CalPERS OKs New Policy to Restrict Out-of-State Travel by Board Members

The board running the nation’s largest public pension fund Wednesday approved new rules to curb out-of-state travel and improve the reporting of travel expenses.

The new policy requires out-of-state business trips by board members of the California Public Employees Retirement System to be approved by the full board. It also requires full disclosure of all travel expenses.

The policy was proposed by state Controller Kathleen Connell, a new board member who complained about a 53% rise in business travel between 1992 and 1994 by her colleagues, including several foreign trips.

Connell also said the current expense reporting system raised possible conflict-of-interest concerns because it was impossible to know if board members accepted expense payments from corporations in which CalPERS invested.

The new rules will attempt to dispel any conflict-of-interest concerns by requiring board members to report all travel expenses in detail and who paid for them. CalPERS controls $80 billion in a wide variety of investments.