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Senate Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
Senate of Pennsylvania
Session of 2013 - 2014
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | January 30, 2014 10:37 AM |
|---|---|
| From: | Senator Vincent J. Hughes and Sen. Charles T. McIlhinney, Jr. |
| To: | All Senate members |
| Subject: | Independent Legal Counsel for SERS and PSERS |
| In the near future we will be introducing legislation to authorize both the State Employees Retirement Board (SERS) and the Public School Employees Retirement Board (PSERS) to hire its own legal advisor or advisors to represent the interests of SERS and PSERS. These positions would be agency positions and individuals would be considered Commonwealth employees. Currently, the Governor’s Office of General Counsel (OGC) serves as the legal advisor to both Boards pursuant to the Commonwealth Attorneys Act. At a time when the future of both retirement systems is subject to much debate, authorizing SERS and PSERS to employ its own legal advisors will ensure that each board receives independent legal advice and counsel on what the best course of action is for each system, its members and annuitants. Additionally, allowing SERS and PSERS to each hire its own counsel will remove any conflict of interest, or the appearance of such, where the interests of a gubernatorial administration may diverge from the interests of the system. As the fiduciary for thousands of members and annuitants, it is imperative that both SERS and PSERS act as an independent voice regarding any future changes to the current systems. Please join us in co-sponsoring this legislation. |
Introduced as SB1271