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-HOUSE BILL 47
-57TH LEGISLATURE - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - SECOND SESSION, 2026
-INTRODUCED BY
-Raymundo Lara and Natalie Figueroa and Mimi Stewart
-and Tanya Mirabal Moya and Brian G. Baca
-AN ACT
-RELATING TO INSURANCE; AMENDING THE GROUP INSURANCE
-CONTRIBUTIONS FOR SCHOOL DISTRICTS AND CHARTER SCHOOLS;
-REQUIRING A STUDY OF THE SUSTAINABILITY OF INSURANCE PROGRAMS
-FOR PUBLIC SCHOOL EMPLOYEES; MAKING AN APPROPRIATION.
-BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
-SECTION 1.  Section 10-7-4 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1941,
-Chapter 188, Section 1, as amended) is amended to read:
-"10-7-4.  GROUP INSURANCE--CAFETERIA PLAN--CONTRIBUTIONS
-FROM PUBLIC FUNDS.--
-A.  All state departments and institutions and all
-political subdivisions of the state, excluding municipalities,
-counties and political subdivisions of the state with twenty-
-five employees or fewer, shall cooperate in providing group
-term life, medical or disability income insurance for the
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-benefit of eligible employees or salaried officers of the
-respective departments, institutions and political
-subdivisions.
-B.  The group insurance contributions of the state
-or any of its departments or institutions, including
-institutions of higher education, shall be made as follows:
-(1)  at least seventy-five percent of the cost
-of the insurance of an employee whose annual salary is less
-than fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000);
-(2)  at least seventy percent of the cost of
-the insurance of an employee whose annual salary is fifteen
-thousand dollars ($15,000) or more but less than twenty
-thousand dollars ($20,000);
-(3)  at least sixty-five percent of the cost of
-the insurance of an employee whose annual salary is twenty
-thousand dollars ($20,000) or more but less than twenty-five
-thousand dollars ($25,000); and
-(4)  at least sixty percent of the cost of the
-insurance of an employee whose annual salary is twenty-five
-thousand dollars ($25,000) or more.
-C.  The group insurance contributions of school
-districts and charter schools shall be [made as follows:
-(1)  at least eighty percent of the cost of the
-insurance of an employee whose annual salary is less than fifty
-thousand dollars ($50,000);
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-(2)  at least seventy percent of the cost of
-the insurance of an employee whose annual salary is fifty
-thousand dollars ($50,000) or more but less than sixty thousand
-dollars ($60,000); and
-(3)  at least sixty percent of the cost of the
-insurance of an employee whose annual salary is sixty thousand
-dollars ($60,000) or more] at least eighty percent of the cost
-of the insurance.
-D.  Effective July 1, 2004, the group insurance
-contributions of the state or any of its executive, judicial or
-legislative departments, including agencies, boards or
-commissions, shall be made as follows; provided that the
-contribution percentage shall be the same for all affected
-public employees in a given salary bracket:
-(1)  up to eighty percent of the cost of the
-insurance of an employee whose annual salary is less than
-thirty thousand dollars ($30,000);
-(2)  up to seventy percent of the cost of the
-insurance of an employee whose annual salary is thirty thousand
-dollars ($30,000) or more but less than forty thousand dollars
-($40,000); and
-(3)  up to sixty percent of the cost of the
-insurance of an employee whose annual salary is forty thousand
-dollars ($40,000) or more.
-E.  Except as provided in Subsection H of this
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-section, effective July 1, 2025, the group insurance
-contributions of the state or any of its executive, judicial or
-legislative departments, including agencies, boards or
-commissions, shall be eighty percent of the cost of the
-insurance.
-F.  Effective July 1, 2013, the employer shall pay
-one hundred percent of basic life insurance premiums for
-employees, and employees who choose to carry disability
-insurance shall pay one hundred percent of the premium.
-G.  The state shall not make any group insurance
-contributions for legislators.  A legislator shall be eligible
-for group benefits only if the legislator contributes one
-hundred percent of the cost of the insurance.
-H.  An employer shall pay one hundred percent of the
-employee group insurance contributions due and payable on or
-after July 1, 2016 for an employee who is injured while
-performing a public safety function or duty and, as a result of
-the injury, is placed on approved workers' compensation leave.
-I.  As used in this section, "cost of the insurance"
-means the premium required to be paid to provide coverages.
-Any contributions of the political subdivisions of the state,
-except the public schools and political subdivisions of the
-state with twenty-five employees or fewer, shall not exceed
-sixty percent of the cost of the insurance.
-J.  When a public employee elects to participate in
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-a cafeteria plan as authorized by the Cafeteria Plan Act and
-enters into a salary reduction agreement with the governmental
-employer, the provisions of Subsections B through G of this
-section with respect to the maximum contributions that can be
-made by the employer are not violated and will still apply.
-The employer percentage or dollar contributions as provided in
-Subsections B through E of this section shall be determined by
-the employee's gross salary prior to any salary reduction
-agreement.
-K.  Any group medical insurance plan offered
-pursuant to this section shall include effective cost-
-containment measures to control the growth of health care costs
-and maximize benefits for the least cost.  If a state agency
-that is responsible for providing state employee health
-benefits under the Health Care Purchasing Act establishes a
-reference-based pricing program for in-network or out-of-
-network hospital services, hospitals subject to the program
-shall not charge or collect from a member of the health benefit
-plan an amount in addition to the maximum payment established
-by the secretary of health care authority, except that a
-hospital may charge an amount for cost-sharing that is
-authorized by the terms of the member's health benefit plan.
-The responsible public body that administers a plan offered
-pursuant to this section shall report annually by September 1
-to appropriate interim legislative committees on the
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-effectiveness of the cost-containment measures required by this
-subsection.
