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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T



SPONSOR: Adair DATE TYPED: 02/03/00 HB
SHORT TITLE: Conditions of Employment SB SJR 17
ANALYST: Burch


APPROPRIATION



Appropriation Contained
Estimated Additional Impact
Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY00 FY01 FY00 FY01
$ 17.0 Nonrecurring General Fund



(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)



Duplicates/Relates to HJR 13, SB49 and SB178



SOURCES OF INFORMATION



LFC files

Attorney General

State Personnel Office

Labor Department



SUMMARY



Synopsis of Bill



The legislation proposes to add a new section to Article 2 of the New Mexico Constitution to prohibit the following as a condition of employment:



Significant Issues



According to the agency analyses, this legislation is basically a "right-to-work" bill and could have an impact on the development of labor unions in New Mexico. The proposal, however, does not ban collective bargaining.



FISCAL IMPLICATIONS



The Secretary of State reports that it costs approximately $17.0 to place an item on the ballot. The next general election is in November 2000.



ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS



The Secretary of State would be required to perform the necessary steps to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot.



DUPLICATION/RELATIONSHIP



The bill duplicates HJR 13 and relates to SB 49 and SB 178, which are collective bargaining bills for public employees.



OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES



According to the Attorney General analysis, the prohibition would require an employer to hire a person who belonged to an organization, even if the employer thought the organization was illegal, immoral or repugnant. In effect, the proposed amendment adds membership in a particular organization to the constitutional and statutory categories of people that private employers are already prohibited from discriminating against, such as race, national origin, gender, age and disability. Public employers probably are already prohibited by the First Amendment from making employment decisions based on organization membership.



DKB/njw