South Carolina Public Employee Pension Plans, Amendment 2 (2008)
The South Carolina Public Employee Pension Plans passed the state legislature as Question 2. The measure, if it had passed, would have amended the South Carolina Constitution to provide that the funds of any trust fund established by law for the funding of post-employment benefits for state employees may be invested and reinvested in equity securities.[1]
It is similar to South Carolina's Amendment 3, except Amendment 3 applies to local government employees whereas Amendment 2 applies to state government employees.
The measure is a legislatively referred constitutional amendment, one of three placed on the November 2008 ballot by the state legislature.
Election results
See also 2008 ballot measure election results
These results are based on the Elections Division of South Carolina.[2]
| South Carolina Amendment 2 (2008) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
| 1,004,384 | 58.14% | |||
| Yes | 723,136 | 41.86% | ||
Specific Provisions
The proposed amendment would have changed 16, Article X of the South Carolina Constitution, which relates to benefits and funding of public employee pension plans and the investments allowed for funds of the various state-operated retirement systems.
Article X would have been amended so as to provide that the funds of any trust fund established by law for the funding of post-employment benefits for state employees and public school teachers may be invested and reinvested in equity securities subject to the same limitations on such investments applicable for the funds of the various state-operated retirement systems.
"Post-employment benefits" are benefits provided to eligible state government and school district retirees.
South Carolina has created trust funds to pay for post-employment benefits. The proposed amendment relates to how the money in these trust funds can be invested.
- A "yes" vote gives the state government the option to invest these funds in equity securities (stocks).
- A "no" vote means that state government is not allowed to invest these funds in any kind of equity securities (stocks).
Supporters
Supporters included:
Arguments in Support
Arguments made in support of the measure included:
- If this amendment and Amendment 3 don’t pass, some local governments warn they may have to raise taxes or trim spending to be in compliance with the new law.
- The amendment deals with a long-term investment plan. If the history of the market is correct, it will rebound and come back again.
See also
Footnotes
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