FORTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE
SECOND SESSION, 1998 SB 119/a
February 13, 1998
Mr. President:
Your WAYS AND MEANS COMMITTEE, to whom has been referred
SENATE BILL 119
has had it under consideration and reports same with
recommendation that it DO PASS, amended as follows:
1. On page 1, between lines 16 and 17, insert the following
new section:
"Section 1. LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS--DECLARATION OF PURPOSE.--
The legislature finds that:
A. the provisions of the New Mexico Works Act that
mandate benefit time limits and work requirements pose a
significant job creation challenge for the state's businesses and
communities;
B. in January 1998, the human services department
estimated that there were seventeen thousand eight hundred
households receiving temporary assistance for needy families;
C. in November 1997, the labor department estimated that
there were forty-seven thousand five hundred twenty-three people
unemployed and actively looking for work;
D. the failure to create new jobs for temporary
assistance for needy families recipients coupled with the high
number of people unemployed and looking for work could result in
an oversupply of labor, resulting in falling wages and benefits
for many New Mexicans;
E. meeting the challenge of creating new jobs for people
on welfare plus reaching the goal of full employment for the rest
of New Mexico's work force will require the creation of an
estimated thirty-two thousand new jobs;
F. the task is not spread evenly; the jobs deficit posed
by unemployment and people on welfare in certain counties is
considerably higher than in the state's metropolitan areas;
G. without significant job growth in rural areas,
temporary assistance for needy families recipients will either be
forced to replace existing workers in these labor markets by
bidding down the terms of work or leave their homes in search of
work in metropolitan areas, disrupting family and community life
and destroying the close ties of New Mexican communities;
H. it is in the public interest that the state act to
protect New Mexican communities, families and workers. To this
end, the state must pursue strategies to encourage and create
employment that is sufficient to sustain families and ensure the
dignity of all workers, maintaining the health, efficiency and
general well-being of workers against the unfair competition of
wage and hours standards which do not provide adequate standards
of living;
I. the purpose of the welfare-to-work tax credit provided
by this act is to expand the labor market by encouraging the
creation of new, long-term positions in small, rural businesses,
while ensuring that existing workers are protected from
displacement or a loss in wages due to unfair competition or a
lowering of the wage floor; and
J. tax credits are but a first step toward the immense
goal of creating jobs that will provide New Mexican workers with
meaningful opportunities and the capacity to lift their families
out of poverty.".
2. Renumber succeeding sections accordingly.
3. On page 1, line 24, after "employee" insert "in a state-
qualified job".
4. On page 2, line 2, after "employee" insert "in that job".
5. On page 2, between lines 2 and 3, insert the following new
subsection:
"B. To be eligible for the credit provided by this
section, a taxpayer must be in compliance with the following
provisions:
6. On page 2, line 8, strike "and".
7. On page 2, line 14, strike the period and insert in lieu
thereof "; and".
8. On page 2, between lines 14 and 15, insert the following
new paragraph:
"(3) "state-qualified job" means a job established
by the taxpayer that:
(a) when first occupied by a state-qualified
employee results in the total number of the taxpayer's employees
exceeding the greater of the number of the taxpayer's employees on
the last day of the taxpayer's preceding tax year or the average
number of the taxpayer's employees during the taxpayer's preceding
tax year; or
(b) was vacant for more than thirty days prior
to the hiring of the state-qualified employee in that job.".
9. On page 2, line 16, after the second occurrence of
"employee" insert "and whether the job is a state-qualified job".
10. On page 2, line 17, after the second occurrence of
"employee" insert "and the job is a state-qualified job".
11. On page 3, line 25, after "employee" insert "in a state-
qualified job".
12. On page 4, line 4, after "employee" insert "in that job".
13. On page 4, line 10, strike "and".
14. On page 4, line 16, strike the period and insert in lieu
thereof "; and".
15. On page 4, between lines 16 and 17, insert the following
new paragraph:
"(3) "state-qualified job" means a job established
by the taxpayer that:
(a) when first occupied by a state-qualified
employee results in the total number of the taxpayer's employees
exceeding the greater of the number of the taxpayer's employees on
the last day of the taxpayer's preceding tax year or the average
number of the taxpayer's employees during the taxpayer's preceding
tax year; or
(b) was vacant for more than thirty days prior
to the hiring of the state-qualified employee in that job.".
16. On page 4, line 18, after the second occurrence of
"employee" insert "and whether the job is a state-qualified job".
17 On page 4, line 19, after the second occurrence of
"employee" insert "and the job is a state-qualified job".,
and thence referred to the FINANCE COMMITTEE.
Respectfully submitted,
__________________________________
Carlos R. Cisneros, Chairman
Adopted_______________________ Not Adopted_______________________
(Chief Clerk) (Chief Clerk)
Date ________________________
The roll call vote was 6 For 0 Against
Yes: 6
No: 0
Excused: Jennings, Kidd, Nava
Absent: None
S0119WM .123318.1/a