Saw this at the Sunrise Movement Boston events page (https://www.facebook.com/events/606019430292922/) while putting together this week’s Energy (and Other) Events (http://hubevents.blogspot.com), my free weekly listing of events on those topics, now around the world as everything is now online. Didn’t see quite how to fit it in but thought people here might want to know about it. This is actually a Mass Divest (https://www.facebook.com/massdivest/) event instead of a Sunrise Movement event. It’s good to see such community communication.
Fossil fuel stocks are high risk, the worst performers in the stock market for a decade and now plummeting further due the pandemic. We must protect city and county pensions in Massachusetts from failing investments in coal, oil and gas. Currently, state regulators say that local retirement systems need a legislative statute to divest.
Please email your State Representative by July 10 and ask that they urge Speaker DeLeo to bring H4440 to a vote this year. This bill would provide a local option for independent retirement boards to divest from fossil fuels, if they choose to.
More Info & Sample Email:
https://tinyurl.com/VoteForH4440To learn more, join us for an Online Lobby Day Wednesday, July 8 at noon. Register at: https://tinyurl.com/ProtectOurPensionsLobbyDay
In 2017, the Public Employee Retirement Administration Commission (PERAC) forced the Somerville Retirement Board to reverse its decision to divest from fossil fuels. They would have earned 5% more on their pension portfolio! How much are the local retirement systems in your district losing? More:
https://massdivest.org/somerville-retirement-system-case-study/
Big thank you to Chair Parisella for listening to the viewpoints on this one. I spent quite a bit of time with him discussing this bill. He asked probing questions and probing followups, and really listened carefully. He ultimately recommended our Committee vote the bill favorably, and the Joint Committee on Public Service voted to do just that.
The hearing had dozens and dozens of citizens speaking in favor, and one person speaking in opposition.
Credit is also due to Rep Fernandes and Sen Pacheco for filing it, and for the many advocates for speaking in favor. And keep in mind this merely provides local independent retirement systems the option of divesting. For contrast, a variety of public pension systems are prohibited from making investments in tobacco.
Welcome back!