F899ACFCB971ECAE8725846A00722AE3 Hearing Summary

Mr. Ron Baker remained at the table with Mr. Timothy O'Brien, PERA Board Chair, Ms. Susan Murphy, PERA Board Member, and Mr. Eric Rothaus, representing the State Treasurer's office.  Representative Bird asked the panelists to discuss issues they believed to be pertinent to the subcommittee. Mr. Baker discussed how governance varies across the county and offered some examples. He described his pride in the organization and the work of the board, and thanked the subcommittee for their kind comments over the course of the meeting. Mr. O'Brien stated that the board is constantly looking at assumptions. He advised that the Legislative Council Staff research project include plan design in its comparison of state pension governance structures, and offered examples of where the plan design changes the governance. Ms. Murphy thanked the committee for their work and acknowledged that many of the questions asked today are very familiar to her. She discussed the rate of return process and explained the in-depth effort the board makes to bring in a variety of perspectives and inputs to their processes. She invited the subcommittee to visit the board. Mr. Rothaus expressed Treasurer Young's regrets of not being there personally and echoed the comments of other board members.