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House member changes job rules for state pensions administrator
By ALISA ULFERTS
© St. Petersburg Times, TALLAHASSEE -- State Rep. Mike Fasano and state pension board administrator Tom Herndon don't always see eye to eye. So few who follow the board were surprised to see a last-minute amendment pushed by Fasano, R-New Port Richey, in May that could make it more difficult for Herndon to keep his job as executive director of the state Board of Administration. Gov. Jeb Bush signed that bill in a ceremony Wednesday, saying the other good elements in the bill outweighed the controversial part. The law adds more state firefighters, paramedics and medical technicians to the list of employees whose pensions are enhanced because of the risk in their jobs. "This legislation provides much-deserved benefits to the men and women who spent their careers providing protective services for Florida's citizens and visitors," Bush said. The provision pushed by Fasano requires the board's executive director to be approved every year by the governor, the state comptroller and the insurance commissioner. The governor must vote on the prevailing side. That's a change from the current setup. Now, the executive director serves at the pleasure of the board -- there's no requirement for annual approval -- and needs support from at least two of the three trustees. The governor's vote is not given greater weight. Fasano has said he wanted the governor to have greater control over the person who handles the state's $100-billion pension fund. Herndon and Fasano clashed when Fasano served on an advisory committee overseeing last year's pension reform, a pioneering effort to give public employees a chance to manage their own investments. Fasano was insistent that employees have as many choices as possible. That would include "bundled providers" -- mutual fund and insurance companies that provide clients with both investment options and education, account management and other services. Herndon was reluctant to bring too many companies into the mix, and prefers an "unbundled" approach in which the state offers a variety of low-cost investment products to employees, and separate companies provide education services. That way, employees get the most objective advice possible. On Wednesday, Herndon said he wasn't worried by the changes. He said he has heard and discounted theories that the new rule actually provides him with more job security because it gives him an informal, one-year contract. "Any time an executive director doesn't enjoy the confidence of his trustees, he shouldn't be there," Herndon said.
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From the Times state desk
From the state wire
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