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New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr. today announced that four companies have agreed with requests by the New York City Pension Funds that they should inform shareholders of their political contributions.

“I applaud these companies for taking the necessary steps to inform shareholders about political contributions,” Thompson said. “It simply makes good business sense to provide complete disclosure of political expenditures so that shareholders can fully evaluate how corporate assets are used.”

The four companies that adopted the shareholder proposals are: Devon Energy of Oklahoma City, OK; DTE Energy of Detroit, MI; Duke Energy Corporation of Charlotte, NC; and United Technologies Corporation of Hartford, CT. Collectively, the Pension Funds hold more than 5.2 million shares valued at over $63 million in the four companies.

The New York City Pension Funds behind the measures are the: New York City Employees’ Retirement System (NYCERS), New York City Teachers’ Retirement System (TRS), New York City Police Department Pension Fund, the New York City Fire Department Pension Fund, and the Board of Education Retirement System (BERS).

“I am hopeful that other companies agree to provide shareholders with full disclosure of all political contributions,” Thompson added. “This information is necessary to ensure that corporate assets are not used to finance the political interests or objectives of individual executives and directors to the detriment of companies and their shareholders.”

As per the resolutions – which can be viewed at www.comptroller.nyc.gov  - companies now will disclose all political contributions and expenditures made with corporate funds, directly or indirectly, to political candidates, parties, committees, and other entities organized and operating under 26 USC section 527 of the Internal Revenue Code.

Companies that adopt the measure must prepare a report that includes the following: the accounting of the Company’s funds used for political contributions; the identification of the person(s) who made the political contributions; and a copy of the company’s internal guidelines governing political contributions. The report must then be presented to the Audit Committee of its Board of Directors and posted on the company’s Web site.

This proxy season, the Pension Funds filed similar measures with: Halliburton Corporation of Houston, TX; Charles Schwab Corporation of San Francisco, CA; Wal-Mart Stores of Bentonville, AR; Computer Sciences Corporation of El Segundo, CA; and Entergy Corporation of New Orleans, LA.

The New York City Pension Funds have been at the fore of shareholder activism in pressuring many of America’s largest companies to improve workplace conditions, protect the environment, promote human rights abroad, and adhere to accepted corporate governance standards. Besides Thompson, the Pension Funds’ trustees are:

NYCERS: New York City Finance Commissioner Martha E. Stark (Chair); New York City Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum; Borough Presidents Scott Stringer (Manhattan), Helen Marshall (Queens), Marty Markowitz (Brooklyn), Adolfo Carrion (Bronx), and James Molinaro (Staten Island); Lillian Roberts, Executive Director, District Council 37, AFSCME; Roger Toussaint, President Transport Workers Union Local 100; and Gregory Floyd, President, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Local 237.

TRS: New York City Finance Commissioner Martha E. Stark (Chair); Deputy Chancellor Kathleen Grimm, New York City Department of Education; and Sandra March, Melvyn Aaronson and Mona Romain, all of the United Federation of Teachers.

Police Pension Fund: Mayor Michael Bloomberg; New York City Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly (Chair); New York City Finance Commissioner Martha E. Stark; Patrick Lynch, Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association; Michael Palladino, Detectives Endowment Association; Edward D. Mullins, Sergeants Benevolent Association; Thomas Drogan, Lieutenants Benevolent Association; and Roy T. Richter, Captains Endowment Association.

Fire Department Pension Fund: Mayor Michael Bloomberg; New York City Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta (Chair); New York City Finance Commissioner Martha E. Stark; Stephen Cassidy, President, James Slevin, Vice President, Robert Straub, Treasurer, and John Kelly, Brooklyn Representative and Chair, Uniformed Firefighters Association of Greater New York; Michael Currid, Captains’ Rep., John J. McDonnell, Chiefs’ Rep., and Stephen J. Carbone, Lieutenants’ Rep., Uniformed Fire Officers Association; and, Joseph Gagliardi, Marine Engineers Association.

BERS: mayoral appointees Schools Chancellor Joel Klein, Alan Aviles, Philip Berry, David Chang, Tino Hernandez, Edison O. Jackson, Richard Menschel and Marita Regan; Luis Peguero (Bronx), Patrick Sullivan (Manhattan), Wendy Gilgeous (Brooklyn), and Joan Correale (Staten Island); and employee members Joseph D'Amico of the IUOE Local 891 member and Milagros Rodriguez of District Council 37, Local 372.

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