Pension fix among bills signed by Gov.

SANTA FE – A plan to shore up New Mexico’s retirement system for more than 86,000 active and retired state workers, police officers and other government employees was one of more than 40 bills signed into law Friday by Gov. Susana Martinez.

Before Friday, the governor had said she was unsure about the measure, expressing concern that it relied on a taxpayer-funded “bailout” to ensure the future solvency of the Public Employees Retirement Association.

Martinez cited legislative changes to the proposed solvency fix – including smaller taxpayer-funded contribution increases – as key to earning her support.

“It doesn’t mean that we can’t come back and tweak it again, but I didn’t think we’d get this kind of plan again before an election, and I wanted to take as much as I could, and that’s why I went ahead and signed it,” Martinez told reporters Friday.

The PERA solvency fix approved by the governor will trim retirement benefits for future workers, active employees and covered retirees, while also enacting stricter retirement eligibility guidelines for future hires.

In addition, it will require most government employees to funnel more of their paychecks – an additional 1.5 percent of their salaries – into the pension fund.

Meanwhile, the increased taxpayer-funded contributions will cost the state an extra $2.3 million per year, starting in the 2015 budget year.

Carter Bundy, political director for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union in New Mexico, said the changes could avert the need for more drastic benefit cuts in the future.

“This bill is not easy for public employees, but we have just saved the plans for the long haul,” Bundy said.

The pension fund’s fiscal condition has worsened in recent years, with its unfunded liability ballooning last year to $6.2 billion. That figure marks the gap between assets on hand and future benefits owed.

PERA Executive Director Wayne Propst acknowledged the benefit adjustments could be challenged in court, but he said the bill takes a balanced approach to keeping the fund afloat into the future.

“I’m hopeful that people will feel this was what needed to be done,” he said.

Martinez already signed legislation this year aimed at shoring up the state’s other public retirement system, the Educational Retirement Board.

Martinez on Friday signed 42 additional bills into law, including:

♦ Requiring schools to allow pregnant students or to-be fathers to take as many as 10 days of excused absences from high school classes when their child is born, sponsored by Rep. Doreen Gallegos, D-Las Cruces. The bill also would allow student parents to take off four days per semester for prenatal or child care.

♦ Expanding Sunday alcohol sales at bars and restaurants, allowing them to begin at 11 a.m., sponsored by Sen. John Ryan, R-Albuquerque. The extra hour of alcohol sales is in part intended to cater to pro football fans watching Sunday games that begin at 11 a.m.

♦ Using $10 million of state Tobacco Settlement Fund dollars to shore up the Lottery Scholarship Fund, sponsored by Sen. Michael Sanchez, D-Belen. Without the one-time transfer, the scholarship fund was projected to run dry during the 2013-2014 academic year. Martinez, criticized lawmakers for not passing a longer-term fix.

♦ Using $10 million from the Tobacco Settlement Fund to expand state early childhood education programs administered by the Children, Youth and Families Department, sponsored by Sen. John Arthur Smith, D-Deming.

♦ Expanding health insurance coverage for public employees to cover treatment for autism spectrum disorders, sponsored by Rep. Jim Smith, R-Sandia Park.

♦ Creating an independent Public Defender Commission, as required by the constitutional amendment adopted by voters in 2012, sponsored by Rep. Antonio “Moe” Maestas, D-Albuquerque.

♦ Prohibiting employers from forcing workers to share passwords that grant access to workers’ social media sites, such as Facebook or Twitter, sponsored by Sen. Jacob Candelaria, D-Albuquerque.
— This article appeared on page C1 of the Albuquerque Journal