By Austin Fisher, Source New Mexico
A freshman lawmaker has pulled a proposal that would have allowed New Mexico police instructors to count their time spent teaching other cops toward their publicly funded retirement. The state Department of Public Safety had opposed the plan.
Rep. William Hall (R-Aztec) on Tuesday withdrew from consideration House Bill 299. It would have required the state Public Employees Retirement Association to allow police instructors at the New Mexico Law Enforcement Academy to vote on whether to join the retirement plan that already includes state and local police, firefighters and guards in prisons and jails.
The bill had been scheduled for a hearing on Tuesday in the House Labor, Veterans & Military Affairs Committee.
Hall told Source NM in a written statement he will introduce a memorial to study the issue and its financial effects on the state retirement fund. Memorials do not have the force of law.
“The results of that study will impact my decision on how this bill will be brought back to the Roundhouse,” Hall said. “I remain committed to our law enforcement officers in all capacities and I want to ensure what we’re doing will truly benefit them.”
The bill would have had a “negligible impact” on the shortfall in the plan, according to analysis by the Public Employees Retirement Association.
The academy is a division of the state Department of Public Safety, which identified seven instructors who would be eligible to participate in the election in its analysis of the bill.
DPS projects the bill would result in an additional cost of $3,600 per year, increasing each year with payroll growth, which would be absorbed by the academy’s operating budget, according to Legislative Finance Committee analysis.
DPS wrote that while that amount “may not seem significant,” the academy is running “on an already-minimal budget, meaning even modest cost increases require careful financial management.”
In its analysis of the bill, DPS opposed it on the grounds that “it does not account for the disparity in job duties, training, and physical risks faced by sworn officers compared to state law enforcement instructors.”
“This creates an equity imbalance that could impact workforce morale and operational cohesion,” the department wrote. “The burdens far outweigh the proposed benefits, and alternative approaches should be considered to recognize the vital contributions of state law enforcement instructors without compromising the mission and effectiveness of law enforcement agencies.”
Source New Mexico is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Source New Mexico maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Julia Goldberg for questions: info@sourcenm.com.