SB 421 New Mexico Senate · 2025 Regular Session

EDUCATIONAL RETIREMENT BOARD POWERS

SB 421 clarifies and expands administrative powers for New Mexico's Educational Retirement Board. The bill allows the board to hire lawyers on a contingency basis (where payment depends on winning a case), requiring attorney general review and disclosure of campaign contributions by law firms. It also defines "custodial bank" responsibilities for managing retirement fund assets and permits the board to purchase or build real property. These changes directly affect how the board administers retirement benefits for educators, streamlining operations without altering member benefits.

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2025

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Feb 17, 2025 Last action Jun 3, 2025

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introduced version → Final Version · 3 edits

MINOR

This bill clarifies the powers of the Educational Retirement Board in New Mexico, specifically allowing the board to hire employees and delegate administrative authority, and permitting the board to contract for legal services on a contingent fee basis with specific oversight requirements. The bill also adds a definition for 'custodial bank' to clarify financial management responsibilities.

REQUIREMENT

The board is now explicitly authorized to hire employees and delegate administrative authority to them.

The board may contract for legal services on a contingent fee basis, subject to attorney general review and a four-member vote threshold for approval if the fee is deemed unreasonable.

DEFINITION

A new definition for 'custodial bank' was added to specify the financial institution's fiduciary duties in managing investment funds.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Feb 26, 2025

Upper · Passed

DO PASS committee report adopted

upper

Feb 17, 2025

Introduced

Sent to Senate Education Committee & Senate Judiciary Committee

upper

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors