E-mail Story
Print Friendly
Send E-mail
Reprint story
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Gov. Ready for Double Dipping Bill
By Dan Boyd
Journal Capitol Bureau
SANTA FE — Gov. Bill Richardson says he's ready to propose legislation that would essentially eliminate double dipping.
The governor's vow came Tuesday, seven months after vetoing a bill that would have scaled back state law that allows retired government workers to return to the payroll while still receiving retirement benefits. Richardson said he will push during the upcoming legislative session to put the brakes on the practice.
The most severe restriction on the return-to-work law would be preventing retired employees who return to government jobs from receiving those retirement benefits while working the new job.
"I am proposing responsible reforms that will save the state millions of dollars as well as address concerns of fairness and employee morale," Richardson said.
The changes could save the state as much as $7 million in annual costs, according to the Governor's Office.
The legislator whose bill was vetoed, Rep. Luciano "Lucky" Varela, D-Santa Fe, said an override of Richardson's veto could be attempted if lawmakers aren't satisfied with the executive branch proposal.
The governor's legislative proposal would include:
n Pension benefits from the job the employee retired from would not be paid out while that employee is earning a paycheck.
n Retired employees would have to wait at least 12 months before taking another government job.
n The government employer wouldn't pay a retirement contribution toward the pension of a retired government worker who has returned to the government payroll.
The proposed changes wouldn't apply retroactively to the once-retired government workers called double dippers, who include more than 500 state employees and about 1,600 county and city employees across New Mexico.
Double dipping allows employees eligible for retirement to retire for a minimum of 90 days, then return to a government job while also collecting pension benefits accrued from their previous tenure.
The return-to-work law was implemented in 2004 as a way to help cities and counties staff hard-to-fill positions with experienced workers.
Critics say it's become a financial drain on state and local governments. Returning workers often reoccupy their top-level, high-paying positions. Also, the government employer pays the returned employee's would-be share of pension contributions into a state retirement fund.
Meanwhile, employee morale is undermined by blocking lower-level employees from moving up the ladder when returning retirees take top jobs, critics also say.
Varela's union-backed bill passed during this year's legislative session resembled Richardson's latest proposal — both plans include increasing how long returning retirees would have to remain retired before coming back to work — but Richardson's plan appears more restrictive.
Richardson vetoed the bill after possible legal issues, never publicly explained, were raised by Attorney General Gary King's office.
Varela said Richardson will have to convince lawmakers his proposal is a better alternative than the legislation he vetoed.
"I think it's up to the governor to show cause as to why it should be done," Varela said.
Richardson's office disputed suggestions Tuesday that he had changed his mind on the issue.
"Earlier this year, I said that I wanted to see the rules allowing for double dipping changed," Richardson said. "Unfortunately, the bill lawmakers ultimately sent me raised serious legal issues and I had no choice but to veto it."
After Richardson vetoed Varela's bill in April, he issued an executive order Sept. 1 assembling a task force to study the issue.
That task force met only once, though state personnel officials held more than a dozen meetings during the summer to discuss double dipping.
The practice of double dipping has become increasingly controversial as the state deals with declining revenue levels and rising unemployment.
You also can send comments via our comment form
|
|
