assigned to any other public officer or any other person.
The provisions of the bill do not alter the substance of the existing law, enacted in response to a former Deputy State Treasurer's policy of investing State disability benefits monies through his son's employer on terms favorable to the employer. Nor would the bill entail changes in current State investment management practice. Rather, the bill would reinforce New Jersey's policy against the kind of politicized financial management that led to the 1999 conviction of the Connecticut State Treasurer for taking bribes to divert the management of State pension fund assets to certain private firms. It would also protect the State from having to pay the high fees typically associated with privatized investment management.