-L.  Within available revenue, school districts,
-charter schools and participating entities pursuant to the
-Public School Insurance Authority Act may contribute up to one
-hundred percent of the cost of the insurance of all employees
-and institutions of higher education may contribute up to
-eighty percent of the cost of the insurance of all employees.
-M.  When the secretary of health care authority
-submits the health care authority's annual budget request to
-the legislature, the secretary shall include a budget request
-for purchasing state employee health benefits that has
-actuarially sound rates for the following fiscal year.
-Beginning July 1, 2025, the secretary shall set actuarially
-sound rates sufficient to cover projected claims, subject to
-legislative appropriation.  By September 1 of each year, the
-projected actuarially sound rate adjustment for the following
-fiscal year, subject to legislative appropriation, shall be
-communicated to the local public bodies [who] that are part of
-the state employee health benefit program.
-N.  The secretary of health care authority shall
-establish a program to make state health benefit premiums more
-affordable for certain employees using appropriations from the
-health care affordability fund.  The secretary shall establish
-a system for determining eligibility for the program and may
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-annually update program eligibility and contribution criteria.
-O.  By July 1, 2026, the health care authority shall
-ensure that state employees are provided the opportunity to
-purchase a variety of health benefit plans with varying plan
-designs and cost-sharing options."
-SECTION 2.  Section 22-29-10 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1989,
-Chapter 373, Section 5, as amended) is amended to read:
-"22-29-10.  GROUP INSURANCE CONTRIBUTIONS.--
-A.  Group insurance contributions for school
-districts and charter schools [and participating entities in
-the authority] shall be [made as follows] at least eighty
-percent of the cost of the insurance.  Group insurance
-contributions for all other participating entities in the
-authority shall be:
-(1)  at least eighty percent of the cost of the
-insurance of an employee whose annual salary is less than fifty
-thousand dollars ($50,000);
-(2)  at least seventy percent of the cost of
-the insurance of an employee whose annual salary is fifty
-thousand dollars ($50,000) or more but less than sixty thousand
-dollars ($60,000); and
-(3)  at least sixty percent of the cost of the
-insurance of an employee whose annual salary is sixty thousand
-dollars ($60,000) or more.
-B.  Within available revenue, school districts,
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-charter schools and participating entities in the authority may
-contribute up to one hundred percent of the cost of the
-insurance of all employees.
-C.  Whenever a school district, charter school or
-participating entity in the authority offers to its employees
-alternative health plan benefit options, including health
-maintenance organizations, preferred provider organizations or
-panel doctor plans, the school district, charter school or
-participating entity may pay an amount on behalf of the
-employee and family member for the indemnity health insurance
-plan sufficient to result in equal employee monthly costs to
-the cost of the health maintenance organization plans,
-preferred provider organization plans or panel doctor plans,
-regardless of the percentage limitations in the Public School
-Insurance Authority Act.  School districts, charter schools and
-participating entities in the authority may pay up to one
-hundred percent of the first fifty thousand dollars ($50,000)
-of term life insurance."
-SECTION 3.  TEMPORARY PROVISION--STUDY AND REPORT
-REQUIRED.--
-A.  The legislative education study committee, in
-collaboration with the legislative finance committee, the
-public school insurance authority, the Albuquerque public
-school district, the public education department and the health
-care authority, shall conduct a comprehensive study and produce
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-a final report regarding the sustainability of insurance
-programs for public school employees.
-B.  The study required pursuant to this section
-shall evaluate the anticipated future needs of public school
-employee insurance programs, including assessing:
-(1)  the impacts of combining public school
-employee insurance programs with other existing public group
-health insurance programs;
-(2)  the necessary agency actions required to
-integrate the group health insurance and alternative plans of
-the public school insurance authority, the health care
-authority and the Albuquerque public school district by June
-30, 2029; and
-(3)  the necessary legislative action required
-during the 2027 legislative session to integrate the group
-health insurance and alternative plans of the public school
-insurance authority, the health care authority and the
-Albuquerque public school district by June 30, 2029.
-C.  The final report required pursuant to this
-section shall be completed no later than October 1, 2026 and
-shall be provided to the governor, the legislative finance
-committee and the public education department.
-SECTION 4.  APPROPRIATION.--Seventy-three million one
-hundred fifty-three thousand nine hundred dollars ($73,153,900)
-is appropriated from the general fund to the public school fund
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-for expenditure in fiscal year 2027 for the state equalization
-guarantee distribution.  Any unexpended balance remaining at
-the end of fiscal year 2027 shall revert to the general fund.
-SECTION 5.  EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date of the
-provisions of this act is July 1, 2026.
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-.232894.2
+FIFTY-SEVENTH LEGISLATURE
+
+SECOND SESSION, 2026
+
+February 16, 2026
+
+Mr. President:
+
+    Your EDUCATION COMMITTEE, to whom has been referred
+
+     HOUSE APPROPRIATIONS & FINANCE
+
+ COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
+
+ HOUSE BILL 47
+
+has had it under consideration and reports same with recommendation
+that it DO PASS.
+
+                               Respectfully submitted,
+
+                               ___________________________________
+
+                               Senator William P. Soules, Chair
+
+Adopted_______________________ Not Adopted_______________________
+
+          (Chief Clerk)                          (Chief Clerk)
+
+                  Date ________________________
+
+The roll call vote was  8  For  0  Against
+
+Yes:     Boone, Ezzell, Figueroa, Hickey, Pope, Ramos, Soules,
+Thornton
+
+No:      0
+
+Excused: Nava
+
+Absent:  None
+
+HB0047ED1.wpd