HOUSE BILL 11

56th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2024

INTRODUCED BY

Marian Matthews

 

 

 

 

 

AN ACT

RELATING TO LABOR; ENACTING THE PAID FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE INSURANCE ACT; CREATING THE PAID FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE INSURANCE AUTHORITY; CREATING THE PAID FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE INSURANCE BOARD; CREATING THE PAID FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE INSURANCE FUND; PROVIDING FOR ADMINISTRATION OF THE PAID FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE INSURANCE PROGRAM BY THE BOARD; EXCEPTING CERTAIN EMPLOYEES; PROVIDING FOR RULEMAKING; PROVIDING FOR AN APPEALS PROCESS; PREEMPTING SIMILAR PROGRAMS; PRESCRIBING PENALTIES; MAKING AN APPROPRIATION.

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

     SECTION 1. [NEW MATERIAL] SHORT TITLE.--This act may be cited as the "Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance Act".

     SECTION 2. [NEW MATERIAL] DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance Act:

          A. "authority" means the paid family and medical leave insurance authority;

          B. "base period" means the first four of the five most recently completed quarters;

          C. "base weekly earnings" means an amount equal to one twenty-sixth of a covered employee's total wages and self-employment income earned during the two quarters of the covered employee's base period in which the employee's earnings were highest;

          D. "board" means the paid family and medical leave insurance board;

          E. "contribution rate" means the percentage of subject earnings that employees and self-employed individuals enrolled in the paid family and medical leave insurance program are required to contribute to the fund;

          F. "covered employee" means a person who has contributed to the fund for at least six months during any employment in the twelve-month period prior to submitting an application for family and medical leave and:

                 (1) has earned at least two thousand three hundred twenty-five dollars ($2,325) in subject earnings during the employee's highest earning quarter within the base period; or

                (2) is a self-employed individual who is a resident of the state and has enrolled in the paid family and medical leave insurance program pursuant to Section 8 of the Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance Act;

          G. "employee" means a person working within the state who performs a service for wages under a contract of hire, written or oral, express or implied, and includes an individual employed by the state or a political subdivision of the state. "Employee" does not mean an independent contractor, a person employed by the United States, a person employed by a private or public employer that is not subject to the jurisdiction of the state, an employee of an employer subject to the provisions of Title 2 of the federal Railway Labor Act or an employee as defined in either the federal Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act or the Federal Employers' Liability Act (Railroads);

          H. "employer" means a person that has one or more employees within the state, including the state or a political subdivision of the state;

          I. "employment benefits" means benefits provided or made available to employees by an employer, including group life insurance, health insurance, disability insurance, sick leave, annual leave, educational benefits, retirement benefits and pensions;

          J. "family and medical leave compensation" or "compensation" means the paid leave provided to covered employees from the fund;

          K. "family member" means a spouse, domestic partner, sibling, son or daughter, grandparent, grandchild, parent or person related to the employee by blood or affinity whose close association with the employee shows to be the equivalent of those family relationships;

          L. "fund" means the paid family and medical leave insurance fund;

          M. "health care provider" means a physician, physician assistant, nurse practitioner or other health care professional authorized to provide health care services within the scope of the professional's license;

          N. "intermittent leave" means family and medical leave taken in separate periods of time due to a single illness or injury;

          O. "Indian tribe" means a governmental unit, subdivision, agency, department or instrumentality of a federally recognized Indian nation, tribe or pueblo, wholly or partially located in New Mexico, or a business enterprise wholly owned by an Indian nation, tribe or pueblo;

          P. "medical leave" means leave for which an employee can apply for family and medical leave compensation pursuant to the Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance Act that is granted to allow the employee to provide care for the employee's own serious health condition;

          Q. "person" means an individual, corporation, organization or other legal entity;

          R. "serious health condition" means an illness, injury, impairment or physical or mental condition that involves:

                (1) inpatient care in a hospital, hospice, nursing home or residential medical care facility; or

                (2) continuing treatment, including outpatient treatment by a health care provider;

          S. "subject earnings" means the portion of an employee's total wages that does not exceed the federal social security contribution and benefit base; and

          T. "total wages" means all remuneration for employment and dismissal payments, including the cash value of all remuneration paid in any medium other than cash. "Total wages" does not include the cash value of any remuneration paid for agricultural labor or domestic service in any medium other than cash or the cash value of employment benefits.

     SECTION 3. [NEW MATERIAL] PAID FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE INSURANCE AUTHORITY--PAID FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE INSURANCE BOARD--CREATED.--

          A. The "paid family and medical leave insurance authority" is created and is administratively attached to the workforce solutions department.

