2005 State Legislation

The Fire and Police Pension Association sponsored the following three bills in the 2005 Colorado Legislature.  The Pension Reform Commission approved these bills on September 28, 2004.

The purpose of these summaries are informational and cannot be relied upon as the ultimate declaration of benefits under a plan or the law in Colorado. In some cases the information below is prior to any consequential amendments. Please consult the actual legislation.

For more information about the following bills:

  • click on the State of Colorado Legislative Web Site at: http://www.state.co.us/ . Once there, click on either the bills for the House or Senate and you will be taken to a list of bills and their current status.
  • or call FPPA at (303) 770-3772 for more information.



House Bill 05-1047
Property Tax Exemption Bill

This proposed bill provides property tax exemption for property owned by FPPA and used for administrative purposes.  FPPA is a political subdivision of the State of Colorado.  Properties held for investment purposes and leased to others would not be included in the exemption.  Property taxes on leased properties are typically paid by the tenant.

STATUS
After introduction of the bill, Arapahoe County reversed its previous position and took property owned and used by FPPA off the tax roles.  FPPA agreed to let the bill die.



House Bill 05-1002
Protection of Confidential Investment Information from Public Disclosure

Passed through the Senate and House and became law: March 11, 2005.

House Sponsorship
Representative Stengel, Sponsor
Representative Ragsdale
Representative Rose

Senate Sponsorship
Senator Evans, Co-Sponsor

Increasingly, third parties, including data base vendors, researchers and industry publications, have used governmental open record laws to obtain investment information from public pension funds, including from FPPA, that is proprietary and is otherwise not publicly available.  Disclosure re of this information may adversely impact FPPA’s investment portfolio.

The managers of some alternative investments, including certain private equity funds, have reacted by limiting investment information given to public pension fund investors or by refusing to accept investments from public pension funds.  This situation at best puts FPPA at a disadvantage in investing in the market and could deny FPPA access to certain investment opportunities. 

This proposed bill exempts from disclosure under the Open Records Act investment information that has not been publicly disseminated or that is unavailable from other sources, the release of which might cause a portfolio company or an investment fiduciary significant competitive harm.  

This bill does not alter the availability of the types of information that FPPA has historically reported on a periodic basis to any interested party.  In fact the bill requires that at a minimum, FPPA must annually publish a report of its investments that includes the name of each investment management firm utilized by the association, the total value of the assets managed by each firm during the reporting period, and the rate of return realized during the reporting period by each firm.

State legislatures have adopted similar protections for other large public pension plans, including the Colorado General Assembly, which last year enacted legislation on behalf of Colorado PERA.



Senate Bill 05-043
Social Security Coverage Clarification

Passed through the Senate and House and became law: April 14, 2005.

Senate Sponsorship
Senator Evans, Sponsor

House Sponsorship
Representative Stengel, Co-Sponsor
Representative Rose

This proposed bill would clarify that Social Security coverage is not an option for newly formed fire and police departments.



Senate Bill 05-067
Colorado Springs Inclusion

Passed through the Senate and House and became law: April 14, 2005.

Senate Sponsorship
Senator May R, Sponsor

House Sponsorship
Representative Cadman, Co-Sponsor

This bill, while not sponsored by FPPA, is supported by FPPA.  It provides for the inclusion of the Colorado Springs new hire fire and police members in the Statewide Defined Benefit Plan.  Previously they maintained local defined benefit plans.  The bill does not mandate the inclusion, but gives the City and FPPA the authority to enter into an agreement for inclusion.  FPPA will only agree to such an inclusion if the result is actuarially neutral for existing members of the plan.  FPPA currently manages the assets and administers the benefits of these plans.  These plans are very similar, although not identical to the SWDB.

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