“No More Shadows”: Cortese’s SB 1319 Targets Hidden Fees and Secret Deals in Private Equity

SACRAMENTO, CA – Following yesterday’s hearing in the California Senate Judiciary Committee, Senator Dave Cortese (D-San José) issued the following statement on Senate Bill 1319 (SB 1319), the Private Equity Sunshine Act, joint-authored with Senator Maria Elena Durazo (D-Los Angeles).

“California’s public pension funds invest hundreds of billions of dollars on behalf of workers and retirees who have earned a secure retirement. Yet far too often, those investments are routed into opaque private equity structures that shield performance, fees, and ownership details from public view.

SB 1319 is about accountability. It ensures that pension beneficiaries and taxpayers can clearly see how these investments perform compared to public markets, where their money is going, and who ultimately controls the companies involved.

When billions in public dollars are at stake, secrecy cannot be the standard. Transparency must be.

This legislation builds on California’s prior efforts to disclose fees by adding meaningful performance and ownership reporting requirements—giving workers, retirees, and policymakers the tools they need to make informed decisions.

Simply put, Californians deserve to know what they are getting in return for their investment. SB 1319 will bring long-overdue sunlight to an industry that has operated in the shadows for too long.”

The American Investment Council estimated in 2022 that the State of California was home to 2,601 private equity-backed companies employing 1.5 million workers. In California, 80 public investment funds collectively manage over $1.4 trillion in retirement assets. The State’s two largest pension funds, CalPERS and CalSTRS, collectively have over $318 billion invested with private equity and other alternative investment firms.

However, public sector workers and retirees who are in public pension plans lack clear information about how these companies are performing versus public market investments, and private sector workers and retirees don’t know their employers’ true owners.

SB 1319 would require California’s public pension funds to disclose detailed performance data for alternative investments—including private equity, hedge funds, and private debt—compared to equivalent public market benchmarks. The bill also mandates disclosure of the underlying assets, their locations, and workforce data tied to those investments.

The legislation is supported by State Treasurer Fiona Ma, the California Federation of Labor Unions, UFCW Western States Council, UNITE HERE Local 11, and UAW Region 6.

Senator Dave Cortese represents Senate District 15, which encompasses San Jose and much of Santa Clara County in the heart of Silicon Valley. Visit Senator Cortese’s website: https://sd15.senate.ca.gov

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