0001|                               AN ACT
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0002| RELATING TO PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT; AMENDING A CERTAIN SECTION OF THE NMSA
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0003| 1978 PERTAINING TO GROUP INSURANCE CONTRIBUTIONS OF PUBLIC EMPLOYERS.
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0004| 
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0005| BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
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0006|      Section 1.  Section 10-7-4 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1941, Chapter
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0007| 188, Section 1, as amended) is amended to read:
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0008|      "10-7-4.  GROUP INSURANCE--CAFETERIA PLAN--CONTRIBUTIONS FROM
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0009| PUBLIC FUNDS.--
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0010|           A.  All state departments and institutions and all political
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0011| subdivisions of the state, excluding municipalities and counties, shall
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0012| cooperate in providing group term life, medical or disability income
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0013| insurance for the benefit of eligible employees or salaried officers of
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0014| the respective departments, institutions and subdivisions.
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0015|           B.  Except as provided in Subsection C of this section, the
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0016| group insurance contributions of the state or any of its departments or
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0017| institutions, including institutions of higher education and the public
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0018| schools, shall be made as follows:
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0019|                (l)  seventy-five percent of the cost of the insurance
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0020| of an employee whose annual salary is less than fifteen thousand dollars
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0021| ($15,000);
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0022|                (2)  seventy percent of the cost of the insurance of an
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0023| employee whose annual salary is fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000) or
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0024| more but less than twenty thousand dollars ($20,000);
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0025|                (3)  sixty-five percent of the cost of the insurance of
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0001| an employee whose annual salary is twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) or
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0002| more but less than twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000); or
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0003|                (4)  sixty percent of the cost of the insurance of an
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0004| employee whose annual salary is twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000)
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0005| or more.
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0006|           C.  Any group insurance contributions of the political
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0007| subdivisions of the state, except the public schools or institutions of
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0008| higher education, shall not exceed sixty percent of the cost of the
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0009| insurance.  School districts or institutions of higher education may
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0010| contribute any amount up to one hundred percent of the cost of the
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0011| insurance; provided that a school district or institution of higher
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0012| education shall not contribute less than the amounts set forth in
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0013| Subsection B of this section.
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0014|           D.  As used in this section, "cost of the insurance" means
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0015| the premium required to be paid to provide coverage.
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0016|           E.  When a public employee elects to participate in a
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0017| cafeteria plan as authorized by the Cafeteria Plan Act and enters into a
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0018| salary reduction agreement with the governmental employer, the provision
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0019| of Subsection B of this section with respect to the maximum
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0020| contributions that can be made by the employer are not violated and will
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0021| still apply.  The employer percentage or dollar contributions as
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0022| provided in Subsection B of this section shall be determined by the
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0023| employee's gross salary prior to any salary reduction agreement.
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0024|           F.  Any group medical insurance plan offered pursuant to this
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0025| section shall include effective cost-containment measures to control the
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0001| growth of health care costs.  The responsible public body that
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0002| administers a plan offered pursuant to this section shall report
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0003| annually by September 1 to appropriate interim legislative committees on
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0004| the effectiveness of the cost-containment measures required by this
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0005| subsection."                                              
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0006| 
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0007|                                                              HB
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0008| 616
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0009|                                                              Page 
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