SENATE BILL 439

51st legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2013

INTRODUCED BY

John M. Sapien

AN ACT

RELATING TO PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT; EXEMPTING STATE INVESTMENT COUNCIL EMPLOYEES FROM COVERAGE UNDER THE PERSONNEL ACT; CREATING THE INVESTMENT OFFICE PERSONNEL COMMITTEE.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

     SECTION 1. A new section of Chapter 6, Article 8 NMSA 1978 is enacted to read:

     "[NEW MATERIAL] INVESTMENT OFFICE PERSONNEL COMMITTEE--CREATED--POWERS--DUTIES.--

          A. The "investment office personnel committee" is created. The investment office personnel committee consists of three voting members as follows:

                (1)  the vice chair of the council;

                (2)  a member appointed by the council from the council members who were appointed by the governor; and

                (3)  a member appointed by the council from the council members who were appointed by the New Mexico legislative council.

          B. The investment office personnel committee shall advise the state investment officer regarding all personnel-related matters, including ensuring reasonable and competitive compensation allowing the investment office to recruit and retain highly qualified individuals necessary for the council to fulfill the council's fiduciary duties to grow and protect the permanent funds.

          C. Members of the committee shall be appointed for three-year terms; provided that the terms of the initial committee members shall be staggered so that the term of one member expires each year. Members shall serve until their successors are appointed. A vacancy occurring other than by expiration of term shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment, but only for the unexpired term.

          D. Members of the committee shall receive per diem and mileage as provided for nonsalaried public officers in the Per Diem and Mileage Act and shall receive no other compensation, perquisite or allowance.

          E. The committee shall elect annually a chair from among its members and may elect other officers as necessary. The committee shall meet no less than quarterly or upon the call of the chair or the state investment officer.  

          F. Members of the committee are public employees within the meaning of the Tort Claims Act and are entitled to all immunity and indemnification provided under that act.

          G. The investment office personnel committee may adopt rules and procedures regarding state investment office personnel matters."

     SECTION 2. Section 10-9-4 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1961, Chapter 240, Section 4, as amended) is amended to read:

     "10-9-4. COVERAGE OF SERVICE.--The Personnel Act and the service cover all state positions except:

          A. officials elected by popular vote or appointed to fill vacancies to elective offices;

          B. members of boards and commissions and heads of agencies appointed by the governor;

          C. heads of agencies appointed by boards or commissions;

          D. directors of department divisions;

          E. those in educational institutions and in public schools;

          F. those employed by state institutions and by state agencies providing educational programs and who are required to hold valid certificates as certified school instructors as defined in Section 22-1-2 NMSA 1978 issued by the [state board of] public education department;

          G. those in the governor's office;

          H. those in the state militia or the commissioned officers of the New Mexico state police division of the department of public safety;

          I. those in the judicial branch of government;

          J. those in the legislative branch of government;

          K. those employed by the state investment council;

          [K.] L. not more than two assistants and one secretary in the office of each official listed in Subsections A, B and C of this section, excluding members of boards and commissions in Subsection B of this section;

          [L.] M. those of a professional or scientific nature [which] that are temporary in nature;

          [M.] N. those filled by patients or inmates in charitable, penal or correctional institutions;

          [N.] O. state employees if the personnel board in its discretion decides that the position is one of policymaking; and

          [O.] P. disadvantaged youth under twenty-two years of age regularly enrolled or to be enrolled in a secondary educational institution approved by the [state board of] public education department or in an accredited state institution of advanced learning or vocational training and who are to be employed for not more than seven hundred twenty hours during any calendar year:

                (1) the term "disadvantaged youth" shall be defined for purposes of this exemption by regulation duly promulgated by the board; and

                (2) the board shall:

                     (a) require that all the criteria of this subsection have been met;

                     (b) establish employment lists for the certification of the highest-standing candidates to the prospective employers; and

                     (c) establish the pay rates for such employees."

     SECTION 3. EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date of the provisions of this act is July 1, 2013.

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