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Bill Summary · HB 336

HB 336 — Certain Retirees Returning to Work (Final enacted version)

Status: Signed by Governor (May 1, 2025)
Introduced: November 12, 2024
Subject areas: Public employees, law enforcement (peace officers), retirement (PERA)

Main purpose

HB 336 expands the scope of New Mexico’s return-to-work rules for public retirees by allowing certain retired public employees who hold peace‑officer powers to return to state employment in positions that carry duties to maintain public order and make arrests — including positions in agencies that previously were excluded — under specified conditions while preserving pension and contribution rules.

Key provisions and changes

  • Expands the statutory provisions governing return-to-work (Section 10-11-8 NMSA 1978) to expressly permit a retired member to return to employment in any state position in which the person has duties to maintain public order and make arrests (including arrests limited to specific crimes).
  • Retains existing procedural and contribution rules for return-to-work generally (e.g., suspension of pension while employed in some circumstances, options to resume pension, election to rejoin PERA and make contributions while reemployed).
  • Confirms limitations already in place under PERA’s return-to-work program:
    • Eligibility is limited to members who retired prior to December 31, 2023 (precluding retirees from timing retirement to take advantage of the program).
    • The program currently allows return-to-work only before July 1, 2027.
    • Maximum permitted duration while receiving a pension is 36 months (per existing PERA rules).
  • Includes the employer/employee contribution requirements when a previously retired member elects to become a contributing PERA member again during reemployment.
  • Leaves state regulatory and pension‑calculation provisions intact (e.g., rules for recalculation of pension when service credit is re‑accrued).

Who is affected

  • Retired members of the Public Employees Retirement Association (PERA) who retired before Dec. 31, 2023 and who hold peace‑officer powers.
  • State agencies that employ peace officers beyond those previously covered (examples cited in analyses: Livestock Board, Department of Game and Fish, district attorneys’ offices, Attorney General, state police).
  • PERA (administration and actuarial functions) and employers paying contributions for returning retirees.

Fiscal and implementation effects

  • Legislative Finance Committee (LFC) and PERA analyses: no reported immediate FY25–FY27 budgetary impact. PERA is conducting an actuarial analysis; initial agency view is the bill would likely have a small positive impact on the fund because it requires mandatory, nonrefundable contributions from both employers and employees when retirees return to work and rejoin the plan.
  • LFC notes return‑to‑work programs can both increase and decrease pension system costs depending on behavioral responses; the statutory eligibility cutoffs and time limits mitigate some risk of retirees timing retirement to “double‑dip.”
  • Administrative impact: PERA and affected agencies will need to process reemployment, contribution, and pension‑recalculation paperwork consistent with existing statutes and PERA rules.

Effective date and procedure

  • The bill contains no special effective date; under statute it becomes effective 90 days after adjournment (reported implementation date cited as June 20, 2025).
  • Passed both legislative chambers (committee reports and roll-call votes favorable) and was signed by the governor on May 1, 2025.

Issues and context

  • HB 336 addresses gaps noted under the 2024 return-to-work law that limited eligible returning retirees to specified positions; the bill broadens eligibility to other law enforcement roles across state agencies to help fill workforce shortages while codifying contribution and time limits intended to limit pension cost exposure.
  • PERA’s final actuarial determination could refine fiscal expectations; sponsors and agencies framed the change primarily as a workforce/flexibility measure for law‑enforcement staffing.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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