DENVER-
A plan to pull state money from companies that invest in Sudan gained the backing of the state’s retirement pension system.
The board of the Public Employment Retirement Association voted unanimously Monday to support the proposal (House Bill 1184), Meredith Williams, PERA’s executive director said.
The measure, which will have its first hearing at the Capitol on Wednesday, requires all public pension plans to develop a list of companies doing business in Sudan and warn any of those companies they invest in that they will be subject to divestiture if they continue to do business there.
If the companies don’t change their policies, the pension plan would have to sell or redeem its shares of all publicly traded securities of the company.
President Bush has labeled violence in Sudan a genocide. More than 200,000 people have been killed there and 2.5 million have been forced to flee their homes.
PERA, which covers about 400,000 current and former state workers, estimates that $137 million of its $38 billion portfolio is tied to companies doing business there. Williams said some of that money is managed by officials in Denver while some of it is commingled with that of other investors and overseen by outside money managers. He said the board is now satisfied lawmakers will address the mechanics of pulling both kinds of investments.
House Speaker Andrew Romanoff, who’s sponsoring the proposal along with 75 other lawmakers, said PERA’s vote was a big step forward.
“I don’t think any Coloradan wants their money to subsidize genocide and neither does the Legislature and neither does PERA,” he said.
It’s not known how much divestment could cost PERA but, if more governments decide to divest, Williams said it would be better to sell sooner rather than later.
“On any given transaction, it’s going to be some time before we know if we sold at the right time or not,” Williams said.
