Senate Retirement Committee Passes TRS Alternative Investment Bill  

When presenting SB 294 to the Senate Retirement Committee this afternoon, the bill's sponsor, Sen. Ellis Black (R-Valdosta), who also chairs the committee, explained that his legislation removes the current exemption in state law that prevents TRS from investing in alternative investments. For several years, other Georgia public retirement systems have had the ability to invest up to 5 percent of their funds in alternative investments, and returns from those alternatives have been higher than returns from equities and bonds. 

During public comment, Margaret Ciccarelli from PAGE shared comments similar to those she shared in the House Retirement Committee regarding the interplay between SB 294 and  HB 830 , which passed the House committee yesterday. She explained that if both bills were to become law, the cap on TRS alternative investment would move to ten percent and respectfully requested that lawmakers not allow such a change. 

At the conclusion of Ciccarelli’s comments, Black emphasized that he does not intend to hear HB 830 nor does he intend to raise the cap on TRS alternatives beyond 5 percent. SB 294 passed with two dissenting votes and now moves to the Senate Rules Committee, which is expected to schedule it for a floor vote. 

-Margaret Ciccarelli