44TH LEGISLATURE - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - FIRST SESSION, 1999

RELATING TO EDUCATIONAL RETIREMENT; CHANGING CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF THE EDUCATIONAL RETIREMENT ACT PERTAINING TO MEMBERSHIP ELIGIBILITY OF CERTAIN TRANSFERRED EMPLOYEES; AMENDING AND ENACTING SECTIONS OF THE NMSA 1978.

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

Section 1. Section 22-11-2 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1967, Chapter 16, Section 126, as amended) is amended to read:

"22-11-2. DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Educational Retirement Act:

A. "member" means any employee, except for a participant coming within the provisions of the Educational Retirement Act;

B. "regular member" means:

(1) a person regularly employed as a teaching, nursing or administrative employee of a state educational institution, except for:

(a) a participant; or

(b) all employees of a general hospital or outpatient clinics thereof operated by a state educational institution named in Article 12, Section 11 of the constitution of New Mexico other than a transferred employee who exercises an option to remain a regular member pursuant to Section 22-11-16.1 NMSA 1978;

(2) a person regularly employed as a teaching, nursing or administrative employee of a junior college or community college created pursuant to Chapter 21, Article 13 NMSA 1978;

(3) a person regularly employed as a teaching, nursing or administrative employee of a technical and vocational institute created pursuant to the Technical and Vocational Institute Act;

(4) a person regularly employed as a teaching, nursing or administrative employee of the New Mexico boys' school, the New Mexico girls' school, the Los Lunas medical center or a school district or as a certified school instructor of a state institution or agency providing an educational program and holding a standard or substandard certificate issued by the state board;

(5) a person regularly employed by the department of education or the board holding a standard or substandard certificate issued by the state board at the time of commencement of such employment;

(6) a member classified as a regular member in accordance with the regulations of the board;

(7) a person regularly employed by the New Mexico activities association holding a standard certificate issued by the state board at the time of commencement of such employment; or

(8) a person regularly employed by a regional education cooperative holding a standard certificate issued by the state board at the time of commencement of such employment;

C. "provisional member" means a person not eligible to be a regular member but who is employed by a local administrative unit designated in Subsection B of this section; provided, however, that employees of a general hospital or outpatient clinics thereof operated by a state educational institution named in Article 12, Section 11 of the constitution of New Mexico are not provisional members;

D. "local administrative unit" means an employing agency however constituted that is directly responsible for the payment of compensation for the employment of members or participants;

E. "beneficiary" means a person having an insurable interest in the life of a member or a participant designated by written instrument duly executed by the member or participant and filed with the director to receive a benefit pursuant to the Educational Retirement Act that may be received by someone other than the member or participant;

F. "employment" means employment by a local administrative unit that qualifies a person to be a member or participant;

G. "service employment" means employment that qualifies a person to be a regular member;

H. "provisional service employment" means employment that qualifies a person to be a provisional member;

I. "prior employment" means employment performed prior to the effective date of the Educational Retirement Act that would be service employment or provisional service employment if performed thereafter;

J. "service credit" means that period of time with which a member is accredited for the purpose of determining his eligibility for and computation of retirement or disability benefits;

K. "earned service credit" means that period of time during which a member was engaged in employment or prior employment with which he is accredited for the purpose of determining his eligibility for retirement or disability benefits;

L. "allowed service credit" means that period of time during which a member has performed certain nonservice employment with which he may be accredited, as provided in the Educational Retirement Act, for the purpose of computing retirement or disability benefits;

M. "retirement benefit" means an annuity paid monthly to members whose employment has been terminated by reason of their age;

N. "disability benefit" means an annuity paid monthly to members whose employment has been terminated by reason of a disability;

O. "board" means the educational retirement board;

P. "fund" means the educational retirement fund;

Q. "director" means the educational retirement director;

R. "medical authority" means a medical doctor within the state or as provided in Subsection D of Section 22-11-36 NMSA 1978 either designated or employed by the board to examine and report on the physical condition of applicants for or recipients of disability benefits;

S. "actuary" means a person trained and regularly engaged in the occupation of calculating present and projected monetary assets and liabilities under annuity or insurance programs;

T. "actuarial equivalent" means a sum paid as a current or deferred benefit that is equal in value to a regular benefit, computed upon the basis of interest rates and mortality tables;

U. "contributory employment" means employment for which contributions have been made by both a member and a local administrative unit pursuant to the Educational Retirement Act;

V. "qualifying state educational institution" means the university of New Mexico, New Mexico state university, New Mexico institute of mining and technology, New Mexico highlands university, eastern New Mexico university and western New Mexico university;

W. "participant" means:

(1) a person regularly employed as a faculty or professional employee of a qualifying state educational institution who first becomes employed with such an educational institution on or after July 1, 1991 and who elects, pursuant to Section 22-11-47 NMSA 1978, to participate in the alternative retirement plan; and

(2) a person regularly employed who performs research or other services pursuant to a contract between a qualifying state educational institution and the United States government or any of its agencies who elects, pursuant to Section 22-11-47 NMSA 1978, to participate in the alternative retirement plan, provided that the research or other services are performed outside the state;

X. "salary" means the compensation or wages paid to a member or participant by any local administrative unit for services rendered; and

Y. "alternative retirement plan" means the retirement plan provided for in Sections 22-11-47 through 22-11-52 NMSA 1978."

Section 2. A new section of the Educational Retirement Act, Section 22-11-16.1 NMSA 1978, is enacted to read:

"22-11-16.1. [NEW MATERIAL] REGULAR MEMBERSHIP CONTINUATION OF CERTAIN TRANSFERRED EMPLOYEES.--A regular member who is an employee of a local administrative unit that is a state educational institution named in Article 12, Section 11 of the constitution of New Mexico and who transfers to a general hospital or outpatient clinics of that hospital operated by the local administrative unit will have the option to continue his regular membership rather than become a member of a retirement plan offered by the general hospital or outpatient clinics of that hospital. The option shall be exercised by filing a written election with both the educational retirement director and the designated officer of the local administrative unit. This election shall be made within sixty days after the effective date of the regular member's transfer and shall be irrevocable as long as the employee is employed by the general hospital or outpatient clinics of that hospital operated by the local administrative unit."