May. 14, 2024
HARRISBURG – Citing increasing instability across the world, Rep. Clint Owlett (R-Tioga/Bradford) has introduced legislation that would require an examination of geopolitical risk be conducted as part of the investment analysis when the state Treasury or Pennsylvania’s public pension funds invest in the financial assets of foreign countries.
“As leaders of this Commonwealth, we have a responsibility to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars, and we cannot do that if we are investing assets in unstable or unfriendly foreign nations,” Owlett said. “A geopolitical risk analysis is a necessary tool to protect the financial interests of all Pennsylvanians.”
Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacy Garrity supports the measure. “At Treasury, geopolitical risk is one of the important factors we analyze with all of our investments,” Garrity said. “World events can change rapidly, so it’s important to be proactive and act decisively. Within hours of Vladimir Putin’s illegal and unjustified invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Treasury began divesting from Russia and Belarus. We’ve also divested from China due to serious concerns about geopolitical risk, and this legislation is a smart way to ensure that all of Pennsylvania’s public funds consider geopolitical risk when making investment decisions.”
Combined, the state’s Treasury and public pension funds total more than $150 billion in taxpayer assets.
“Treasurer Garrity and the Commonwealth as a whole have done the right thing in the past by divesting ourselves of assets in some of the most troubling areas of the world,” Owlett said. “My bill would require the information we need to be even more forward looking in anticipating problems and protecting taxpayer assets.”
House Bill 2280 would also require an annual report be compiled by the public investment funds and sent to the General Assembly outlining investments in foreign nations.
Representative Clint Owlett
68th District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
RepOwlett.com /
Facebook.com/RepOwlett
Owlett Contact: Patricia Hippler, 717-772-9846 or phippler@pahousegop.com
Treasurer Garrity Contact: Samantha Heckel, Press Secretary (Treasury), 717-418-0206 or sheckel@patreasury.gov