(a) This section shall be known and may be cited as the Freedom of Financial Choice Act.
(b) The department shall permit officers and employees participating in a tax-deferred savings plan established by the department under this chapter or Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 19999.5) to invest in a range of investment options including, but not limited to, stocks and bonds listed with and traded on the New York Stock Exchange, the American Stock Exchange, or the National Market System sponsored by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) and the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations system (NASDAQ), or any successor association, annuities, and shares or units of open-ended registered investment companies. However, the department may limit the number of banks, mutual fund companies, investment brokers, life insurance companies, and other financial institutions offering investments under the plans as necessary to ensure the continued qualification of the plan under the Internal Revenue Code and the cost-efficient and timely administration of the plans.
(c) No fiduciary of a plan established by the department under this chapter or Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 19999.5) shall be liable for any loss that results from any individual investment choice made by a participant of a plan, except that this subdivision shall not extend to any malfeasance or misfeasance by any fiduciary of a plan established by the department under this chapter or Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 19999.5).
(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Deferred Compensation Plan Fund (0915) is exempt from the application of Article 2 (commencing with Section 11270) of Chapter 3 of Part 3 of Division 3.
(Amended by Stats. 2001, Ch. 745, Sec. 99. Effective October 12, 2001.)
Last modified: October 25, 2018