          B. The "paid family and medical leave insurance board" is created to oversee and operate the authority. The board is composed of the following eleven voting members:

                (1) the secretary of workforce solutions or the secretary's designee;

                (2) the secretary of economic development or the secretary's designee;

                (3) the superintendent of insurance or the superintendent's designee;

                (4) the secretary of health care authority or the secretary's designee;

                (5) one member appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives who advocates for the interests of employees;

                (6) one member appointed by the minority floor leader of the house of representatives who has knowledge and experience relating to the interests of the elderly and people with chronic illness;

                (7) one member appointed by the president pro tempore of the senate who has personal knowledge and experience with economically distressed and underserved communities and is reflective of the ethnic and economic diversity of such communities;

                (8) one member appointed by the minority floor leader of the senate who has knowledge and experience relating to managing and developing employment benefit plans; and

                (9) three members appointed by the governor as follows:

                     (a) one member who has knowledge and experience relating to family and medical leave programs;

                     (b) one member who has knowledge and experience relating to the delivery and management of child care services; and

                     (c) one member with knowledge and experience relating to the delivery of rural health care.

          C. Appointed members of the board shall serve a term of four years that expires on July 1 of the board member's fourth year. All initial appointments to the board shall be made by July 1, 2024, and initial appointed members of the board shall determine by lot three members to serve two-year terms and four members to serve four-year terms. Board members shall serve until their successors have been appointed. If a position on the board becomes vacant for any reason, a successor shall be selected by the original appointing authority in the same manner as the original appointment and shall serve for the remainder of the vacated term.

          D. A board member who fails to attend three consecutive meetings or fails to attend fifty percent of all meetings held during any calendar year shall automatically be removed as a member of the board.

          E. The governor shall select one of the members of the board as the chair. The board shall annually elect a vice chair and such other officers as it deems necessary from among its members.

          F. A majority of the members of the board shall constitute a quorum and shall be capable of conducting any board business. The vote of a majority of a quorum shall prevail, even though the vote may not represent an actual majority of all the board members.

          G. Board members shall receive per diem and mileage as provided in the Per Diem and Mileage Act and shall receive no other remuneration, compensation or allowance.

     SECTION 4. [NEW MATERIAL] PAID FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE INSURANCE AUTHORITY STAFF.--

          A. The position of "director of the paid family and medical leave insurance authority" is created. The director shall be hired by the board and shall serve at the pleasure of the board. The director's salary shall be set by the board.

          B. The director may employ additional staff, agents or contractors as necessary for carrying out the authority's duties pursuant to the Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance Act.

     SECTION 5. [NEW MATERIAL] PAID FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE INSURANCE PROGRAM--EMPLOYEE CONTRIBUTIONS--AUTHORITY DUTIES--AGENCIES AND DEPARTMENTS TO COOPERATE.--

          A. The authority shall establish and administer a paid family and medical leave insurance program to provide up to six weeks of family and medical leave compensation to covered employees during any twelve-month period.

          B. Beginning January 1, 2026, each covered employee and self-employed individual who has enrolled in the paid family and medical leave insurance program shall contribute a percentage of the employee's or self-employed individual's subject earnings to the fund. The contribution rate shall be set by the authority and shall not exceed one-half percent of subject earnings.

          C. By January 1, 2027, and annually thereafter, the authority shall conduct an actuarial study to evaluate the sustainability of the fund. The study shall:

                (1) determine the total amount of money in the fund;

                (2) determine the total amount of contributions made to the fund during the previous calendar year;

                (3) determine the total amount of family and medical leave compensation provided to covered employees during the previous calendar year;

                (4) determine the total cost of administration of the paid family and medical leave insurance program during the previous year;

                (5) determine the total cost of administration of the fund;

                (6) evaluate the effect that increasing or decreasing the contribution rate would have on the fund;

                (7) evaluate the effect that increasing the maximum weekly compensation amount would have on the fund;

                (8) identify the target fund balance sufficient to ensure the ongoing sustainability of the fund; and

                (9) identify a recommended contribution rate and maximum weekly compensation amount that would allow the fund to reach the target fund balance.

          D. On January 1, 2028, and annually thereafter, the authority may adjust the contribution rate according to the recommended contribution rate identified in the actuarial study conducted by the authority. The authority may:

                (1) increase the contribution rate to ensure the sustainability of the fund as long as the contribution rate does not exceed one-half percent of subject earnings; or

                (2) decrease the contribution