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2007

December 2007

• New Sudan Divestment Law Signed by President Bush
• DC Plans Not Working For Many, According to New GAO Report
• NCTR, NASRA File Comments on Normal Retirement Age Regulations
• SEC to Give Small Businesses New One-Year Delay for SOX 404 Compliance
• Hedge Fund/Alternative Investments Survey of NCTR, NASRA Members Provides Important Data
• Pension Technical Amendments Package Fails to Clear Congress before Christmas Break
• EEOC Finalizes Rule Permitting Medicare "Bridge Plans"
• Despite Some Negative Spin, New Pew Report Echoes Recent GAO Findings on Shape of Public Plans
• Congress Opts to Postpone Efforts on Healthcare Reform Legislation
• SEC Makes Executive Compensation Data Available On-Line
• FAF Responds to Push for International Accounting Standards; Proposes Changes to Oversight, Structure, and Operations of GASB

November 2007

• SEC Votes to Roll Back Shareowner Proxy Access Rights
• Senate Subcommittee Gets Earful on Problems with GPO, WEP – But is Repeal a Real Possibility?
• PPA Technical Corrections Bill Still Needs “Correcting”
• IRS Issues Model 403(b) “Written Plan” Language, New Transition Relief for 90-24 Transfers, “Orphan Contracts”
• Health IT Legislation Once Again Appears Stalled
• Should the SEC Provide Easier Investor Access to Company Info Concerning Business with State Sponsors of Terrorism?
• IRS Issues Final Regulation Defining “Salary Reduction Agreement”
• New Report on Social Investing Suggests Positive Results
• IRS Summarizes Employee Health Benefit Plan Rules for State and Local Governments
• Some Suggested Holiday Reading…

October 2007

• GAO Report on Public Retirement Benefits Released
• Senate Banking Committee Clears Sudan Divestment Legislation
• GPO/WEP To Be Subject of Senate Hearing; Mandatory Social Security Could be In Play
• As Focus on Fees Increases, New Legislation to Regulate DC Plans Introduced
• SEC Appears Ready to Roll Back Shareowner Rights to Proxy Access
• Bill to Change USERRA Advances in House; Imposes New Tax Qualification Standard Linked to Treatment of Survivor Benefits for Servicemembers Killed in Action
• IRS Announces Annual Cost-of-Living Adjustments for 2008
• NCTR/NASRA Public Fund Survey for FY 2006 Released
• NCSL Summary of State Legislative Actions on Pensions, Benefits Available
• AMT Tax Reform Legislation Moving in the House; Hedge Funds, Private Equity Targeted
• Health Care Reform: When and What?

September 2007

• First Executive Director of New National Institute on Retirement Security (NIRS) Named
• House Holds Hearing on Proxy Access Proposal; Frank Tells SEC to "Start Over"
• SCHIP Clears Congress, But Promised Presidential Veto Likely to Stick
• New IRS Normal Retirement Age Regulations Increasing Source of Concern
• Congress, SEC Looking at Role of National Credit Rating Agencies in the Current Credit Crisis Triggered by the Subprime Mortgage Collapse
• FDA Prescription Drug User Fee Act Reauthorized; Biogenerics Provisions Fails to be Included in Final Version
• Annual AFT Survey Finds Public Employee Salaries Rise, But Still Trail Private Sector
• Congress Examines Impact of Hedge Fund, Private Equity Taxation on Public Pensions; NCTR, NASRA, NCPERS Clarify Positions on Legislation

July/August 2007

• PPA Technical Amendments Packages Introduced
• 409A Election to Defer Teachers’ Salaries Not Applicable to Upcoming School Year, According to IRS
• Credited Interest Problem in PPA Looks “Fixable”
• New 403(b) Rules Finally Issued
• Iran, Sudan Divestment Legislation Passes House
• IRS Ruling on Use of 1099-R for New Retiree Health Benefit Underscores Needlessness of Burdensome Plan Involvement
• SCHIP Reform Passes Both House and Senate, but Major Differences, Veto Threat Promise Difficult Road Ahead
• House Votes to Extend SOX 404 Compliance Deadline for Small Business
• SEC Chairman Blasts GASB Critics; Calls for New Federal Disclosure Rules for Muni Bond Issuers
• SEC Finally Takes Action on Proxy Access – But Advances Contradictory Proposals
• IRS Issues Proposed Regulations for Section 125 Cafeteria Plans
• The Hedge Fund Wars: A Report from the Front

