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6/17/2025
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Senate OKs Vargas cryptocurrency, pension fund bills
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STATE HOUSE – The Senate has approved two bills sponsored by Sen. Lammis J. Vargas on behalf of the state treasury, one ensuring that Rhode Island’s Unclaimed Property Division can accept and protect cryptocurrency, and another to diversify management of the state pension fund.
The cryptocurrency bill (2025-S 0867) ensures that the state’s Unclaimed Property Division within the state treasury has authority to accept cryptocurrency when its owner cannot be located, just as it can with other intangible properties like money, deposits, stocks and credits.
“Cryptocurrency has value, and Rhode Islanders deserve to have the same protections from the Unclaimed Property Division for those assets as they do for any other investments or accounts they have. This bill will ensure that the state can hold cryptocurrency for them in the event that it becomes unclaimed property, and that they can recover it just the same as any other asset,” said Senator Vargas (D-Dist. 28, Cranston, Providence), who once worked as the director of the Unclaimed Property Division in the state treasury and later as deputy state treasurer.
The second bill (2025-S 0865) requires that the State Investment Commission, which manages investment of the state pension fund, adopt a policy to engage traditionally disadvantaged investment managers with underrepresented backgrounds, with a goal of having 10% of the fund invested with such managers.
The pension fund, which currently has about $11 billion in assets, currently invests about 7% of those assets with investment managers of underrepresented backgrounds, which the bill defines as investment management companies that are at least 51% owned by members of minority groups or women.
“This bill codifies something the State Investment Commission is already working toward, making it a more public, formalized commitment to diversity. That’s not just about supporting managers who are underrepresented in the investment world; it’s also a way to increase the security of the pension fund’s investments by diversifying. Many of these management agencies are smaller firms, with a variety of investments in areas in which larger firms might not be involved. Diversity of management can help provide diversity in our investments, and that’s a solid strategy to protect the overall health of the pension fund that so many retirees and employees count on,” said Senator Vargas.
Both bills now go to the House of Representatives, where Rep. Thomas E. Noret (D-Dist. 25, Coventry, West Warwick) is sponsoring companion legislation to the cryptocurrency bill (2025-H 5740), and Rep. Michelle McGaw is sponsoring companion legislation for the State Investment Commission bill (2025-H 6127).
For more information, contact:
Meredyth R. Whitty, Publicist
State House Room 20
Providence, RI 02903
(401) 222-1923
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