BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT & RETIREMENT BILL NO: SR 18
Jim Beall, Chair HEARING DATE: August 26, 2013
SR 18 (Leno) to be amended 8/12/13 FISCAL: NO
SENATE RESOLUTION: RUSSIAN AGRESSION ON LGBT COMMUNITY
HISTORY :
Sponsor: Equality California (Co-sponsor)
National Center for Lesbian Rights
(Co-sponsor)
SUMMARY :
SR 18 makes findings and resolutions regarding persecutory
Russian laws and actions targeting the lesbian, gay,
bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community, and makes
requests regarding those actions of various persons and
entities including the President, Congress, and the US
Department of State; the National Olympic Committee, NBC
Universal and other organizations sponsoring and televising
events in Russia; and the California Public Employees'
Retirement System (CalPERS) and the State Teachers'
Retirement System (CalSTRS).
BACKGROUND AND ANALYSIS :
1) Existing law :
a) establishes CalPERS, which provides health, retirement,
disability, and death benefits for members and their
survivors and beneficiaries, and gives exclusive control
of administration and investment of the California Public
Employees' Retirement Fund to the CalPERS board.
b) likewise establishes CalSTRS, which provides
retirement, disability, and death benefits for members
and their survivors and beneficiaries, and gives
exclusive control of administration and investment of the
State Teachers' Retirement Fund to the CalSTRS board.
c) as contained in the California Constitution, provides
the retirement boards with sole and exclusive authority
Pamela Schneider
Date: August 26, 2013 Page
1
over investing the pension trust funds so as to minimize
the risk of loss and maximize returns solely in the
interest of providing benefits to participants,
minimizing employer contributions, and defraying costs of
administering the system.
2) This bill :
a) makes findings regarding the persecution of the LGBT
community in Russia, including the following:
i) Russian laws have been enacted to ban the adoption
of Russian-born children by LGBT couples or any single
parent living in a country where marriage equality
exists in any form; to ban "propaganda of
nontraditional sexual relations," including messages
on the Internet, thus violating the human rights of
free speech, assembly, expression and equality; and
allowing police officers to arrest tourists and
foreign nationals who violate the "gay propaganda"
law, detaining them for up to 15 days and expelling
them from Russia.
ii) these laws have increased violence against the LGBT
community and caused millions to live in fear, and
history instructs us that persecution by despotic
leaders moves on to become genocide, especially when
the rest of the world remains silent.
iii) the Russian Federation is the host of the XXII
Olympic Winter Games, and Russian governmental
representatives have indicated they intend to enforce
the law against visitors and athletes during the
Winter Games.
iv) representatives of the International Olympic
Committee have indicated their view that statements in
support of LGBT people and their rights would violet
Rule 50 of the Olympic Charter.
v) other events are scheduled to occur in Russia this
year, including the Miss Universe Pageant.
Pamela Schneider
Date: August 26, 2013 Page
2
vi) President Obama has expressed that he is offended by
the Anti LGBT laws, and Hillary Clinton, in her
capacity as United States Secretary of State,
supported Gay rights as human rights.
vii) CalPERS and CalSTRS, as equity shareholders in
publicly traded companies, are signatories to the
Principles for Responsible Investment; and
California's citizens expect integrity and the support
and protection of human rights from companies with
securities held in a public employee retirement fund.
viii) California has a history of leadership in socially
responsible investing.
a) makes the flowing resolutions:
i) the Senate condemns the Russian government's
attacks on the LGBT community and persecutory laws
targeting them and their supporters, including
visitors and participants to the Winter Games; and all
laws and acts of violence that use government as an
agent of discrimination and persecution.
ii) the Senate calls upon the President, the Congress,
and the US Department of State to increase efforts to
encourage the decriminalization of homosexuality
worldwide and to use various means to do so, including
the United Nations, trade and diplomatic
relationships, and international treaties and
declarations on human rights.
iii) the Senate urges the International Olympic Committee
to seek written agreement from the Russian government
to refrain from applying "gay propaganda" laws to
visitors and athletes to the Winter Games and to
withdraw statements that expressing support for LGBT
people and their rights is a violation of Rule 50.
iv) the Senate urges NBC Universal, as broadcaster of
the Winter Games, to increase awareness of Russia's
homophobic laws and the threat they pose to
participating athletes and visitors, and urges other
Pamela Schneider
Date: August 26, 2013 Page
3
organizations holding internationally televised events
in Russia to move their events to countries without
anti-gay laws.
v) the Senate strongly encourages CalPERS and CalSTRS,
whenever feasible and consistent with fiduciary duty,
to cease making direct investments in Russia and to
encourage companies in which employee retirement funds
are invested and that do business in Russia to not
take actions that promote or otherwise enable human
rights violations.
COMMENTS :
1) CalPERS and CalSTRS investments in Russia
CalPERS has approximately $1.4 billion invested in
Russian-related investments. CalSTRS also has investments
in Russia (amount has not been estimated at this time).
Both retirement systems note that most Russian investments
are done by a fund or limited partnership that controls the
actual investment, although in some instances the
investment fund may consist largely of pension fund
dollars.
2)Arguments in Support :
According to the author:
SR 18 urges California's two largest pension plans,
CalPERS and CalSTRS, to cease making direct future
investments in Russia, and to encourage companies in
which employee retirement funds are invested and that
are doing business in Russia not to enable human rights
violations.
SR 18 also calls on the International Olympic Committee
to seek a written guarantee from the Russian government
that athletes and other visitors to the 2014 Winter
Olympics in Sochi will not be prosecuted under the
anti-gay laws, urges NBC Universal to discuss the
negative impact of these laws on-air during its
broadcast of the games, and calls upon the President,
Pamela Schneider
Date: August 26, 2013 Page
4
Congress, and the Department of State to increase
efforts to encourage the decriminalization of
homosexuality in countries around the world.
Equality California, the largest LGBT rights organization
in California, states "The resolution condemns the
[anti-gay] laws as an affront to lesbian, gay, bisexual and
transgender (LGBT) people across the world, not just those
who live in that country." "SR 18 recognizes that
Californians cannot silently sit back and tacitly condone
these practices by continuing to invest in and support
Russian enterprises."
3)SUPPORT :
Equality California (Co-sponsor)
National Center for Lesbian Rights (Co-sponsor)
4)OPPOSITION :
None to date
#####
Pamela Schneider
Date: August 26, 2013 Page
5