October 16, 2020
November 14, 2016 SHARE Email Facebook Twitter Governor’s Council Seeks Applicants for PFBC At-Large Boating Seat
Environment, Press Release Harrisburg, PA – The Governor’s Advisory Council for Hunting, Fishing and Conservation is seeking qualified candidates to fill an expired At-Large Boating seat on the board of the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission. Of the ten member board, two members serve specifically to represent boating interests. In addition to being experienced in boating and water safety education, candidates must own a registered boat. This individual must be a resident of Pennsylvania, but can reside in any of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties.Steven M. Ketterer, of Harrisburg, Dauphin County, currently serves in this seat.“The Governor is reaching out to boating enthusiasts from around Pennsylvania to find a diverse group of qualified applicants, one of which will fill the expired term of Commissioner Ketterer,” said Robb Miller, director of the advisory council. “We’re encouraging anyone interested in volunteering on the board to send us a letter that describes their qualifications and experience, along with a copy of their professional resume.”According to the Fish and Boat Code, citizens shall be appointed by the Governor and confirmed by a majority of members in the Senate. The term of service is four years and members may serve three consecutive terms.While commissioners are not compensated, they do receive a travel reimbursement.Individuals interested in applying for this seat should send the aforementioned materials to Robb Miller, 400 Market Street, 7th Floor, Harrisburg, PA 17101-2301. Individuals can also email the information to Robb Miller at robmille@pa.gov.All resumes and cover letters must be received by Thursday, December 15th.Like Governor Tom Wolf on Facebook: Facebook.com/GovernorWolf
Trustees and pension fund managers have been urged to ensure they are “singing from the same hymn sheet” and draw up codes of conduct governing the receipt of gifts and how to handle placement agent fees.Howard Sherman, head of corporate governance product development at MSCI, told the current issue of IPE there was the temptation for asset managers “to do whatever it takes” to win clients.He said it was therefore important for pension trustees and management staff to know whether gifts needed to be disclosed to ensure decisions were “based on merit”.Barry Mack, partner and head of governance at Hymans Robertson, agreed with Sherman’s assessment and called for a code of conduct be drawn up for each fund. “There may already be a tacit consensus as to what constitutes appropriate behaviour, but, until something is written down, pension fund staff may actually not be all singing from the same hymn sheet,” he said.“If you’re invited to something you couldn’t afford yourself, there is clearly a risk of undue influence. Therefore, you probably shouldn’t accept it.”However, the Hymans Robertson partner added that there would be different levels of affordability depending on the pay grade of the affected employee, meaning this would need to be taken into account.Their comments come in the wake of a number of governance scandals across Europe, including most recently the resignation of Keva managing director Merja Ailus.In the wake of her resignation last year, the Finnish government published details of a new law for disclosure of potential conflicts of interest.Problems have also occurred in other countries, including in Switzerland.Michael Valentine, investment consultant at Towers Watson in Zurich, said it made sense for pension funds to check whenever there was uncertainty that their current protection was “adequate”.For more on codes of conduct, see the current issue of IPE magazine
Despite ongoing resilience planning in the UK, concerns have arisen about the level of preparedness of the wider logistics sector and the possible impact of a ‘no-deal’ on the economy.British Ports Association raised concerns following the publication of the Government’s Brexit economic impact assessments. This week also saw the UK Prime Minister introduce measures in Parliament allowing for a possible short extension of the Brexit Article 50 deadline.Commenting on the developments in Westminster and following a meeting with Transport Secretary Chris Grayling and Ports and Shipping Minister Nusrat Ghani to discuss ports’ Brexit preparedness,“These are unprecedented times and the level of Government emergency planning in our sector is cranking up. We would hope that all parts of Government are working together and sharing information when it comes to resilience planning,” the British Ports Association’ Chief Executive, Richard Ballantyne said.He added that Local Resilience Forums are key organisations in bringing together commercial operators and public agencies to ensure that all are working together and with the same understanding.In attempts to avoid post-Brexit disruption, Government officials have made a laudable effort to put in place pragmatic processes that will help mitigate disruption in a ‘no-deal’ scenario but the wider impact assessments released by the Government include some stark warnings about the economy.“If the economy slows down, people and businesses buy, build, manufacture and invest less which typically leads to a slow down in trade. There are also concerns that the wider logistics industry and traders might not be ready and we welcome moves to allow them to prepare,” according to Ballantyne.The Government’s Brexit impact assessment estimates that the UK economy would be between 6.3% to 9% smaller, with significant variation across the UK, in the long term in a no-deal scenario.Regarding a Drewry study published on the matter, Ballantyne said that the study shows there is certainly resilience in UK-EU short sea market “but it highlights that while many of the Government’s mitigation measures should help Roll-on Roll-off ferry traffic flow, some of these customs arrangements and systems are untested.”“It also demonstrates that potential traffic peaks could need to be managed underlining the importance of the regional resilience planning exercises.”
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