A judge says he will rule Tuesday on whether to temporarily block Gov. Matt Bevin’s reorganization of the board that oversees the pension system for most state workers.
Bevin abolished the Kentucky Retirement Systems board in June and created a new board with additional members. He also removed board chair Tommy Elliott in April, three years before the end of his term.
Elliott and Attorney General Andy Beshear have sued Bevin over the moves.
KRS attorney Brian Thomas said that the board needs clarity on whether the new board is legal before making important investment and personnel decisions in the coming weeks.
“At least from the agency’s standpoint, it is unclear to the agency on how to proceed,” Thomas said.
On Tuesday, the board’s investment committee is scheduled to meet and make “four or five” investment decisions that executive director Bill Thielen said amounted to $40 to $50 million per decision.
“Managers will be there to make presentations and then the committee will decide whether they’re going to invest that money with that investment manager, and then ultimately that would be ratified by the board,” Thielen said after the hearing.
The board will also soon select an interim executive director and form a search committee to replace Thielen, who is retiring at the end of the month.
Franklin Circuit Court Judge Philip Shephard’s forthcoming ruling comes weeks after he ruled to temporarily block Bevin’s overhaul of the University of Louisville board of trustees, which the governor also reorganized by executive order in June.
Bevin dissolved the 17-member U of L board, alleging dysfunction among the group. He later reconstituted it as a 10-member board. Beshear also challenged that move.
Steve Pitt, Bevin’s general counsel, is arguing both cases in Shepherd’s court.
“I know that the board’s got a meeting coming up and the investment committee needs to meet prior to the board meeting, so there are some reasons to get a ruling in place,” Pitt said.
Bevin has appealed Shepherd’s temporary block of the U of L overhaul to the Kentucky Court of Appeals.
