The Senate version of a bill to provide paid family and medical leave to workers passed 6-2 along party lines in the Senate Tax, Business and Transportation Committee on Saturday.
SB 3 is sponsored by Senate Pro Tem Mimi Stewart, D-Albuquerque. An identical version of the bill passed a House committee Wednesday.
The bill would provide a paid family and medical leave policy for all employees in the state unless their company has a comparable or better program already in place. Employers with four or fewer employees will not have to pay the employee premiums if the bill is enacted. The bill would allow employees to take up to 12 weeks of paid time off for a qualifying event.
Committee chair Benny Shendo Jr., D-Jemez, asked Stewart to reiterate the changes the sponsors have made to the bill since last year. Stewart said the new bill has expanded to include a provision for military personnel family members in the event of a sudden deployment, an employee cap for those who make $168,000 or more to opt out, a cap of 0.1 percent on increasing the premiums, a five-year waiting period for someone who has made a fraudulent claim.
A claim would now have to include a medical professional timeline of when the employee will return to work and the program would have to have an annual actuarial study on the program’s solvency. The legislature would also receive a report on the program’s solvency, she said.
In addition, Stewart said, the secretary of the Department of Workforce Solutions will have an advisory body during rulemaking that will include a small business owner and an expert in insurance and leave benefits.
Stewart also went over some aspects of the bill that have not changed: that employees will, if the bill is enacted, pay a 0.5 percent premium and employers with five or more employees will pay 0.4 percent a state fund. An employee who takes paid leave will receive 100 percent of their wages if they earn minimum wage but 67 percent of their wages after minimum wage if they earn more. Stewart said the most that anyone could receive during paid leave would be a little more than $1,000 per week in income.
State Sen. Ron Griggs, R-Alamogordo, said he had several concerns. One was that the bill’s Fiscal Impact Report lists three scenarios for solvency, with two showing that the program won’t remain solvent and one showing that it will.
Stewart said that the scenario that shows solvency also shows a decrease in the premiums.
“Anyone can run a scenario and get different results. That’s why we put in an actuarial firm to work on this,” Stewart said.
Griggs said he was concerned about definitions and said he would like to see clarification on the language that allows a person who has “affinity” to another to request paid time off. He said he is also concerned about the definition of mental health counselor and would like that term clarified.
Griggs said he has concerns about the Department of Workforce Solutions managing the program. The bill states that the agency will hire 216 new employees to manage and process claims. Griggs said the department is running on a significant staffing shortage currently and he said the agency is “challenged.”
State Sen. Craig Brandt, R-Rio Rancho, also expressed concern about the term “affinity,” which he said was too broad. Stewart said seven of the 14 states that already have a paid family and medical leave act use the term “affinity” as part of the language for who can request paid time off in the event of a loved one’s serious illness. Stewart said the term would be defined during rule-making.
Brandt also said he was concerned about the Department of Workforce Solutions managing the program.
Stewart said the department would set up some rapid hire events and that the bill drafters gave the department enough time to put the program into place. It would not go into effect until Jan. 1, 2027 if the bill is enacted.
The bill is not an appropriation bill but the budget contains an appropriation for $36 million to enable the agency to hire the necessary employees and to install the IT infrastructure necessary to process claims.
Stewart said other states have reported that the percentage of the population that apply to the program is between 2.6 percent and 6.4 percent.
“We think our estimates are right in line with other states. We’ve paid attention to other states with higher proportions of health care issues like New Mexico,” Stewart said.
Over the course of six years, the fund is expected to pay back to the state treasury, at a rate of $6 million a year, the $36 million startup cost.
Brandt also brought up the fact that Vice Chair Carrie Hamblen, D-Las Cruces, held the hearing on Thursday despite the fact that the committee lacked a quorum. With all of the Republicans on the committee, plus the committee chair, the committee lacked a quorum. Hamblen called it a subcommittee and let the committee members present to ask questions but the committee did not vote on the bill on Thursday.
Brandt called it a violation of the book of rules the senate uses for legislative procedure. He said he knew he would be overruled but he wanted the chair to rule on his objection.
Shendo overruled him.
The bill will head next to the Senate Finance Committee.