Thank you to everyone who showed up at the Roundhouse yesterday--another phenomenal turnout for the AFSCME Green Machine, the rest of labor, and working families!
The House won't accept the Senate budget, which contained significant cuts to agencies. So now the House and Senate will each send five members to make a 10-person "conference committee" where they will try to hammer out a compromise budget before the end of the session on Thursday. We'll get you those names as soon as they're announced.
Earlier today, Senate Bill 207 (Ulibarri) passed the Senate floor on a 35-6 bipartisan vote. SB 207 ends all new double dipping starting on July 1, 2010, and requires current double dippers to pay their share of PERA. Right now the employer pays the employer and employee share of PERA for double dippers, meaning this bill will generate about $7 million new dollars for the state in Fiscal Year '11 and $2 million for Albuquerque, as well as smaller amounts for other cities and counties.
SB 207 isn't perfect--we'd have liked a bill that phased out current double dippers, but that amendment failed in two committees and on the Senate floor, and simply isn't going anywhere this year. We'd also like stronger language against contracting out, but again, that will have to wait for the 2011 session.
The two pieces we got--and end to double dipping in the future with NO major exceptions and making current double dippers pay their share--are each huge reforms that will save PERA hundreds of millions of dollars over the next few years and will generate millions for state, city, and county general funds in the next few years.
We're sympathetic to recruiting and retention claims by law enforcement and small cities/counties, but they simply shouldn't be using the PERA fund as their piggy bank and draining hundreds of millions of dollars away from the pension fund that has to be in good shape for ALL of us.
For Tuesday, until we get the final names of the conference committee, please call these House leaders and ask them to pass Senate Bill 207 with NO AMENDMENTS--we need to move quickly to get this bill to the Governor by Thursday at noon. SB 207 has the potential for great support in both parties, so we'll include leaders in both parties.
Democrats
Speaker Ben Lujan (Santa Fe--Santa Fe County) 986-4782 ben.lujan@nmlegis.gov
Majority Leader Ken Martinez (Grants--Cibola, McKinley & San Juan Counties) 986-4776 mLo1@cities.net
Majority Whip Sheryl Williams Stapleton (Albuquerque--Bernalillo County) 986-4774 sheryl.stapleton@nmlegis.gov
Caucus Chair John Heaton (Carlsbad--Eddy County) 986-4432 jheaton@caverns.com
Labor Committee Chair Miguel Garcia (Albuquerque--Bernalillo County) 986-4327 miguel.garcia@nmlegis.gov
Government Affairs Chair Mimi Stewart (Albuquerque--Bernalillo County) 986-4840 mstewart@osogrande.com
House Appropriations Chair Kiki Saavedra (Albuquerque--Bernalillo & Valencia Counties) 986-4316 no email
Legislative Finance Chair Lucky Varela (Santa Fe--Santa Fe County) 986-4318 no email
Consumer & Public Affairs Chair Gail Chasey (Albuquerque--Bernalillo County) 986-4844 gailchasey@msn.com
Judiciary Chair Al Park (Albuquerque--Bernalillo County) 986-4411 alpark.nm@gmail.com
Republicans
Minority Leader Tom Taylor (Farmington--San Juan) 986-4757 tom@tomtaylor.net
Minority Whip Keith Gardner (Roswell--Chaves, Eddy, Lea & Roosevelt Counties) 986-4757 gardners90@yahoo.com
Caucus Chair Anna Crook (Clovis--Curry County) 986-4454 crook@nmlegis.gov
Bill Rehm (Albuquerque--Bernalillo County) 986-4450 bill.rehm@nmlegis.gov
Dennis Roch (Tucumcari--Curry, Harding, Quay, Roosevelt, San Miguel & Union Counties) 986-4467 denroch@hotmail.com
Nora Espinoza (Roswell--Chaves, Lincoln & Otero Counties) 986-4221 noralee@cableone.net
Candy Spence Ezzell (Roswell--Chaves County) 986-4450 csecows@aol.com
Dennis Kintigh (Roswell--Chaves, Lincoln & Otero Counties) 986-4453 askdennis@denniskintigh.com
Janice Arnold-Jones (Albuquerque--Bernalillo County) 986-4451 jearnoldjones@aol.com
