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SENATE BILL 173
57
TH LEGISLATURE
-
STATE
OF
NEW
MEXICO
-
FIRST SESSION
,
2025
INTRODUCED BY
David M. Gallegos and Antonio Maestas
AN ACT
RELATING TO PUBLIC EMPLOYEE RETIREMENT; INCLUDING PUBLIC SAFETY
TELECOMMUNICATORS AS POLICE MEMBERS UNDER THE PUBLIC EMPLOYEES
RETIREMENT ACT; PROVIDING FOR ELECTIONS PERTAINING TO THE
ADOPTION OF THE POLICE MEMBER COVERAGE PLANS FOR CURRENT PUBLIC
SAFETY TELECOMMUNICATORS.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
SECTION 1. Section 10-11-2 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1987,
Chapter 253, Section 2, as amended) is amended to read:
"10-11-2. DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Public Employees
Retirement Act:
A. "accumulated member contributions" means the
amounts deducted from the salary of a member and credited to
the member's individual account, together with interest, if
any, credited to that account;
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B. "affiliated public employer" means the state and
any public employer affiliated with the association as provided
in the Public Employees Retirement Act, but does not include an
employer pursuant to the Magistrate Retirement Act, the
Judicial Retirement Act or the Educational Retirement Act;
C. "association" means the public employees
retirement association established under the Public Employees
Retirement Act;
D. "coverage plan funded ratio" means the ratio of
the actuarial value of the assets of a coverage plan to the
actuarial accrued liability of the association for payments
from the coverage plan, as determined by the association's
actuaries;
E. "disability retired member" means a retired
member who is receiving a pension pursuant to the disability
retirement provisions of the Public Employees Retirement Act;
F. "disability retirement pension" means the
pension paid pursuant to the disability retirement provisions
of the Public Employees Retirement Act;
G. "educational retirement system" means that
retirement system provided for in the Educational Retirement
Act;
H. "employee" means any employee of an affiliated
public employer;
I. "federal social security program" means that
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program or those programs created and administered pursuant to
the act of congress approved August 14, 1935, Chapter 531, 49
Stat. 620, as that act may be amended;
J. "final average salary" means the final average
salary calculated in accordance with the provisions of the
applicable coverage plan;
K. "form of payment" means the applicable form of
payment of a pension provided for in Section 10-11-117 NMSA
1978;
L. "former member" means a person who was
previously employed by an affiliated public employer, who has
terminated that employment and who has received a refund of
member contributions;
M. "fund" means the funds included under the Public
Employees Retirement Act;
N. "member" means a currently employed,
contributing employee of an affiliated public employer, or a
person who has been but is not currently employed by an
affiliated public employer, who has not retired and who has not
received a refund of member contributions; "member" also
includes the following:
(1) "adult correctional officer member" means
a member who is employed as an adult correctional officer or an
adult correctional officer specialist by a state correctional
facility of the corrections department or its successor agency;
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(2) "adult probation and parole officer
member" means a member who is employed as a probation and
parole officer by the corrections department or its successor
agency;
(3) "juvenile correctional officer member"
means a member who is employed as a juvenile correctional
officer by the children, youth and families department or its
successor agency;
(4) "juvenile probation and parole officer
member" means a member who is employed as a probation and
parole officer by the children, youth and families department
or its successor agency;
(5) "municipal detention officer member" means
a member who is employed by an affiliated public employer other
than the state and who has inmate custodial responsibilities at
a facility used for the confinement of persons charged with or
convicted of a violation of a law or ordinance;
(6) "municipal fire member" means any member
who is employed as a full-time nonvolunteer firefighter by an
affiliated public employer, other than the state, and who has
taken the oath prescribed for firefighters;
(7) "municipal police member" means any member
who is employed as a:
(a) police officer by an affiliated
public employer, other than the state, and who has taken the
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oath prescribed for police officers; or
(b) public safety telecommunicator by an
affiliated public employer, other than the state;
(8) "state fire member" means any member who
is employed as a nonvolunteer firefighter of the state and who
has taken the oath prescribed for firefighters; and
(9) "state police member" means a member who
is:
(a) an officer of the New Mexico state
police division and who has taken the oath prescribed for such
officers and shall include a member who is an officer of the
New Mexico state police division and who was certified and
commissioned in the former motor transportation division or the
former special investigations division of the department of
public safety; or
(b) a public safety telecommunicator
employed by the state;
O. "membership" means membership in the
association;
