Sacramento – Assemblymember Tom Ammiano (D–San
Francisco) has introduced the Socially Responsible Investment Act, AB 2337, a
bill to prohibit the use of public pension funds in predatory investment
schemes. The legislation would require CalPERS and CalSTRS to disclose and
divest from any investments in companies engaged in predatory business
practices that rely, or result in, the displacement of residents in affordable
housing in order to generate profits for investors.
"It is unconscionable that
hundreds of millions of dollars in public funds have been used in efforts to
evict tenants from New York to California,” said Ammiano.“Actions speak louder than words and CalPERS
needs to make its claim of socially responsible investing a reality.”
Tenants
Together, California’s statewide organization for renters’ rights, has been
urging CalPERS for over a year to voluntarily adopt “predator free” investment
criteria, pointing to the large scale displacement of tenants in East Palo Alto
and New York City fueled by CalPERS money. To date, the pension fund board
has not taken action to screen out real estate investments that are premised on
evicting tenants.
“The
retirement funds of working people should not be used to evict working
people. We applaud Assemblymember Ammiano for introducing this important
bill that will ensure that public employee pension funds are not invested in
predatory schemes that displace renters,” said Dean Preston, Executive Director
of Tenants Together.
Public
pension funds have been a primary source of equity for what affordable housing
advocates have termed “predatory equity”, a form of real estate speculation
predicated on the displacement of low and middle-income renters from affordable
housing.In recent months, “predatory
equity” investments have come under greater scrutiny in both California and New
York as a result of tenant harassment and foreclosures.
"At
its heart, this bill introduces greater transparency and accountability into
California’s pension fund investment decisions, something that will benefit
communities across the country,” added Christopher Lund, Communications
Director of the East Palo Alto Fair Rent Coalition.
