Several members of the public used the committee’s public-comment period to press for clearer reporting from the Washington State Investment Board and for a stronger plan to remove fossil-fuel holdings from state investment portfolios.

Retired state Representative Mary Lou Dickerson urged the committee to require stronger transparency from WSIB, saying the board’s staff and the global coal exit list produce “very different estimates” of coal exposure. “The board uses a list developed by MSCI, [which] counts companies with 60% or more of their portfolio in coal,” Dickerson said; she contrasted that with the Global Coal Exit List, which identifies companies with 10% or more of their business in coal and—she said—reports much larger holdings. “Without full transparency, it's difficult for the legislators and others to judge how much progress the board is making on its environmental goals,” she said.

Other commenters made similar arguments. Barbara Carey said public markets in WSIB portfolios include “upwards of $8,000,000,000 invested in coal, oil, and gas just in the public markets,” and urged the committee to prompt WSIB to adopt a science-based net-zero transition plan with detailed commitments from asset managers. Andrew Echols, a substitute educator and climate advocate, emphasized recent studies and regulatory attention to climate financial risks and urged stronger shareholder engagement by the WSIB. Kristin Edmark and Donna Albert also urged the committee to demand transparency and to consider using the Global Coal Exit List to identify coal holdings.

No WSIB staff presented during the public comment period; the remarks were framed as requests for the committee to use its oversight role to press WSIB and related governance bodies for clearer disclosure and a stronger transition strategy.

Why it matters: commenters linked climate-driven financial risks—insurance market impacts, potential stranded assets, and broader economic consequences—to the financial health of pension portfolios and urged the legislative committee that oversees pension policy to press for better disclosure and a net-zero transition approach.