P. "pension" means a series of monthly payments to
a retired member or survivor beneficiary as provided in the
Public Employees Retirement Act;
Q. "public employer" means the state, any
municipality, city, county, metropolitan arroyo flood control
authority, economic development district, regional housing
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authority, soil and water conservation district, entity created
pursuant to a joint powers agreement, council of government,
conservancy district, irrigation district, water and sanitation
district, water district and metropolitan water board,
including the boards, departments, bureaus and agencies of a
public employer, so long as these entities fall within the
meaning of governmental plan as that term is used in Section
414(d) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended;
R. "refund beneficiary" means a supplemental needs
trust or a natural person designated by the member, in writing,
in the form prescribed by the association, as the trust or
person that would be refunded the member's accumulated member
contributions payable if the member dies and no survivor
pension is payable or that would receive the difference between
pension paid and accumulated member contributions if the
retired member dies before receiving in pension payments the
amount of the accumulated member contributions;
S. "retire" means to:
(1) terminate employment with all employers
covered by any state system or the educational retirement
system; and
(2) receive a pension from a state system or
the educational retirement system;
T. "retired member" means a person who has met all
requirements for retirement and who is receiving a pension from
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the fund;
U. "retirement board" means the retirement board
provided for in the Public Employees Retirement Act;
V. "salary" means the base salary or wages paid a
member, including longevity pay, for personal services rendered
an affiliated public employer. "Salary" shall not include
overtime pay, unless the overtime payment is required for a
regular scheduled tour of duty as set forth in Section 207(k)
of Title 29 of the United States Code and is made on the
regular payroll for the period represented by that payment,
allowances for housing, clothing, equipment or travel, payments
for unused sick leave, unless the unused sick leave payment is
made through continuation of the member on the regular payroll
for the period represented by that payment, and any other form
of remuneration not specifically designated by law as included
in salary for Public Employees Retirement Act purposes. Salary
in excess of the limitations set forth in Section 401(a)(17) of
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, shall be
disregarded. The limitation on compensation for eligible
employees shall not be less than the amount that was allowed to
be taken into account under the state retirement system acts in
effect on July 1, 1993. For purposes of this subsection,
"eligible employee" means an individual who was a member of a
state system before the first plan year beginning after
December 31, 1995;
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W. "state system" means the retirement programs
provided for in the Public Employees Retirement Act, the
Magistrate Retirement Act and the Judicial Retirement Act;
X. "state retirement system acts" means
collectively the Public Employees Retirement Act, the
Magistrate Retirement Act, the Judicial Retirement Act and the
Volunteer Firefighters Retirement Act;
Y. "supplemental needs trust" means a valid third-
party irrevocable trust that is authorized by the federal
Social Security Act, as amended, for the sole benefit and
lifetime of a trust beneficiary who is disabled and is created
for the purpose of providing, accounting for or receiving
supplemental assets that do not supplant, impair or diminish
any benefits or assistance of any federal, state or other
government entity for which the beneficiary would otherwise be
eligible; and
Z. "survivor beneficiary" means a supplemental
needs trust or a natural person that receives a pension or that
has been designated to be paid a pension as a result of the
death of a member or retired member."
SECTION 2. TEMPORARY PROVISION--MUNICIPAL POLICE MEMBER
COVERAGE PLAN 5--PUBLIC SAFETY TELECOMMUNICATORS--ELECTION.--On
or before December 30, 2025, the retirement board provided for
in the Public Employees Retirement Act shall conduct an
election to submit to municipal police members currently
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contributing under a municipal general member coverage plan the
question of adopting municipal police member coverage plan 5.
The election shall be conducted in accordance with procedures
adopted by the retirement board, and the retirement board shall
certify the results of the election to the secretary of state
on or before January 1, 2026.
SECTION 3. TEMPORARY PROVISION--STATE PUBLIC SAFETY
MEMBER COVERAGE PLAN 1--PUBLIC SAFETY TELECOMMUNICATORS--
ELECTION.--On or before December 30, 2025, the retirement board
provided for in the Public Employees Retirement Act shall
conduct an election to submit to state police members currently
contributing under state general member coverage plan 3 the
question of adopting state public safety member coverage plan
1. The election shall be conducted in accordance with
procedures adopted by the retirement board, and the retirement
board shall certify the results of the election to the
secretary of state on or before January 1, 2026.
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