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SB 709

2025 State Investment Modernization Act.-AB

2025-2026 Session Introduced by Dave Craven and 4 co-sponsors

Creates the independent North Carolina Investment Authority to manage state fiduciary funds, reorganize statutes, and shift investment governance from the treasurer.

Passed 1st Reading
0
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Bill Summary · SB 709

SB 709 — 2025 State Investment Modernization Act (First Edition) — Summary

Status and key identifiers
- Bill: SB 709 — "2025 State Investment Modernization Act"
- Primary sponsors (NC version): Senators Hise, Craven, Lee
- Introduced / First reading: March 26, 2025 (text shows introduced earlier in 2025)
- Final actions recorded: Approved by Governor (10/06/2025); Chaptered as Chapter 353, Statutes of 2025

Purpose / intent
- To reorganize and modernize the statutory framework governing State investment activities (Article 6, Chapter 147 of the North Carolina General Statutes) and to create a new, independent State agency — the North Carolina Investment Authority — to manage certain State fiduciary investment programs (including retirement system funds and other specified fiduciary funds).

Main provisions and changes
- Statutory reorganization (Part I)
- Reorganizes Article 6 into five Parts (General; Investments and Funds; Reports and Audits; North Carolina Investment Authority; Department Bookkeeping and Deposits).
- Recodifies multiple existing sections (e.g., G.S. 147-65 → G.S. 147-65.2; others) and repeals certain sections (e.g., G.S. 147-72, G.S. 147-73).
- Establishes new definitions (G.S. 147-65.1) used throughout the article (e.g., Board of Directors, Chief Investment Officer, Investment Authority, Retirement Systems, Escheats Fund).

  • Creation of the North Carolina Investment Authority (Part II / Part 4, G.S. 147-70.1 et seq.)
    • Establishes the Authority as a body corporate and a State agency “located within, but independent from the control of, the Department of State Treasurer.”
    • Independence and exemptions:
    • Authority is independent from fiscal control by the Director of the Budget, the Department of Administration, and the Department of State Treasurer for organizational, staffing, procurement, and budgetary purposes.
    • Exempt from the State Budget Act and Chapter 143C unless otherwise provided.
    • Funds and accounting:
    • Funds managed by the Authority while under its management are treated as fiduciary funds and subject to specified accounting rules.
    • Powers and duties:
    • Standard corporate/state-agency powers (sue/be sued; acquire/hold/dispose of property; procure insurance, bonds, errors & omissions/D&O coverage).
    • Tax and confidentiality:
    • Property of Authority exempt from state and local taxation; Authority not subject to State income tax.
    • Records and information related to negotiating arm’s-length investment transactions that constitute trade secrets are exempt from public records law until negotiations are completed (with limited exceptions).
    • Personnel and screening:
    • Authority may obtain criminal history information for certain individuals (board members, employees, etc.).

Who is affected
- Directly: Department of State Treasurer (relationship and transfer of some investment responsibilities), the newly created North Carolina Investment Authority, the Board of Directors and Chief Investment Officer, employees and contractors of the Authority.
- Indirectly: State retirement systems and their members (Teachers’, Local Government, Judicial, other listed plans), other fiduciary funds placed under the Authority, investment managers, vendors, and oversight entities concerned with budgeting and procurement.

Procedural / effective-date notes
- The bill reorganizes and recodifies existing statutory sections; some recodifications and repeals are specified in text.
- The reorganization sections state they are effective when the act becomes law. (Legislative record shows final approval Oct 6, 2025 — Chapter 353, Statutes of 2025.)

Potential impacts and considerations
- Governance and oversight: shifts investment governance toward an independent Authority that is largely exempt from standard budgetary and procurement controls — could speed investment decision‑making but raises questions about executive/legislative fiscal oversight and transparency.
- Confidentiality: expanded exemptions for negotiation-related trade secrets may limit public access to certain documents until transactions conclude.
- Administrative transition: codification changes and transfer of responsibilities may require operational and accounting changes, staff transitions, and rulemaking to implement new authorities and procedures (not detailed in the bill text excerpt).

Note: This summary focuses on the North Carolina "2025 State Investment Modernization Act" version of SB 709 as presented in the provided materials. The file set contains multiple different bills from other states that share the SB 709 number; those are not described here.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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