State Treasurer Initiative Urges Local Governments To Consider Sustainable Investing
January 10, 2020 | Legislative briefsIGFOA abstains from advocacy on or for specific outcomes of legislative proposals. The Illinois Municipal League provides support to the IGFOA by providing legislative information that may be of interest to IGFOA members. In accordance with its policy, IGFOA takes no position on legislative information disseminated, neither encouraging or discouraging action, and leaving the decision on how to proceed with individual members.
State Treasurer Initiative Urges Local Governments To Consider Sustainable Investing
The Sustainable Investment Act (Public Act 101-0473), an initiative of State Treasurer Michael Frerichs, was signed into law by Governor JB Pritzker on August 23, 2019, and went into effect on January 1, 2020.
As introduced, the bill would have required governmental units to develop, publish and implement sustainability-based investing policies. The Illinois Municipal League (IML) immediately met with the sponsor, Representative Will Davis (D-Hazel Crest), to discuss our issues with the bill, not the least of which were the new investment mandates that the bill created.
After several meetings, and personal engagement with Treasurer Frerichs, IML was able to modify this overreaching bill from another mandate on local communities to a general and permissive outline concerning municipalities’ investment decisionmaking.
As a part of IML’s negotiations, the Treasurer’s office agreed that the legislation would strongly encourage governmental units to develop a sustainability-based investment policy, but not require one.
IML has developed a fact sheet (available at this link) outlining the new Act.