New Mexico Register / Volume XXXV,
Issue 10 / May 21, 2024
This is an
emergency amendment to 10.2.4 NMAC, Sections 2, 3, 7, 8, & 9, effective
5/10/2024
10.2.4.2 SCOPE: All law enforcement agencies eligible to receive
funding from the law enforcement retention fund for the purpose of providing a
retention differential disbursement to [eligible] full-time certified
law enforcement officers employed by that law enforcement agency.
[10.2.4.2 NMAC -
N, 4/25/2023; A/E 5/10/2024]
10.2.4.3 STATUTORY AUTHORITY: This rule is promulgated pursuant to Sections
9-19-6 E. and 9-19-14 NMSA 1978 of the Department of Public Safety Act, as
amended by 2024 HB 193. Section
9-19-14, as amended creates a law enforcement retention fund in the
state treasury and requires the Department to develop rules, forms, standards, procedures and related training for law enforcement agencies
to report retention information when seeking monies to provide retention
differential disbursements to eligible full-time certified law
enforcement officers within the law enforcement agency’s employ.
[10.2.4.3 NMAC - N, 4/25/2023; A/E 5/10/2024]
10.2.4.7 DEFINITIONS: This rule adopts the definitions found in
Section 9-19-2 NMSA 1978, [and] Subsection M of Section 9-19-14
NMSA 1978 and 2024 HB 193, as if fully set forth herein. In addition to the definitions adopted, the
following terms have the following meaning:
A. “Certified”
means an individual certified as a peace officer pursuant to the Law
Enforcement Training Act, Section 29-7-1 to 29-7-16 NMSA 1978.
B. “Date of hire” means the
month, date and year the individual was hired by a law
enforcement agency for the purpose of serving as a full-time certified
law enforcement officer with that agency.
[B.] C. “DPS” means the department of public safety.
[C.] D. “Eligible law enforcement agency” means an agency eligible to receive
monies from the LERF because the agency:
(1) has, prior to June 1 of the
reporting fiscal year, made a request for monies from the DPS and included in
that request the information on which the agency is required to report under
Section 9-19-14 H NMSA 1978 and this rule;
(2) is, at the time of
submitting the request for monies to DPS in compliance with that portion of the
Law Enforcement Training Act that requires every law enforcement agency to
submit a quarterly report to the director of the law enforcement academy and
the New Mexico law enforcement standards and training council; and
(3) has, at the time of
submitting the request for monies to DPS, submitted the agency’s most current
roster of full-time certified law enforcement officers, including commission
dates, to the New Mexico law enforcement academy.
E. “Eligible officer” means [an
officer who has remained employed as a law enforcement officer with the same
law enforcement agency one year and one day after reaching four, nine, fourteen
and nineteen years of consecutive service from the law enforcement officer’s
date of hire with that law enforcement agency] a full-time certified law
enforcement officer employed by any law enforcement agency, who after
completing four, nine, 10, 14, or 20 or more years of service since the law
enforcement officer’s initial date of hire, remains employed for one additional
year with the law enforcement agency by whom the officer was employed at the
time the officer completed four, nine, 14, or 20 or more years of service and
who is in compliance with the in-service training and reporting requirements of
the Law Enforcement Training Act.
[D.] F. “Employer tax liability” means the employer contribution
for payroll taxes outlined in the Federal Insurance Contribution Act for Social
Security and/or Medicare. This does not
include any employer contributions for retirement or other benefit plans.
[E.] G. “Law enforcement academy” means the New Mexico law
enforcement academy created by Section 29-7-2 NMSA 1978 or any of the satellite
academies certified by the New Mexico law enforcement [academy board] standards
and training council, its predecessors, or successors.
[F.] H. “Law enforcement retention fund” means a fund in the state
treasury, consisting of money appropriated by the legislature, federal money
granted to the state for the purposes of the fund, income from investment of
the fund and money otherwise accruing to the fund. Money in the fund does not revert to any
other fund at the end of the fiscal year.
The fund is administered by DPS to provide monies to law enforcement
agencies who request the funds for the purpose of providing retention
differential disbursements to full-time certified law enforcement
officers within the agency’s employ who meet [statutorily prescribed]
requirements prescribed by statute and by this rule.
[G.] I. “LERF” means law enforcement retention fund.
[H.] J. “Portal” means the electronic system through which law enforcement
agencies annually report to the DPS the data required by this rule in order [for
the law enforcement agency] to receive funding from the law enforcement
retention fund for the purpose of providing retention differential
disbursements to eligible officers employed by that agency.
[I.] K.
“PRDD” means the amount of the
projected retention differential disbursement stated in dollars and cents to be
paid to the eligible officer.
[J.] L. “Reporting fiscal year” means the fiscal year in which the
law enforcement agency is reporting to DPS the information set forth in
Subsection A of 10.2.4.9 NMAC.
