FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Patrick Snow
Communications Director, Heartland Impact
PSnow@heartlandimpact.org

Heartland Impact Commends Kentucky Legislature for Overriding Beshear’s Veto of SB 183

New law requires investment advisors to put Kentucky retirees’ financial interests first

SCHAUMBURG, IL – Heartland Impact commends the Kentucky General Assembly for overriding Governor Andy Beshear’s veto of Senate Bill 183, a new law requiring that firms advising Kentucky’s public pension funds prioritize retirees’ financial interests over political and ideological considerations.

Heartland Impact submitted testimony in support of SB 183 in February and has worked on proxy advisor reform at the state level for years. On March 30, Executive Director Cameron Sholty sent a letter to Senate President Robert Stivers and House Speaker David Osborne urging them to schedule the override vote and allow the legislature’s decisive mandate to stand.

“The Kentucky legislature did exactly what it was elected to do,” said Cameron Sholty, Executive Director of Heartland Impact. “The General Assembly stood by its work, stood by Kentucky’s retirees, and sent a clear message: the retirement savings of Kentucky workers are not a vehicle for outside political agendas.”

SB 183 addresses a serious accountability gap in how Kentucky’s public pension funds are managed. When proxy advisory firms — outside firms that advise institutional investors on how to vote their shares — recommend a position contrary to a company’s own board, they are now required to provide a written financial analysis demonstrating that the recommendation serves the economic interests of Kentucky retirees. Failures to comply are actionable under Kentucky law. The reform takes direct aim at a pattern of ideologically motivated voting recommendations from a small number of firms that dominate the advisory market and have a track record of steering pension fund votes toward ESG-driven outcomes with little regard for financial performance.

“Proxy advisors have been playing politics with other people’s retirement money for years and facing zero consequences,” said Samantha Fillmore, Senior State Government Relations Manager at Heartland Impact. “SB 183 puts a stop to that in Kentucky. If your advice is really in the best interest of retirees, you should have no problem proving it. We hope other states are paying attention.”

Heartland Impact’s resources on proxy advisor reform and ESG are available at heartlandimpact.org/policy/esg.

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