Latest news with #SenateBill681
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Lawmakers push high-stakes bill to hold public investments accountable: 'We have no indication that anything has been done'
Oregon is taking a big step forward in its attempt to align public investments with climate goals. The Pause Act would pause investments in private equity funds using state pension money if more than 10% of those funds are invested in dirty fuel companies. Its goal is to support Oregon's mission to become carbon neutral by 2050. By halting these investments for five years, the bill's sponsors hope to help the state realize its vision, possibly even sooner. The Pause Act had hundreds of letters of support before its first public hearing in March 2025, reported Oregon Public Broadcasting. But the Pause Act — formally known as Senate Bill 681 — could even help investors get more from their money. Long-term investments in oil and gas are becoming riskier as the global economy moves away from dirty fuels. Companies like PG&E are noticing underperforming stocks, while renewable energy companies are seeing more sustainable growth. According to the International Energy Agency, solar alone had more investments than oil in 2023. For more profit-making potential, clean energy investments are the way to go, especially for long-term growth. While the Pause Act aims to move state pension investments away from dirty energy companies, it will also help send a clear message that Oregon supports a clean energy future. If the bill passes, the clean energy industry could attract more investments to boost the funding needed to thrive. And where there's clean energy, there's potential for new jobs and economic growth. Despite overwhelming support for the Pause Act, it's also had some opposition, including from the Oregon State Treasury. Still, lawmakers have continued to push for the bill or a compromise for all parties. "The plan's been out for over a year," said co-founder of Divest Oregon Susan Palmiter, referencing the state's carbon-neutral plan, "but we have no indication that anything has been done in this area. This is why we need Senate Bill 681." Should the government ban gas stoves? Yes Only in new buildings Only in restaurants No way Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Hundreds support pausing Oregon's investment in private fossil fuel holdings but Treasury opposed
A fracking site in Greeley, Colorado, is pictured on June 24, 2020. About 10% of Oregon's Public Employees Retirement System fund is invested in so-called real assets, such as investments in infrastructure, commodities and natural resources including fracked gas and oil. The single largest portion of emission-related investments in the state's pension portfolio are held in real assets. (Andy Bosselman/Colorado Newsline) A bill to get the Oregon State Treasury to pause new pension investments in private assets and equity funds that are invested in fossil fuel companies received hundreds of letters of support this week, and one powerful letter of opposition. Senate Bill 681, the Pause Act, would put a five-year moratorium on new private equity investments made with Public Employees Retirement System, or PERS, funds, if more than 10% of the private equity fund is invested in fossil fuel companies or heavy users. The bill had its first public hearing Wednesday in the Senate Committee on Finance and Revenue. Nearly 300 letters of support were submitted in advance of the hearing and more than 30 — including one from the Oregon State Treasury —were submitted in opposition. The idea, according to the bill's chief sponsor Sen. Jeff Golden, D-Ashland, is to ensure the Treasury actualizes its own plan to get the PERS portfolio to 'net-zero' greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Former state Treasurer and current Secretary of State Tobias Read published the plan in February 2024, with the goal of getting PERS out of some fossil fuel investments, stop investing in some fossil fuel funds and companies and increasing investments in industries that are cutting or absorbing greenhouse gas emissions or are committing to doing so. 'We have an opportunity to answer an important question about an important document,' Golden told lawmakers during Wednesday's hearing. 'The question is this: Are we looking at yet one more comprehensive document that will only gather dust on bookshelves around the Capitol? Passing Senate Bill 681, Mr. Chair, is a clear way to say 'No. We are actually beginning to put this plan into action in careful alignment with the pathway to net zero.'' But new state Treasurer Elizabeth Steiner and the Oregon State Treasury are opposed to the bill, according to written testimony submitted in advance of the hearing. 'It reduces our ability to diversify our portfolio and maximize returns for the retirees who are beneficiaries of the Oregon Public Employee Retirement Fund,' wrote Jessica Howell, the Treasury's lobbyist. Her letter included data showing Treasury's private investments have had 10-year returns on investment about 2% higher than those from investments in public markets. Steiner is instead sponsoring House Bill 2200, which would codify the goals of the Net Zero Plan in law, but does not mandate specific ways of achieving them. Senate Bill 681 would mandate the Treasury pause new private investments in specific funds. Susan Palmiter — co-founder of the coalition of nonprofit advocacy groups Divest Oregon and a chief petitioner of the Pause Act — told lawmakers at the hearing that the Treasury is already backing away from its commitment to end investment in private funds enmeshed in fossil fuels. 'This is in the plan that they hope to implement, but we have no indication that anything has been done in this area. The plan's been out for over a year,' she said. 'This is why we need Senate Bill 681.' About 28% of the funds in PERS, which serves more than 166,000 current retirees, are invested in private equity funds, which are pooled investments in non-publicly traded companies. That is more than double the average of other state pension systems, according to Public Plans Data, a nonprofit research consortium housed at the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College. This exposes the PERS system to major risks, according to Divest and pension watchdog groups like the Chicago-based Private Equity Stakeholder Project. Rep. Mark Gamba, D-Milwaukie, testified in support of the bill Wednesday and took aim at Treasury's heavy investment in private funds and assets. Gamba explained to lawmakers that the Oregon Treasury typically commits hundreds of millions of dollars at a time to private fund managers, with investment contracts lasting 10 to 15 years. 'Treasury becomes a limited partner and has no say in what the fund manager invests in. These private investments are secret. Long ago, private investment folks got laws passed in every state that keep the beneficiaries — in this case, Oregon PERS members — from knowing what their retirement money is invested in,' he explained. Another 10% of PERS funds are wrapped up in real assets, such as investments in infrastructure, commodities and natural resources including fracked gas and oil. This is where the single largest portion of emission-related investments in the state's pension portfolio are held. A study commissioned by the Oregon Treasury in 2021 from the international financial consultant Ortec Finance showed the Treasury's asset values could decline nearly 40% by 2060 due to the effects of climate change. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
