The Colorado House Finance Committee missed an opportunity Monday to move state pension funds (Public Employees’ Retirement Association, or PERA) onto a more financially and environmentally sound footing. In an 8-2 vote against the proposed new law (PERA Divestment From Fossil Fuel Companies, HB21-1246), lawmakers held onto mistaken assumptions about the stability of fossil fuel investments. Those views are no longer accurate and do not reflect today’s reality.

Tom Sanzillo
Tom Sanzillo is director of financial analysis at the Lakewood, Ohio-based Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA). He is the author of numerous studies on the oil, gas, petrochemical and coal sectors in the U.S. and internationally. Sanzillo has 30 years of experience in public and private finance, including as a first deputy comptroller for New York State, where he oversaw a $156 billion pension fund and $200 billion in municipal bond programs.