Fiscal impact reports (FIRs) are prepared by the Legislative Finance Committee (LFC) for standing finance
committees of the NM Legislature. The LFC does not assume responsibility for the accuracy of these reports
if they are used for other purposes.
Current FIRs (in HTML & Adobe PDF formats) are a vailable on the NM Legislative Website (legis.state.nm.us).
Adobe PDF versions include all attachments, whereas HTML versions may not. Previously issued FIRs and
attachments may be obtained from the LFC in Suite 101 of the State Capitol Building North.
F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T
SPONSOR Rainaldi
ORIGINAL DATE
LAST UPDATED
3/9/07
3/15/07 HB
SHORT TITLE Unemployment Compensation Contribution Rates
SB 1176/aSPAC
ANALYST Lucero
ESTIMATED ADDITIONAL OPERATING BUDGET IMPACT (dollars in thousands)
FY07
FY08 FY09 3 Year
Total
Cost
Recurring
or Non-
Rec
Fund
Affected
Total
*NFI
*NFI *NFI Recurring Unemployment
Tax Fund
(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)
* There is no fiscal impact to NMDOL; however, there may be an impact to employers as
noted below.
Conflicts with HB247
Relates to Appropriation in the General Appropriation Act
SOURCES OF INFORMATION
LFC Files
Responses Received From
New Mexico Department of Labor (NMDOL)
New Mexico Corrections Department (NMCD)
SUMMARY
Synopsis of SPAC Amendment
Senate Public Affairs Committee amendment to Senate Bill 1176 corrects the issue of applying
the tax rate to the annual payroll as opposed to taxable payroll, and resolves the issues noted in
Fiscal Implications below.
Synopsis of Original Bill
Senate Bill 1176 places a cap on the amount that an employer might have to pay for
unemployment benefits. The unemployment compensation tax rate cannot exceed 5.4 percent.
The bill becomes effective on January 1, 2008 or on the January 1 following a certification that
the unemployment compensation fund is less than 2.5 percent of total payrolls.
pg_0002
Senate Bill 1176/aSPAC – Page
2
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
The bill, as currently drafted, may actually increase unemployment taxes. The proposed new
language limits the rate of contribution to 5.4% of total annual
payrolls, rather than 5.4% of total
taxable
payrolls. As total annual payrolls are higher than taxable payrolls, this bill may serve to
inadvertently increase taxes.
SIGNIFICANT ISSUES
It is unclear if the intent of the proposed new language which specifies total annual
payrolls
(page 14, line 25 and page 15, line 1) instead of total taxable
payrolls. The effect of using annual
payroll instead of taxable payrolls will have the effect of increasing unemployment taxes paid by
all employers.
The need for this bill is unclear, current contribution rate schedules have a maximum tax rate of
5.4 percent.
ALTERNATIVES
This bill should be amended to clarify that the maximum rate of contribution is 5.4% of total
taxable
payroll.
WHAT WILL BE THE CONSEQUENCES OF NOT ENACTING THIS BILL
Status Quo
DL/mt