S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
       ________________________________________________________________________
                                         6868
                              2015-2016 Regular Sessions
                                 I N  A S S E M B L Y
                                     April 8, 2015
                                      ___________
       Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  ABBATE  -- (at request of the New York State
         Teachers' Retirement System) -- read once and referred to the  Commit-
         tee on Governmental Employees
       AN  ACT  to amend the retirement and social security law, in relation to
         eligible investments in foreign equity securities by public retirement
         systems of the state
         THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
       BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
    1    Section  1.  Subdivision 8 of section 177 of the retirement and social
    2  security law, as amended by chapter 594 of the laws of 1993, is  amended
    3  to read as follows:
    4    8.  The  trustees  of a fund shall have the power to invest the moneys
    5  thereof in foreign equity securities provided that (a) any  such  equity
    6  security is registered on a national securities exchange, as provided in
    7  an  act  of  congress  of  the  United  States, entitled the "Securities
    8  Exchange Act of 1934", approved June  sixth,  nineteen  hundred  thirty-
    9  four,  as  amended, or otherwise registered pursuant to said act and, if
   10  such equity security is so otherwise registered, price quotations there-
   11  for are  furnished  through  a  nationwide  automated  quotation  system
   12  approved  by  the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. or is
   13  registered on a foreign exchange organized and regulated pursuant to the
   14  laws of the jurisdiction of such  exchange  and  (b)  the  [corporation]
   15  ISSUER OF SUCH EQUITY SECURITY has averaged at least one billion dollars
   16  in  annual  sales  for the three consecutive years preceding the year in
   17  which the investment is made or has market capitalization  of  at  least
   18  one  billion  dollars at the time the investment is made. Investments in
   19  such foreign equities shall be included together with a  fund's  invest-
   20  ments  in other equity securities for purposes of the percentage limita-
   21  tions set forth in [the foregoing subdivisions] SUBDIVISION TWO of  this
   22  section,  and  not  more  than [ten] TWELVE AND A HALF per centum of the
        EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                             [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                  LBD10388-01-5
       A. 6868                             2
    1  assets of any fund shall be invested in the aggregate  in  such  foreign
    2  equities PURSUANT TO THIS SUBDIVISION.
    3    S 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
         FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
         This  bill  would amend subdivision 8 of Section 177 of the Retirement
       and Social Security Law to increase to 12.5% the  percentage  of  assets
       which  may be invested by the New York State Teachers' Retirement System
       in foreign equity securities. The current limit is 10%.
         If this bill is enacted, any cost  or  savings  to  the  employers  of
       members  of  the New York State Teachers' Retirement System would depend
       on the investment performance of any assets that are invested in foreign
       equity securities due to this change  in  the  investment  restrictions.
       Additional investment income results in lower required employer contrib-
       utions, and vice-versa.
         Employee  data  is  from  the System's most recent actuarial valuation
       files, consisting of data provided by the employers  to  the  Retirement
       System.  Data  distributions and statistics can be found in the System's
       Comprehensive Annual Financial  Report  (CAFR).  System  assets  are  as
       reported  in the System's financial statements, and can also be found in
       the CAFR. Actuarial assumptions and methods are provided in the System's
       Actuarial Valuation Report.
         The source of this estimate is Fiscal Note 2015-4 dated  December  30,
       2014, prepared by the Actuary of the New York State Teachers' Retirement
       System and is intended for use only during the 2015 Legislative Session.
       I,  Richard  A.  Young,  am the Actuary for the New York State Teachers'
       Retirement System. I am a member of the American  Academy  of  Actuaries
       and  I meet the Qualification Standards of the American Academy of Actu-
       aries to render the actuarial opinion contained herein.