S 20 EDUCATIONAL RETIREMENT BOARD CHANGES

Sen Gay G. Kernan

Actions: SPREF [1] SEC/SFC-SEC [5] DP-SFC [9] DP/a [10] PASSED/S (34-0) [13] HLVMC-HLVMC [14] DP [18] PASSED/H (61-0)

Scheduled: Not Scheduled

 Senate Bill 20 (SB 20) is endorsed by the Investments and Pensions Oversight Committee and amends sections of educational retirement code. SB 20 provides an exception to allow certain contracts of the Educational Retirement Board (ERB) to extend the procurement code and to allow eligible employees of Southeast New Mexico College to participate in the alternative retirement plan. SB 20 also conforms the code to meet the required minimum distribution age in the federal Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
 

 Senate Bill 20 (SB 20) is endorsed by the Investments and Pensions Oversight Committee and amends sections of educational retirement code. SB XX provides an exception to allow certain contracts of the Educational Retirement Board (ERB) to extend the procurement code and to allow eligible employees of Southeast New Mexico College to participate in the alternative retirement plan. SB 20 also conforms the code to meet the required minimum distribution age to the federal Internal Revenue Code of 1986.

SECTION 1 amends Multi-term Contracts Section 13-1-150 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1984, Chapter 65, Section 123, as amended) in Subsection B which states that a contract for professional services may not exceed four years, including all extensions and renewals. Item (7) is added to the list of exceptions, as follows:
(7) services required to design, develop, implement or operate the pension administration system of the educational retirement board.

SECTION 2 amends definitions in the Educational Retirement Act  Section 22-11-2 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1967, Chapter 16, Section 126, as amended) in Subsection V to insert Southeast New Mexico College and update Northern New Mexico College, previously identified as Northern New Mexico State School. Subsection W amends the definition of “participant”  to correct the name of Northern New Mexico College and adds as a participant a person regularly employed as a faculty or professional employee of Southeast New Mexico College who is first employed on or after July 1, 2023, and who elects to participate in the alternative plan. 

SECTION 3 amends the Education Retirement Act Section 22-11-30 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1967, Chapter 16, Section 153, as amended) to delete Subsection N and inserts new Subsection N providing that retirement benefits shall be distributed in accordance with the federal Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and the regulations, including the minimum incidental death benefit restrictions.

SECTION 4 amends the Education Retirement Act Section 22-11-47 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1991, Chapter 118, Section 5, as amended) to insert in Subsection A, the requirement, beginning October 1, 2023, that an employee of Southeast New Mexico College who is eligible to participate in the alternative retirement plan within ninety days of the initial date. 

 Senate Bill 20 (SB 20) is amended by the Senate Finance Committee (SFC). The SFC strikes from the title the provision of an exception to allows certain contracts of the Education Retirement Board to exceed four years pursuant to the procurement code.

Section 1 relating to a specified period for multi-term contracts is deleted in its entirety. Then the sections are renumbered.
 

 Senate Bill 20 duplicates House Bill 189.