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Read. Follow. Verify.Michigan Bill Restricts Public Retirement Fiduciaries to Pecuniary Factors and Mandates Public Meetings
Last action · May 13, 2025: REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON FINANCE, INSURANCE, AND CONSUMER PROTECTIONSponsors: Jim Runestad and 10 others
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What This Bill Would Do
Michigan Senate Bill 300 modifies the duties of public employee retirement system investment fiduciaries, requiring them to base investment and proxy decisions solely on s and prohibiting consideration of social, political, or ideological objectives. The measure also mandates public broadcasts and archiving of fiduciary meetings, imposes strict out-of-state travel limits for large sponsored systems, and establishes divestment rules for hazardous waste deep disposal well facilities under specific triggering events.
Public pension fund management rules change for state and local government employees, dictating how investment returns, proxy votes, and travel expenditures are handled, which directly impacts the long-term funding stability and transparency of public retirement systems.
- Senate Bill 300 amends the Public employee retirement system investment act of 1965 to modify how public pension assets are managed and overseen in Michigan. context
Who It Would Affect
Groups the bill's text would affect if enacted, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Investment fiduciaries
Investment fiduciaries must restrict evaluations and proxy voting strictly to pecuniary factors, adhere to new meeting transparency rules, and follow strict limits on out-of-state travel expenses.
Public employee retirement system participants and beneficiaries
Retirement system participants and beneficiaries rely on system assets managed exclusively for financial returns and benefit from increased public transparency and reporting requirements.
Large sponsored systems
Large sponsored systems face strict limitations on funding out-of-state travel and must submit summary annual reports to the financial review commission.
Key Facts
- Investment fiduciaries must discharge duties solely in the pecuniary interest of participants and beneficiaries, giving consideration only to pecuniary factors.
- Fiduciaries are prohibited from factoring social, political, or ideological objectives into investments, portfolio company engagement, or proxy votes.
- All meetings of retirement system fiduciaries must be open to the public, publicly broadcast in audio and video, and archived on the system website.
- Large sponsored systems are restricted from paying for out-of-state travel unless meeting specific criteria such as legal mandates, budgetary savings, or specialized training.
Show all 8 facts
- Fiduciaries investing in hazardous waste deep disposal well facilities must divest within 180 days if specific triggers occur, such as operator bankruptcy or EPA enforcement actions.
- Total aggregate costs for professional training and education, including travel for system board members, are capped at $150,000.00 or $12,000.00 per board member annually.
- Proxy votes must be posted on a system's website at least one calendar month before the vote is submitted.
- Retirement systems must publish and submit a detailed summary annual report covering assets, liabilities, funded ratios, net-of-fees performance, and expenditures.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a pecuniary factor under this bill?
Are retirement system fiduciary meetings open to the public?
What are the rules regarding out-of-state travel expenses for large sponsored systems?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Currently in committee. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Floor Vote.
Procedural history
2 actions- May 13, 2025SenateCommitteeREFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON FINANCE, INSURANCE, AND CONSUMER PROTECTION
- May 13, 2025SenateIntroducedINTRODUCED BY SENATOR JIM RUNESTAD
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
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Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Mandatory Pecuniary-Only Standard
The legislation formalizes a strict financial-only mandate for public pension investments, explicitly prohibiting the pursuit of social, political, or ideological goals through portfolio management or proxy voting.
Connected Entities
Sources
legislature.mi.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance75How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy65Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz40Current news / social attention level
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