Tax Bill to Sufficiently Fund New Formula Bill on House Floor Today
House Bill 346, which provides the funding for the formula set out in HB 331, received a do-pass recommendation from the important House Appropriations and Finance Committee late Monday afternoon and is on the House Calendar for this morning. It was amended to allow for a .75% increase in Gross Receipts Tax. (Senate Bill 412 ,introduced by Senator Cynthia Nava, does the same thing. One of these bills or a bill raising similar revenue must pass in order for House Bill 331 to become effecitve.)
Follow this link to find your House member and office phone number. Call before the House convenes this morning at 10:30 AM with the message to support HB 346.
Funding Formula Bill Passes House
House Bill 331, sponsored by Representative Mimi Stewartchanges our state's outdated funding formula. The bill would base school funding on student needs including poverty, ELL, enrollment growth and other factors. House Bill 331 passed the House Monday on a near party-line vote with most democrats voting for the bill and most republicans voting against. The measure received a do-pass recomendation from the Senate Education Committee yesterday. It now moves to the Senate Finance Committee where it died last year without a hearing.
Follow this link to find your Senator and office phone number. Contact all Senators with the message that this important measure at least deserves a hearing in the Senate Finance Committee this year.
Any reason to oppose tax increases for public schools should have been removed when a recent poll found New Mexicans willing to pay higher taxes for public schools. NEA New Mexico and the other members of the New Mexico Education Partners funded a poll released last Friday. The poll found that the majority of New Mexico’s registered voters (59%) support increasing
New Mexico's gross receipts tax by three-quarters of one percent for additional public school education. When told that school funding would be cut without the tax increase, even more voters supported the increase. Registered voters who were opposed or undecided about the tax measure were asked a follow up question in which they were informed that due to the state budget deficit, public school funding will probably be reduced starting this year. They were then asked whether they support or oppose the three-quarter of one percent gross receipts tax increase for public school education. In total, 64% of registered voters either initially support the tax or support the tax measure after being informed that public school funding will probably be reduced this year. Follow this link for the poll results.
It is still possible to get both bills on the same track in the House.
Keep asking Legislators to both create a better way to flow funding to schools and the needed increases in revenues for that funding formula.
Follow this link to send an email message on sufficient funding to your Senator
Bill to Increase Retirement Withholding Could be Scheduled in Senate Public Affairs Committee Soom. Call Members Immediately!
House Bill 854 has been sent to the Senate Public Affairs Committee. Continue calling committee members to kill this measure. Continue calling all to ask all Senators to raise revenues, not cut teacher and other school employee pay!
The House has passed a budget, House Bill 2, the General Appropriations Act and House Bill 854; together these two measures are a plan to have all PERA and ERA active members pay an extra 1.5% of salary to PERA or ERA. The budget then calls for the employer (the state, universities, and school boards) to reduce its contribution to PERA/ERA by 1.5% of salary. The argument from the House Appropriations and Finance Committee is this:
The money still belongs to employees by being deposited in the Educational Retirement Fund; any employee who does not intend to retire and draw a retirement benefit can withdraw the funds when they are no longer employed in public education.
House Bill 854, sponsored by Representative Saavedra, is a part of the budget package and will cut school employees’ and state employees pay by 1.5% for two years. House Bill 854 increases the employee contribution to the pension fund 1.5% and reduces what the state is paying into the pension fund 1.5%. The measure would take hundreds of dollars out of the average school employee’s pocket. House Bill 854, well intentioned thought it might be, targets a select group of employees for a pay cut.
The current budget plan contains not one proposal to raise revenue other than asking public employees to pay money to the general fund.
House Bill 2, the General Appropriations Actreceived only one committee referral and is awaiting a hearing before the Senate Finance Committee. This hearing will probably occur quickly. However, the plan to reduce public employee salaries cannot work unless House Bill 854 also passes.
In the Senate House Bill 854 received two committee referrals. Its first stop is the Senate Public Affairs Committee. That is the hearing on Tuesday! Call Committee Members with this simple message:
Choose a new revenue source to use to balance the budget. Don’t single out public employees with a 1.5% pay cut to balance the budget. Do not pass House Bill 854.
Members of the committee are:
|
Senator |
Dede Feldman - (D) Chair |
505-986-4482 |
|
Senator |
Tim Eichenberg - (D) Vice Chair |
505-986-4859 |
|
Senator |
505-986-4393 | |
|
Senator |
505-986-4366 | |
|
Senator |
505-986-4726 | |
|
Senator |
505-986-4862 | |
|
Senator |
505-986-4387 | |
|
Senator |
505-986-4834 | |
|
Senator |
505-986-4274 |
In addition to being, on its face, a highly unfair targeted tax increase, the plan to dock workers 1.5% is a direct hit to the
New Mexico economy. It targets New Mexico families and only New Mexicofamilies. Further, the vast majority of the affected workers make between $15,000 and $70,000/year. These are working class and middle class families who spend the money they take in, helping to keep the New Mexico economy moving.
Follow this Link to Send a message opposing HB 854 to Senators and the Governor
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