Chapter 10 — Chapter 10

from gross salaries. State agencies, state or educational institutions and political subdivisions of the state shall be authorized to enter into salary reduction agreements with their employees for the purpose of purchasing annuity contracts and deferred compensation plans, offer…

Every state employee and every person regularly employed at a state educational institution named in Article 12, Section 11 of the New Mexico constitution, except student employees as defined by the board of educational finance, shall receive a salary at a rate equal to at least …

Sections 1 through 10 [10-7A-1 to 10-7A-10 NMSA 1978] of this act may be cited as the "Deferred Compensation Act". History: Laws 1981, ch. 155, § 1.

Any expenditure necessary to implement the Deferred Compensation Act shall be charged to participating employees or to deferred compensation carriers including those submitting proposals. History: Laws 1981, ch. 155, § 10; 1985, ch. 161, § 6.

The board may adopt such rules and enter into such agreements as may be necessary to implement the Deferred Compensation Act; provided, however, that any expenditures associated therewith are charged as provided in Section 10-7A-10 NMSA 1978. History: 1978 Comp., § 10-7A-11, enac…

requirement. A court of competent jurisdiction, solely for the purposes of effecting a division of community property, may provide by appropriate order for a determination and division of a community interest in the deferred compensation plan provided for in the Deferred Compensa…

As used in the Deferred Compensation Act: A. "board" means the public employees retirement board; B. "local public body" means all political subdivisions of the state, their agencies, instrumentalities and institutions; C. "local public employee" means any officer or employee to …

employees. A. After the effective date of the Deferred Compensation Act, the board shall review and approve deferred compensation plans for participation by state and local public employees. A deferred compensation plan shall provide for the method of transfer of funds to a plan …

The deferred compensation plan may allow persons other than public employees, who provide services to the state or any local public body, to participate in the plan to the extent permitted by federal law. History: Laws 1981, ch. 155, § 4.

A. The board shall review proposals providing investment options to participants of a deferred compensation plan submitted by deferred compensation carriers that have been engaged for a minimum of three years in the business of funding public employee deferred compensation plans …

The board may select a deferred compensation plan that offers varied investment options to participating employees. History: Laws 1981, ch. 155, § 6; 1985, ch. 161, § 4.

Income deferred pursuant to the Deferred Compensation Act and any gains arising from such income, shall be subject to New Mexico income tax and other applicable taxes in the same year or years in which the income is subject to federal income tax pursuant to federal law. History: …

participation. A. Local public employees shall be eligible to participate in a deferred compensation plan approved by the board upon the filing of a local public body's participation agreement, conforming to board requirements, applicable to its local public employees and such ot…

Any state or local public body deferred compensation plan in existence on the effective date of the Deferred Compensation Act shall not be affected and may be made available to employees and other persons of the state agency or local public body which had adopted said deferred co…

Chapter 10, Article 7B NMSA 1978 may be cited as the "Group Benefits Act". History: Laws 1989, ch. 231, § 1; 2005, ch. 301, § 1; 2005, ch. 305, § 1.

As used in the Group Benefits Act: A. "committee" means the group benefits committee; B. "director" means the director of the state health benefits division of the health care authority; C. "employee" means a salaried officer, employee or legislator of the state; a salaried offic…

A. The "group benefits committee" is created. The committee shall be composed of nine members as follows: (1) one employee of, appointed by the secretary of, each of the two departments of the state, excluding state institutions of higher education, having the largest number of f…

The committee shall: A. review and advise the director on all group benefits coverages, whether insured or self-insured, included or to be included in the state group plan; B. review and advise the director on all professional, technical or consulting contracts to be entered into…

The director, with the prior approval of the committee, may apportion the costs of employee benefits administration and other employee benefit costs to all participating state agencies and their employees, participating local public bodies and their employees, participating small…

authorization; local public body participation. A. The state health benefits division of the health care authority may, with the prior advice of the committee, establish and administer a group benefits self-insurance plan, providing life, vision, health, dental and disability cov…

A. The director may enter into an agreement with a small employer to voluntarily purchase health care coverage offered pursuant to the Group Benefits Act for persons and dependents eligible through the small employer. B. The director may enter into agreements with an association,…

A. The "group self-insurance fund" is created. The fund and any income produced by the fund shall be held in trust for the benefit of participating state agencies and their employees and local public bodies and their employees, deposited in a segregated account and invested by th…

A. In making investments of the fund, the director shall consider the relative safety of the investment and the need for liquidity in the fund, as well as the income to be produced. No investment of the fund shall have a maturity date, or similar date before which it may not be l…

Sections 1 through 16 [10-7C-1 to 10-7C-16 NMSA 1978] of this act may be cited as the "Retiree Health Care Act". History: Laws 1990, ch. 6, § 1.