[K.] M. “Salary” means the base hourly rate of pay of the full-time
certified law enforcement officer for two thousand eighty hours, excluding
overtime, any percentage pay increases or multiple
components of pay.
[L.] N. “Years of service”
means the number of [consecutive] years, months
and days, beginning with the date of hire, a full-time certified law
enforcement officer is employed by a law enforcement agency for the
purpose of serving as a full-time certified law enforcement officer with
a [single] law enforcement agency.
[10.2.4.7 NMAC -
N, 4/25/2023 ; A/E 5/10/2024]
10.2.4.8 CALCULATION OF THE PROJECTED FIVE
PERCENT RETENTION DIFFERENTIAL DISBURSEMENT
BY THE REPORTING LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY: The salary used by the law enforcement agency
to calculate the five percent retention differential disbursement for those
officers projected to be eligible officers in the upcoming fiscal year, shall
be the salary of the officer on the date the officer reached four, nine, 14 or
19 or 20 or more years of [consecutive] service with the law
enforcement agency requesting the retention differential disbursement.
[10.2.4.8 NMAC -
N, 4/25/2023; A/E 5/10/2024]
10.2.4.9 REPORTING REQUIREMENTS FOR
AGENCIES SEEKING RETENTION DIFFERENTIAL DISBURSEMENTS
A. Every law
enforcement agency seeking monies from the LERF for retention differential
disbursements for full-time certified law
enforcement officers within its employ, who are projected to be eligible
officers in the upcoming fiscal year, shall annually report to DPS the
following information:
(1) The
full legal name and date of hire of the full-time certified law enforcement
officer projected to be an eligible officer in the upcoming fiscal year, the
PRDD for [that] each officer, the amount of the annual salary on
which the PRDD was calculated and the amount of the employer tax liability
attributable to the PRDD. The amount of
the employer tax liability shall specify the amount attributable to Social
Security and the amount attributable to Medicare;
(2) The
aggregate number of full-time certified law enforcement officers
employed by the law enforcement agency during each of the five fiscal years
immediately preceding the reporting fiscal year. For any officer employed less than a full
fiscal year, the law enforcement agency shall report the number of months and
days the officer was employed, identifying the officer without personally
identifying information (e.g. Officer # 1, Officer # 2, etc.).
(3) For
each officer included in Paragraph (2) of Subsection A above, the number of
years (or partial years) of service of each full-time certified law
enforcement officer with the reporting agency.
(4) The
number of full-time certified law enforcement officers that left the
employ of the law enforcement agency during the fiscal year immediately
preceding the reporting fiscal year. The
number of years of service with the reporting law enforcement agency of each
departing officer [and], the [stated reasons why each law enforcement
officer left the employ of the law enforcement agency] agency’s reason
for each involuntary departure and the officer’s stated reason, if any, for
each voluntary departure.
(6) The
number of applicants to the law enforcement agency for a position as a full-time
certified law enforcement officer in the fiscal year immediately preceding
the reporting fiscal year, who attended a law enforcement academy.
(7) The
number of full-time certified law enforcement officers within the
reporting agency’s employ who received one or more certifications during the
fiscal year immediately preceding the reporting fiscal year.
(8) The
number of full-time certified law enforcement officers added to the law
enforcement agency by way of lateral transfer during
the fiscal year immediately preceding the reporting fiscal year and the
years of service of each added officer at each previous law enforcement agency
if known to the reporting agency.
(9) Any
changes to compensation, recruiting, retention or benefits of full-time
certified law enforcement officers implemented by the law enforcement
agency during the fiscal year immediately preceding the reporting fiscal year.
(10) The
number of full-time certified law enforcement officers that are
projected to become eligible for a retention differential disbursement in the
upcoming fiscal year, and the projected amount of the retention differential
disbursement including any employer tax liabilities for each eligible
officer.
(11) Any
other information requested by DPS that is used for determining retention
rates, unless disclosure of such information is otherwise prohibited by law.
B. The information
in Subsection A above shall be reported to the DPS for the upcoming fiscal year
no later than May 31.
C. The information
in Subsection A above shall be reported to the DPS through the electronic
portal, unless DPS advises the applying law enforcement agencies that a
different reporting method should be used.
D. In order to receive funding for
retention differential disbursements, the law enforcement agency must, at the
time of the request, be in compliance with the
in-service officer training and reporting requirements of the New Mexico Law
Enforcement Training Act set forth in Section 29-7-7.1 NMSA 1978 and 29-7-7.2
NMSA 1978.
E. In order to receive funding for
retention differential disbursements, the law enforcement agency must have submitted
the agency’s most current roster of full-time certified law enforcement
officers, including commission dates, to the New Mexico law enforcement academy
no later than April 1 of the reporting fiscal year.
[10.2.4.9 NMAC - N, 4/25/2023; A/E 5/10/2024]