HOUSE JOINT MEMORIAL 28

46th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2004

INTRODUCED BY

Thomas E. Swisstack

A JOINT MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE PUBLIC DEFENDER DEPARTMENT AND THE NEW MEXICO DISTRICT ATTORNEYS ASSOCIATION TO STUDY THE FEASIBILITY OF A TWENTY-YEAR RETIREMENT PLAN FOR ASSISTANT PUBLIC DEFENDERS AND ASSISTANT DISTRICT ATTORNEYS.

     WHEREAS, during testimony before the interim corrections oversight and justice committee in November 2003, the public defender department and the New Mexico district attorneys association advised the committee of their mutual difficulty in recruiting and retaining newly graduated lawyers; and

     WHEREAS, there are graduates who are keenly interested in public law practice, but entry-level salaries for those jobs are not competitive with salaries for legal jobs in the private sector; and

     WHEREAS, young lawyers who do accept public sector jobs often use those positions as a training ground and soon move on to private practice; and

     WHEREAS, it was suggested during the November 2003 committee hearing that a twenty-year retirement plan for assistant public defenders and assistant district attorneys might serve as an attractive incentive for young lawyers to pursue a long-term career in government service;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the public defender department and the New Mexico district attorneys association be requested to study the feasibility of a twenty-year retirement plan for assistant public defenders and assistant district attorneys; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the public defender department and the New Mexico district attorneys association seek an actuarial study regarding the expense of a twenty-year retirement plan from the public employees retirement association; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the public defender department and the New Mexico district attorneys association report their findings, including the expense of a twenty-year retirement plan, to the interim corrections oversight and justice committee no later than November 1, 2004; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the chief public defender and the president of the New Mexico district attorneys association.