0001| SENATE BILL 286
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0002| 43RD LEGISLATURE - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - SECOND SESSION, 1998
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0003| INTRODUCED BY
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0004| LEONARD LEE RAWSON
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0005|
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0006|
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0007|
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0008|
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0009|
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0010| AN ACT
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0011| RELATING TO UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION; RAISING UNEMPLOYMENT
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0012| BENEFITS.
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0013|
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0014| BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
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0015| Section 1. Section 51-1-4 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1969,
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0016| Chapter 213, Section 1, as amended) is amended to read:
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0017| "51-1-4. MONETARY COMPUTATION OF BENEFITS--PAYMENT
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0018| GENERALLY.--
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0019| A. All benefits provided herein are payable from
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0020| the unemployment compensation fund. All benefits shall be
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0021| paid in accordance with such regulations as the secretary may
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0022| prescribe through employment offices or other agencies as the
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0023| secretary may by general rule approve.
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0024| B. Weekly benefits shall be as follows:
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0025| (1) an individual's "weekly benefit amount"
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0001| is an amount equal to one twenty-sixth of the total wages for
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0002| insured work paid to him in that quarter of his base period in
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0003| which total wages were highest. No benefit as so computed may
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0004| be less than ~[ten]~ |twenty| percent or more than ~[fifty]~
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0005| |fifty-two and one-half| percent of the ~[state's]~
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0006| |individual's| average weekly wage for all insured work.
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0007| ~[The state's average weekly wage shall be computed from all
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0008| wages reported to the department from employing units in
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0009| accordance with regulations of the secretary for the period
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0010| ending June 30 of each calendar year divided by the total
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0011| number of covered employees divided by fifty-two, effective
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0012| for the benefit years commencing on or after the first Sunday
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0013| of the following calendar year.]~ Any such individual is not
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0014| eligible to receive benefits unless his total base-period
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0015| wages equal at least one and one-fourth times the wages for
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0016| insured work in that quarter of his base period in which such
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0017| wages are highest. |For purposes of this subsection, "total
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0018| wages" means all remuneration for insured work, including
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0019| commissions and bonuses and the cash value of all remuneration
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0020| in a medium other than cash|;
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0021| (2) each eligible individual who is
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0022| unemployed in any week during which he is in a continued
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0023| claims status shall be paid, with respect to such week, a
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0024| benefit in an amount equal to his weekly benefit amount, less
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0025| that part of the wages, if any, or earnings from self-
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0001| employment, payable to him with respect to such week which is
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0002| in excess of one-fifth of his weekly benefit amount. For
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0003| purposes of this subsection only, "wages" includes all
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0004| remuneration for services actually performed in any week for
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0005| which benefits are claimed, vacation pay for any period for
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0006| which the individual has a definite return-to-work date, wages
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0007| in lieu of notice and back pay for loss of employment but does
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0008| not include payments through a court for time spent in jury
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0009| service;
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0010| (3) notwithstanding any other provision of
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0011| this section, each eligible individual who, pursuant to a plan
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0012| financed in whole or in part by a base-period employer of such
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0013| individual, is receiving a governmental or other pension,
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0014| retirement pay, annuity or any other similar periodic payment
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0015| that is based on the previous work of such individual and who
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0016| is unemployed with respect to any week ending subsequent to
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0017| April 9, 1981 shall be paid with respect to such week, in
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0018| accordance with regulations prescribed by the secretary,
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0019| compensation equal to his weekly benefit amount reduced, but
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0020| not below zero, by the prorated amount of such pension,
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0021| retirement pay, annuity or other similar periodic payment that
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0022| exceeds the percentage contributed to the plan by the eligible
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0023| individual. The maximum benefit amount payable to such
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0024| eligible individual shall be an amount not more than twenty-
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0025| six times his reduced weekly benefit amount. If payments
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0001| referred to in this section are being received by any
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0002| individual under the federal Social Security Act, the division
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0003| shall take into account the individual's contribution and make
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0004| no reduction in the weekly benefit amount;
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0005| (4) in the case of a lump-sum payment of a
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0006| pension, retirement or retired pay, annuity or other similar
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0007| payment by a base-period employer that is based on the
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0008| previous work of such individual, such payment shall be
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0009| allocated, in accordance with regulations prescribed by the
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0010| secretary, and shall reduce the amount of unemployment
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0011| compensation paid, but not below zero, in accordance with
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0012| Paragraph (3) of this subsection; and
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0013| (5) the retroactive payment of a pension,
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0014| retirement or retired pay, annuity or any other similar
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0015| periodic payment as provided in Paragraphs (3) and (4) of this
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0016| subsection attributable to weeks during which an individual
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0017| has claimed or has been paid unemployment compensation shall
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0018| be allocated to such weeks and shall reduce the amount of
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0019| unemployment compensation for such weeks, but not below zero,
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0020| by an amount equal to the prorated amount of such pension.
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0021| Any overpayment of unemployment compensation benefits
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0022| resulting from the application of the provisions of this
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0023| paragraph shall be recovered from the claimant in accordance
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0024| with the provisions of Section 51-1-38 NMSA 1978.
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0025| C. Any otherwise eligible individual is entitled
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0001| during any benefit year to a total amount of benefits equal to
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0002| whichever is the lesser of twenty-six times his weekly benefit
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0003| amount or sixty percent of his wages for insured work paid
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0004| during his base period.
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0005| D. Any benefit as determined in Subsection B or C
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0006| of this section, if not a multiple of one dollar ($1.00),
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0007| shall be rounded to the next lower multiple of one dollar
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0008| ($1.00).
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0009| E. The secretary may prescribe regulations to
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0010| provide for the payment of benefits that are due and payable
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0011| to the legal representative, dependents, relatives or next of
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0012| kin of claimants since deceased. These regulations need not
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0013| conform with the laws governing successions, and the payment
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0014| shall be deemed a valid payment to the same extent as if made
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0015| under a formal administration of the succession of the
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0016| claimant.
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0017| F. The division, on its own initiative, may
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0018| reconsider a monetary determination whenever it is determined
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0019| that an error in computation or identity has occurred or that
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0020| wages of the claimant pertinent to such determination but not
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0021| considered have been newly discovered or that the benefits
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0022| have been allowed or denied on the basis of misrepresentation
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0023| of fact, but no redetermination shall be made after one year
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0024| from the date of the original monetary determination. Notice
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0025| of a redetermination shall be given to all interested parties
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0001| and shall be subject to an appeal in the same manner as the
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0002| original determination. In the event that an appeal involving
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0003| an original monetary determination is pending at the time a
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0004| redetermination is issued, the appeal, unless withdrawn, shall
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0005| be treated as an appeal from such redetermination."
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0006| Section 2. EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date of the
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0007| provisions of this act is July 1, 1998.
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0008|
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