2025 -- S 1127

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LC003017

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2025

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S E N A T E   R E S O L U T I O N

CONGRATULATING FRANK J. KARPINSKI ON HIS RETIREMENT AFTER THIRTY-ONE

YEARS OF HONORABLE SERVICE TO THE STATE OF RHODE ISLAND, TO THE

STATE'S ACTIVE AND RETIRED PUBLIC SERVANTS, AND TO THE OFFICE OF THE

GENERAL TREASURER

     Introduced By: Senator Louis P. DiPalma

     Date Introduced: June 03, 2025

     Referred To: Placed on the Senate Consent Calendar

     WHEREAS, A Rhode Island native, Frank J. Karpinski, has dedicated his career to

public service; and

     WHEREAS, Frank began his career in state government for Treasurer Nancy Mayer in

1994 as the Director of Finance for the Employees’ Retirement System of Rhode Island

(“ERSRI”); and

     WHEREAS, Over the past three decades, Frank has faithfully served six Rhode Island

General Treasurers, including Nancy Mayer, Paul J. Tavares, Frank T. Caprio, Gina Raimondo,

Seth Magaziner, and most recently, James A. Diossa; and

     WHEREAS, During his long tenure in the Office of the General Treasurer, Frank has

become an invaluable and irreplaceable member of ERSRI and the Treasurer’s Office; and

     WHEREAS, As Finance Director, Frank led the effort to modernize core financial

systems and a multimillion-dollar computerization effort in order to bring the State’s retirement

system into the modern age; and

     WHEREAS, In 2001, Treasurer Paul J. Tavares named Frank the Executive Director of

ERSRI; and

     WHEREAS, As the head of the Employees’ State Retirement System, Frank shepherded

the system through a period of financial instability and dramatic change that included two major

reform efforts; and

     WHEREAS, Thanks to Frank’s steady hand, ERSRI has made tremendous progress; and

     WHEREAS, ERSRI is more responsibly funded and managed under Frank’s watch than

it has been in decades, and he leaves ERSRI stronger, more transparent, and more member-

focused than ever; and

     WHEREAS, Frank is recognized by many across Rhode Island and the country as a pre-

eminent expert in public pension administration and retirement; and

     WHEREAS, Over the course of his distinguished career, Frank has been a respected

member of the National Association of State Retirement Administrators, serving as Second Vice

President, First Vice President, President-Elect, President, and Immediate Past President; and

     WHEREAS, A sharp-dressed bow-tie enthusiast, Frank’s daily presence will be missed at

the Treasurer’s Office and monthly meetings of the Retirement Board; and

     WHEREAS, Knowledgeable, caring, and personable, Frank is an exemplar of what it

means to be a public servant; now, therefore be it

     RESOLVED, That this Senate of the State of Rhode Island hereby honors and

congratulates Frank J. Karpinski on the occasion of his retirement, and acknowledges his

meritorious service to the State and his contributions to the retirement security of Rhode Island’s

public servants; and be it further

     RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to

transmit a duly certified copy of this resolution to Frank J. Karpinski.

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LC003017

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