A. After written notice to the participating employee, eligible retiree or eligible dependent and hearing with a fair opportunity to appear and present the case personally or by counsel, the board may expel from participation in the retiree health care plan or plans any participa…

A. The board shall be designated as the group policyholder for any plans established under the Retiree Health Care Act. B. The group insurance coverages provided under the plans may include but are not limited to life insurance, accidental death and dismemberment, hospital care a…

A. An eligible retiree who applies for coverage during the initial and subsequent open enrollment periods as established by the board may not be denied any of the group insurance basic coverages provided under the Retiree Health Care Act except as provided in Section 10 [10-7C-10…

A. Except as otherwise provided in this section, each eligible retiree shall pay a monthly premium for the basic plan in an amount set by the board not to exceed fifty dollars ($50.00) plus the amount, if any, of the compounded annual increases authorized by the board, which incr…

All insurance benefit payments, participating employee and participating employer contributions, eligible retiree and eligible dependent contributions, optional benefits payments and any rights, benefits or payments accruing to any person under the Retiree Health Care Act, as wel…

A. Following completion of the preliminary contribution period, each participating employer shall make contributions to the fund pursuant to the following provisions: (1) for participating employees who are not members of an enhanced retirement plan, the employer's contribution s…

Expenditures for the administration of the Retiree Health Care Act shall be made as provided by an operating budget adopted by the board and approved by the state budget division of the department of finance and administration as provided by law and pursuant to appropriation by t…

History: Laws 2002, ch. 75, § 2; 2002, ch. 80, § 2; 2003, ch. 382, § 2; 2006, ch. 26, § 1; repealed by Laws 2021, ch. 23, § 3.

History: Laws 2002, ch. 75, § 3; 2002, ch. 80, § 3; 2006, ch. 26, § 2; repealed by Laws 2021, ch. 23, § 3.

History: Laws 2002, ch. 75, § 4; 2002, ch. 80, § 4; 2006, ch. 26, § 3; repealed by Laws 2021, ch. 23, § 3.

The purpose of the Retiree Health Care Act is to provide comprehensive core group health insurance for persons who have retired from certain public service in New Mexico. The purpose is to provide eligible retirees, their spouses, dependents and surviving spouses and dependents w…

A. The legislature finds and declares that public employees face a severe problem in securing continuing medical insurance when they retire. Medical care inflation has far exceeded the general inflation rate for the past decade. It is expected that at least some of the factors th…

As used in the Retiree Health Care Act: A. "active employee" means an employee of a public institution or any other public employer participating in either the Educational Retirement Act [Chapter 22, Article 11 NMSA 1978], the Public Employees Retirement Act [Chapter 10, Article …

There is created the "retiree health care authority", which is established to provide for comprehensive group health insurance programs under the Retiree Health Care Act. History: Laws 1990, ch. 6, § 5; 2002, ch. 75, § 1; 2002, ch. 80, § 1; 2021, ch. 23, § 2.

A. The "board of the retiree health care authority" is created. The board shall be composed of not more than thirteen members. B. The board shall include: (1) one member who is not employed by or on behalf of or contracting with an employer participating in or eligible to partici…

In order to achieve the purposes of the Retiree Health Care Act, the board may take all actions reasonably necessary to implement that act, including but not limited to the following: A. employ or contract for the services of the state fiscal agent or select its own fiscal agent …

payment of obligations from contributions. The board may take all actions reasonably necessary to provide an administration building for the authority, including the acquisition of real property for that purpose. The board is authorized to make payments from the first money recei…

appropriation. A. The New Mexico finance authority may issue and sell revenue bonds in compliance with the New Mexico Finance Authority Act [Chapter 6, Article 21 NMSA 1978] in installments or at one time in an amount not exceeding two million five hundred thousand dollars ($2,50…

A. There is created the "retiree health care fund". All money in the fund shall be invested as provided for in Subsection D of this section. All income earned from investment of the fund shall be credited to the fund. Except as otherwise specifically provided herein, the money in…

A. All eligible employers shall participate in the Retiree Health Care Act except as provided in Subsection D or Subsection E of this section. Participating employers are required to continue existing group health insurance coverages until such time as similar coverages are offer…

Chapter 10, Article 7E NMSA 1978 may be cited as the "Public Employee Bargaining Act". History: Laws 2003, ch. 4, § 1 and by Laws 2003, ch. 5, § 1; 2005, ch. 333, § 1.

of authority upon termination; prohibition of new local boards. A. All local boards shall continue to exist except as provided in Subsections B through J of this section. B. No later than December 31, 2020, each local board shall submit to the board copies of a revised local ordi…

History: Laws 2003, ch. 4, § 11; 2003, ch. 5, § 11; repealed by Laws 2020, ch. 48, § 13.

A. The board or local board may hold hearings for the purposes of: (1) information gathering and inquiry; (2) adopting rules; and (3) adjudicating disputes and enforcing the provisions of the Public Employee Bargaining Act and rules adopted pursuant to that act. B. The board or l…

A. The board or local board shall, upon receipt of a petition for a representation election filed by a labor organization, designate the appropriate bargaining units for collective bargaining. Appropriate bargaining units shall be established on the basis of occupational groups o…

A. Whenever, in accordance with rules prescribed by the board or local board, a petition is filed by a labor organization containing the signatures of at least thirty percent of the public employees in an appropriate bargaining unit, the board or local board shall conduct a secre…