Vacancies on Arizona State Retirement System board limit its oversight of $34 billion pension fund
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey has allowed so many vacancies on the board overseeing the nearly $35 billion retirement pension fund covering the majority of state, city and county workers that it has been unable to do any substantive work since November.
The Arizona State Retirement System board has only four of nine seats filled. Because it lacks a quorum for meetings, it cannot formally sign off on major investment changes if managers believe they are warranted or other legally-required items like overseeing the system's director or signing off on audits and operating budgets.
Board member Dennis Hoffman, an Arizona State University business school professor on the panel since 2010, said the vacancies mean the pension fund is unable to oversee strategic decisions.
"We did have a discussion at the last meeting and I went on record, I said it was imprudent, arguably irresponsible, that we're left like this not being able to carefully vet investment decisions around $35 billion," Hoffman said. "I don't want to unsettle the teachers, I don't want to send the message that in my opinion the agency is running (amok) or whatever."
Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/arizona/2017/03/14/vacancies-limit-arizona-state-retirement-system-board-doug-ducey/99173108/