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Committee amends proxy-vote transparency and investment standards; Senate File 191 advances
Summary
The Appropriations Committee advanced Senate File 191 with amendments clarifying reporting of proxy voting and setting standards for investment entities. Committee and Treasurer’s Office negotiated language on whether explanations must be provided in writing and clarified a 1-basis-point fee reference to assets under management.
The Appropriations Committee voted to pass Senate File 191 as amended after discussion with representatives of the State Treasurer’s Office and the Wyoming Retirement System.
Committee members and staff sought to codify information already posted online by the Treasurer’s Office, including proxy voting reports. Treasury counsel and office staff asked for clarification about a line in the amendment that required an “explanation of the vote taken,” noting existing publications provide vote outcomes but not narrative rationales in every case. The Treasurer’s office said most rationale would be along the lines of an investment research recommendation and could implicate existing statute and operational practice.
Members pressed for language tightening the standard that investment entities act in the “solely in the financial interest” of beneficiaries, and the Treasurer’s Office recommended keeping flexibility because many investment managers serve multiple clients and could not attest to acting solely for Wyoming beneficiaries in all circumstances. Committee counsel said the language was intended to clarify that entities should not factor nonfinancial interests into decisions affecting Wyoming beneficiaries.
On the question of written responses from investment entities, the committee initially proposed inserting the words “in writing” after “respond.” Investment staff warned that requiring all initial responses in writing could deter managers from providing candid, proprietary information. Members and staff agreed to require “final determinations in writing” rather than immediate written responses, preserving room for verbal negotiation and follow-up while ensuring a written record for final findings.
Committee members also addressed a technical amendment to clarify a fee provision: the amended language specifies “one basis point of assets under management” (AUM) rather than an ambiguous phrasing tied to annual investment returns.
The Wyoming Retirement System’s Executive Director, David Swindell, testified that the system manages about $11.5 billion in assets and indicated support for the bill as amended, including the 1-basis-point clarification. The committee closed public comment and adopted the amended bill on a roll-call vote of 6–1 (one no vote recorded).
Votes at a glance Senate File 191 — Do pass as amended (committee): 6 aye, 1 no.
Speakers quoted or referenced in this article are listed in the speaker roster below.
