HOUSE MEMORIAL 57
57th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2025
INTRODUCED BY
William A. Hall II and Patricia A. Lundstrom
A MEMORIAL
REQUESTING A DESIGNEE FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY, THE DIRECTOR OF THE NEW MEXICO LAW ENFORCEMENT ACADEMY, THE DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF TRAINING FOR THE NEW MEXICO LAW ENFORCEMENT ACADEMY AND A DESIGNEE OF THE PUBLIC EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT ASSOCIATION TO COLLABORATE AND STUDY THE ISSUES REGARDING RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION OF NEW MEXICO LAW ENFORCEMENT ACADEMY INSTRUCTORS AND PROVIDE A CONSENSUS RECOMMENDATION TO THE LEGISLATIVE INTERIM COMMITTEE CHARGED WITH REVIEWING MATTERS RELATED TO INVESTMENTS AND PENSIONS.
WHEREAS, the New Mexico law enforcement academy was established by the legislature in 1969 as the "police academy", later changing the name to the "New Mexico law enforcement academy" in 1970; and
WHEREAS, law enforcement in New Mexico is working under the president's task force on 21st century policing, whose mandate was to identify best policing practices and offer recommendations on how those practices can promote effective crime reduction while building public trust; and
WHEREAS, inherent to best practices in policing is high- quality training and standards; and
WHEREAS, with the best practices mandate top of mind, the New Mexico law enforcement academy is expected by New Mexico's chiefs of police and sheriffs to provide cutting-edge training for officers and law enforcement staff, and providing cutting- edge training requires subject matter experts who are experienced and committed to the mission; and
WHEREAS, the New Mexico law enforcement academy instructors are certified police officers, ideally with several years of experience coupled with instructor credentialing in critical areas of high-risk and technical instruction; and
WHEREAS, the desired target instructor applicants are officers with experience who are currently employed at various law enforcement agencies throughout the state, and those officers are covered under the public employees retirement association's municipal police member coverage plan five, which allows for enhanced retirement with twenty years of service; and
WHEREAS, it is a nearly insurmountable obstacle for the New Mexico law enforcement academy to attract the ideal officers to fill instructor positions since those officers would be leaving a municipal law enforcement position for which they are eligible to retire after twenty years to become an instructor at the New Mexico law enforcement academy and be covered by a retirement plan requiring twenty-five years of service to retire with a comparable retirement benefit; and
WHEREAS, the New Mexico law enforcement academy is powerless to equalize academy instructors' retirement eligibility requirements with those of their municipal law enforcement counterparts because current law requires that academy instructors, regardless of years of experience and specialized credentials, when hired by the academy, be moved from the enhanced twenty-year retirement plan to the state general member coverage plan three, which requires twenty-five years of service before the officer can retire with a comparable retirement benefit as provided under the municipal police member coverage plan five; and
WHEREAS, requiring five additional years of service for an officer to retire in order to receive a benefit comparable to an officer working five fewer years presents a harsh and significant barrier to instructor recruitment, and even officers who are not planning to retire are understandably reluctant to accept a position for which they would have to give up the enhanced retirement option; and
WHEREAS, although positions for instructors have been posted multiple times, the New Mexico law enforcement academy remains only forty percent staffed in the instructor role; and
WHEREAS, the New Mexico law enforcement academy is committed to retaining the highest level of expectations in the hiring of instructors, but without offering qualified candidates a retirement level playing field, the academy simply cannot compete with law enforcement agencies statewide; and
WHEREAS, even though the New Mexico law enforcement academy is the state's lead training academy relied upon by county and municipal training academies, once officers who would otherwise accept a New Mexico law enforcement academy instructor position become aware of the five-year difference in retirement eligibility, the officers do not apply; and
WHEREAS, unfortunately, the primary recruitment obstacle for the New Mexico law enforcement academy is also the primary retention obstacle because current academy instructors would benefit by returning to local law enforcement agencies so as to regain eligibility for twenty-year retirement, and this fact has repeatedly played out as the reason that highly credentialed instructors have left the academy for employment at other law enforcement agencies; and
WHEREAS, solution-focused discussions with collaboration among key stakeholders and policymakers for resolution of the issues surrounding recruitment and retention of New Mexico law enforcement academy instructors is a matter of significant importance to the overall policing strategies and capabilities of the state;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that a designee of the department of public safety, the director of the New Mexico law enforcement academy, the deputy director of training for the New Mexico law enforcement academy and a designee of the public employees retirement association be requested to collaborate and study the issues regarding the recruitment and retention of law enforcement academy instructors and, through a consensus, make a recommendation during the upcoming interim, no later than September 15, 2025, to the legislative interim committee charged with reviewing matters related to investments and pensions; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the governor, the New Mexico legislative council, the secretary of public safety, the director of the New Mexico law enforcement academy and the executive director of the public employees retirement association.
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