June 2007

• Treasury Agrees to Include Self-Insured Plans in New Public Safety Retiree Health Benefit Coverage
• Analysis of New Section 415 Regulations’ Impact on Governmental Plans
• Administration Once Again Opposes FTC Efforts to Stop “Pay to Not Play” Settlements Between Major Drug Companies and Generic Competitors
• SEC, PCAOB Move to Ease Impact of SOX 404 Rules on Smaller Companies
• New Court Ruling Ends “Erie County” Confusion on Medicare Bridge Plans – For Now
• SEC Adopts Rules on Credit Agency Regulation
• Health IT Rides Again, But to Where?
• GASB Clarifies Disclosure Requirements on Pensions; Changes to Existing Accounting Standards Could be Next
• House Committee Clears New Iran Divestment Bill; Sudan Measure Expected to Follow
• Fall Hearings on Repeal of GPO/WEP Reported in the Works, but no Real Sign Yet of Actual Movement on Legislation
• IRS Finalizes Regulations on Normal Retirement Age, While New Survey Suggests Decreased Interest in Phased Retirement in Private Sector
• DOE Once Again Backs Down on Anti-DB Contractor Policy –This Time, Apparently for Good
• Hedge Fund Registration, Regulation Appear Increasingly Likely; Pension Funds Continue to be Focus of Concern
• SEC Oversight Hearing Scheduled in House; Proxy Access a Likely Subject
• New Studies on Teacher Plans Now Available
• Studies Examine Income Levels and Needs in Retirement
• Prescription Drug Reimportation: How it Would Work

May 2007

• Technical Amendments Process Begins for PPA; Action Not Likely Until Later This Year
• Public Plan Problems With Cash Balance/ADEA Provisions of PPA Receive Cool Reception from Treasury, IRS
• House Passes Executive Comp Legislation; Senate Companion Introduced
• NCTR Opposes Latest Effort by DOE to Discourage Contractor Use of DB Plans
• Public Pensions are Increasingly Implicated in a Number of Areas as Hedge Funds, Private Equity Market Become Lightning Rod for Possible Congressional Action
• SEC Discusses Shareholder Rights, Access to the Proxy; New Proxy Rule Expected this Summer
• Sarbanes-Oxley Appears Safe and Sound as Senate Rejects Effort to Gut Section 404 Reforms; SEC Continues to Support Regulatory Approach to Address Impact on Smaller Firms
• Senate Approves New FDA Bill after Dealing with a Number of Major Healthcare Reform Issues

April 2007

• IRS Issues Final 415 Regs; NCTR’s Concerns with COLAs are Addressed, but Multiple Annuity Starting Dates Issues are Yet to be Resolved
• Senate Adopts New “Roth” 457 Plan as Part of Iraq Emergency Supplemental Bill
• Hedge Fund Hearings Begin in House; Fed Chief Weighs in on Debate
• Executive Comp Legislation Clears Committee; House Floor Action Likely Soon
• House Panel Hears from Public Purchasers of Healthcare on Need for Biogenerics Legislation
• Health IT Losing Steam, May Fall Off Congressional Healthcare Agenda
• GFOA Sparks Controversy with Recommendation that GASB be Shut Down
• EBRI Survey Finds Americans Worried, Unprepared for Retirement
• New CRS Report on Health Care Spending and the Aging of the Population
• Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Healthcare Reform Proposals, but were Afraid to Ask

March 2007

• NCTR, NASRA, CII Create New “National Institute for Retirement Security”
• Despite Court Ruling Against Illinois Law, State-ordered Divestiture May Still be Constitutional; In the Meantime, Mutual Funds Find Themselves New Target of Pro-Divestiture Forces
• New IRS Notice on PPA Cash Balance Amendments Raises New Concerns for Standard Refund, DROP Provisions of DB Plans
• As Promised, House Holds Hearings on 401(k) Fees; Legislation Likely
• Hedge Funds Continue to be a Focus in 110th Congress: Bush Administration Advises Caution, but Hearings, GAO Study in the Works
• New Executive Compensation Legislation Introduced; Hearings in House
• Legislation Aimed at “Pay-to-not-Play” Deals Between Branded Drug Companies and Generic Manufacturers Advances in Senate

February 2007

• NCTR Legislative Committee Meets, Discusses New Challenges for 2007 in Washington, DC
• New Upbeat “Getting it Right” Campaign Announced to Educate Congress and Others to the Success Story of Public DB Plans
• First NCTR/NASRA Joint Legislative Workshop Provides New Format for Communicating with Key Washington Decision-Makers

January 2007

• Peter, Meet Paul; President Bush to Propose Cap on Employer-Provided Health Benefits, and to Give New Tax Deduction for Private Health Insurance
• Guidance on Public Sector Provisions of PPA Issued by IRS, Presenting Problems for New Public Safety Retiree Health Benefit
• IRS Asks if its Proposed Regs on Phased Retirement Are Needed, Given New PPA Provision on In-Service Benefits
• SEC, PCAOB Act to Ease Impact of SOX 404 Rules on Small Companies
• Study Says Biogenerics Can Save Billions if the FDA is Given New Regulatory Authority
• Divestment News: New Global Investment Initiative to Examine “Extra-Financial Issues” Announced; Meanwhile, Sudan Divestiture Push Continues at State Level, but NFTC Lawsuit Ruling On Illinois Law, Expected Soon, May Slow Efforts
• Round Two? California Governor Establishes New Commission to Recommend Reforms of Public Retirement, Health Benefits
• Securities Litigation Numbers Continue to Decline