Bid to Rid Pensions of Tobacco Stock Gains
A proposed requirement that state-run retirement systems get rid of $1.8 billion in tobacco company investments passed its first legislative test Tuesday.
A divestiture bill (AB 1744) by Assemblyman Wally Knox (D-Los Angeles) was approved on a 5 to 1 vote by an Assembly committee.
Knox argued that tobacco companies represent a bad financial risk. Therefore, he said, his bill meets a state constitutional test that permits the Legislature to dictate retirement system investments only for economic reasons.
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