School Land Board

Final Results of Last Sunset Review

Continue

• Continue the School Land Board (SLB) for 12 years.  

Governance

• Expand the board from three to five members.  Remove the attorney general’s authority to appoint a board member and instead require the governor to appoint four members to the board to serve with the land commissioner.  Two of the four appointees must be selected from lists of six nominees provided by the State Board of Education (SBOE) and at least one of the appointees must be from a county with a population under 200,000. 
• Require board members to receive an in-depth training regarding SLB’s investment programs and strategies, as well as a comprehensive overview of the Permanent School Fund (PSF).
• Apply the standard across-the-board requirements related to board member training, separation of duties, public testimony, and complaints.
• Eliminate the duplicative economic impact of PSF investments reporting requirement, and continue SLB’s four other required reports.
• Require SLB to include in its existing economic impact report to the Legislature the amounts of all fees or other compensation SLB pays to investment managers, consultants, or advisors.  

Investments

• Require an annual joint, public meeting of SLB and SBOE to discuss the investment of the dually managed PSF.  Authorize each board to excuse a board member’s absence from the meeting, and  authorize SBOE to delegate attendance at the meeting to a committee.  
• Clarify in statute that the 15 percent cap on SLB real estate investments applies to SLB’s real assets investments, and specify the cap is measured against all assets held by SLB and SBOE as part of the PSF.  
• Direct SLB to adopt rules to guide its investment policy and strategies and to align its investment policy and strategies with those that apply to SBOE.  (Management action – nonstatutory)
• Direct SLB to adopt rules for the size, membership, and responsibilities of the investment advisory committee, including a requirement that a majority of the committee members have expertise in the management of a financial institution or other business in which investment decisions are made.  (Management action – nonstatutory)
• Direct SLB to publicly report more detailed investment information in the PSF Comprehensive Annual Financial Report and to provide SBOE a quarterly report that includes returns for the investment benchmark and investments themselves.  (Management action – nonstatutory)
• Direct SLB to document the division of responsibilities for its investment management staff.  (Management action – nonstatutory)

Contracting

• Direct SLB to review and approve large contracts and to receive briefings from the General Land Office director of contract management at least once a year regarding contracts under $1 million.  (Management action – nonstatutory)
• Direct SLB to develop, adopt, and implement clear contract monitoring policies and include them in the contract manual and training.  (Management action – nonstatutory)
• Direct the General Land Office to develop a training policy and provide contract management training for project managers and other staff involved in the contracting process.  (Management action – nonstatutory)