Leonard Gilroy
Vice President of Government Reform, Reason Foundation
Leonard Gilroy is Vice President of Government Reform at Reason Foundation and Senior Managing Director of Reason's Pension Integrity Project.
Under Gilroy's leadership, the Pension Integrity Project at Reason Foundation assists policymakers and other stakeholders in designing, analyzing and implementing public sector pension reforms. The project aims to promote solvent, sustainable retirement systems that provide retirement security for government workers while reducing taxpayer and pension system exposure to financial risk and reducing long-term costs for employers/taxpayers and employees. The project team provides education, reform policy options, and actuarial analysis for policymakers and stakeholders to help them design reform proposals that are practical and viable.
Gilroy and the Pension Integrity Project have provided technical assistance to several successful pension reform efforts in recent years in Michigan, Colorado, Arizona, South Carolina and other states aimed at tackling persistent pension solvency challenges.
In his role as vice president, Gilroy also leads Reason's government reform efforts, with over 18 years of experience researching fiscal management, government operations, infrastructure public-private partnerships, government contracting, and urban policy topics. He also regularly consults with federal, state and local officials on ways to improve government performance and efficiency.
Gilroy has a diversified background in policy research and implementation, with particular emphasis on competition, government efficiency, transparency, accountability, and government performance. Gilroy has testified before Congress on several occasions and has testified on pension reform before the Arizona, Florida, Michigan, and Texas legislatures. Gilroy works closely with state and local elected officials across the country in efforts to design and implement market-based policy approaches, improve government performance, enhance accountability in government programs, and reduce government spending.
Gilroy's articles have been featured in such leading publications as The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, New York Post, The Weekly Standard, Washington Times, Houston Chronicle, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Arizona Republic, San Francisco Examiner, San Diego Union-Tribune, Philadelphia Inquirer, Sacramento Bee, and The Salt Lake Tribune. He has also appeared on CNN, Fox News Channel, Fox Business, CNBC, National Public Radio and other media outlets.
Prior to joining Reason, Gilroy was a senior planner at a Louisiana-based urban planning consulting firm. He also worked as a research assistant at the Virginia Center for Coal and Energy Research at Virginia Tech. Gilroy earned a B.A. and M.A. in Urban and Regional Planning from Virginia Tech.
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Colorado’s opportunity to determine its own mental health rules
Under Proposition 122, the Natural Medicine Health Act, Colorado would create America’s second state-regulated framework for allowing certified mental health professionals to administer psychedelics.
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Webinar: ESG trends and impacts on public pensions
How environmental, social, governance (ESG) strategies and trends are impacting public pension systems and taxpayers.
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How to maximize Arizona’s water investment
Arizona has set aside millions for water conservation and augmentation projects, but the state needs private partners to deliver this needed infrastructure.
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Alaska avoids attempt to roll back 2005 pension reform
Instead of unraveling pension progress, policymakers should seek to bolster the policies that brought resiliency and reliability.
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Examining the Teachers Retirement System of Texas after the pension reforms of 2019
Senate Bill 12 of 2019 made reforms, but TRS contributions will likely be insufficient because the pension plan is using outdated economic assumptions.
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Oregon Psilocybin Services should carefully approach Measure 109 rulemaking
Our review of the proposed rules on psilocybin products, training curriculum, and testing yielded the following observations.
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Evaluating the potential impacts of Louisiana Senate Bill 438
The proposed hybrid plan is more expensive than the current pension under all scenarios.
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Paying down PSPRS debt faster is a win for taxpayers
Unfunded PSPRS and ASRS liabilities make those pension systems more costly, pressuring government budgets. Paying down pension debt as fast as possible avoids interest costs and saves taxpayers money.
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House Bill 2486 threatens Oklahoma’s pension progress
Public pension changes of the magnitude being proposed should receive rigorous actuarial and risk analyses that ensure future generations’ interests are protected.
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Actuary highlights House Bill 55’s costs and risks to the Alaska Public Employees’ Retirement System
Changes of the magnitude being proposed in Alaska House BIll 55 should receive rigorous actuarial and risk analyses that have not yet been conducted.
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Testimony: Assessing the proposed Kansas Thrift Savings Plan in Senate Bill 553
The proposed Thrift Savings retirement plan in Senate Bill 553 reflects a high-quality public sector retirement plan design that incorporates best practices from national experience.
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Alaska pension bill would bring major financial risk and unfunded liability growth
House Bill 55 would commit Alaska to unpredictable long-term costs for public safety workers' pensions so it is crucial to consider the costs over decades, not just a few years.
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Keeping politics out of public pension investing
Policies directing public pension systems to make politically-motivated investments can undermine fund governance and increase financial risk to future generations.
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Phoenix’s traffic congestion is expected to worsen despite $70 billion in transportation spending plans
Vehicle hours of delay spent in Phoenix's traffic congestion are expected increase by at least 50% at all times of day by 2050.
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Expanding prefunding programs for the Arizona State Retirement System
Prefunding contributions for the Arizona State Retirement System could help ease the burden of rising pension costs on taxpayers.
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Testimony: Recommendations for the FRS Investment Plan
Adjustments to Florida's public defined contribution retirement plan could better serve employees and taxpayers.
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Leasing city airport could help Phoenix pay down pension debt
Sky Harbor airport could generate between $1.5 billion to $2.9 billion in net proceeds to the city.
