What the Public Employee Pension Transparency Act would and would not do

State and local governments have rigorous accountability requirements set in statute and through regulation, and follow stringent accounting standards in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. HR 567 and S 347 would nevertheless levy a whole new and conflicting Federal reporting regime on top of these existing state and local structures, paint a misleading picture of public finance, and impose costly measures far more conservative than Federal law requires even of corporations. Further, the legislation threatens the current tax exempt status of state and local government bonds if any of the numerous and complex calculations imposed are deemed insufficient by Federal agencies.