Amends TCA Title 9; Title 33; Title 37; Title 50; Title 63; Title 68 and Title 71.

This bill establishes the First Lady's children's trust fund to provide support to nonprofit organizations and agencies of local governments seeking funds to assist in the care of children in this state. The fund is an irrevocable trust that the state treasurer must administer. This bill authorizes the trustees to have the powers necessary or convenient to carry out these provisions and the purposes and objectives of the trust.<br /> <br /> TRUSTEES<br /> <br /> The trustees of the trust are the state treasurer or the treasurer's designee, the comptroller of the treasury or the treasurer's designee, the secretary of the state or the secretary's designee, and the commissioner of finance and administration or the commissioner's designee. The state treasurer, or the treasurer's designee, serves as chair of the trustees and must preside over all meetings and proceedings of the trustee. <br /> <br /> TRUST ASSETS<br /> <br /> This bill requires that, subject to appropriation, the trust must be funded in the fiscal year 2023-2024 by an initial deposit, which is the corpus of the trust and must not be expended for any purpose. In addition to the additional funding, the fund must consist of the following assets deposited to or accrued in the fund:<br /> <br /> (1) Proceeds from cash donations or donations of property converted or to be converted to cash;<br /> <br /> (2) Moneys appropriated by the general assembly, received from the United States or any agencies of the United States, or received from any other source, including contributions from public or private sources;<br /> <br /> (3) Gifts, contributions, bequests, donations, and grants from any legal and appropriate source;<br /> <br /> (4) Such other sources as may be deemed appropriate, including sources that may be specified by law; and <br /> <br /> (5) Income derived from fund investments. <br /> <br /> This bill requires all assets, income, and distributions of the trust to be protected against the claims of creditors of the state, plan administrators, and plan participants, and are not subject to execution, attachment, garnishment, the operation of bankruptcy, the insolvency laws or other process, and any assignment thereof is not enforceable in any court. Funds transferred to the trust may be co-mingled with, and invested and reinvested with other assets transferred to the trust. All or a portion of the trust may be invested, reinvested, and co-invested with other funds held by the state treasurer. The trust has the powers, privileges, and immunities of a corporation, and all of its business must be transacted, all of its funds invested, and all of its cash and securities and other property held in trust for the purpose for which received.<br /> <br /> INVESTMENT POLICY<br /> <br /> This bill requires that the trustees adopt, in writing, an investment policy or policies authorizing how assets in the trust may be invested. The trust may invest in any security or investment in which the Tennessee consolidated retirement system is permitted to invest as long as investments by the trust are governed by the policies and guidelines adopted by the trustees. The trustees must delegate to the state treasurer the responsibility for the investment and reinvestment of trust funds in accordance with their established policies. The income, meaning all earnings from the trust's investment portfolio from whatever source derived, received and accrued from the investments of the trust must be expended solely for allocating funds to persons and entities, including nonprofit organizations and local governments, to assist in the care of children in this state, and to pay the reasonable expenses incurred in administering and investing the trust assets. <br /> <br /> REPORTS<br /> <br /> This bill requires the trustees to prepare annual financial reports following the close of each fiscal year relative to the activities of the trust fund. The annual reports, books, accounts, and financial records of the trust are subject to audit by the comptroller of the treasury.<br />