REQUESTING THE EDUCATIONAL RETIREMENT BOARD AND THE LEGISLATIVE EDUCATION STUDY COMMITTEE TO STUDY THE GRANTING OF SERVICE CREDIT FOR UNUSED SICK LEAVE BENEFITS AND THE PURCHASE BY EMPLOYERS OF EMPLOYEES' UNUSED SICK LEAVE BENEFITS.

WHEREAS, education employees accumulate sick leave benefits on a regular basis; and

WHEREAS, education employees are encouraged to conserve sick leave benefits for necessary occasions; and

WHEREAS, while many education employees who conserve their sick leave benefits use the benefits as intended, there are also many employees who do not use the accumulated sick leave benefits; and

WHEREAS, education employees do not receive a benefit from unused sick leave; and

WHEREAS, giving service credit for retirement for unused sick leave would provide a benefit to education employees and serve as an incentive to conserve sick leave benefits; and

WHEREAS, allowing employers to purchase employees' accumulated sick leave would also serve as an incentive to employees to conserve sick leave benefits;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the educational retirement board and the legislative education study committee be requested to jointly study the feasibility of granting retirement service credit for accumulated sick leave and the feasibility of education employers purchasing employees' accumulated sick leave benefits; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the educational retirement board and the legislative education study committee report the results of their study, including any proposed legislation, to the second session of the forty-fifth legislature; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the director of the educational retirement board and the chairs of the legislative education study committee.