double dipping

In the town of Silver City, there are four city employees who might be considered ‘double dippers,’ including the city police chief, Mayor James Marshall told The Independent Thursday. ”These people put in their service and get paid for additional service they provide.”

By a vote of 65 to three Thursday morning, the House overwhelmingly passed legislation that would prevent the vast majority of government retirees after that date from earning both a pension and government paycheck, commonly referred to as “double dipping.”

The vast majority of government retirees couldn’t “double dip” after July 1 under a bill the Senate passed Monday. Most retirees after July 1 would have to sit out 12 months following retirement before returning to government work and then give up their pensions for as long as they work. Those exempted from the new rules include elected officials, temporary legislative employees and the more than 1,400 people who currently double dip.

A bill that would require the Educational Retirement Board to publicly disclose the pension amounts for each of its 30,000 members passed the House unanimously. As The Independent reported in December, a state law passed last year prohibits disclosure of such information. The bill now is scheduled to go before the Senate Education Committee, according to [...]

Legislation sponsored by Sen. David Ulibarri wouldn’t affect the roughly 800 double dippers already collecting a pension and a paycheck, but it would set out new rules for state government retirees who return to work after July 1.

A bill that would require the Educational Retirement Board to publicly disclose the pension amounts for each of its 30,000 members cleared its first House committee Thursday. As The Independent reported in December, a state law passed last year prohibits disclosure of such information.

A bill that would require the Educational Retirement Board to publicly disclose the pension amounts for each of its 30,000 members goes before its first committee Thursday.
At a time when double dipping has invited extra scrutiny in New Mexico, a state law passed last year prohibits disclosure of such information.

Weeks before the New Mexico state Legislature is expected to take up the issue of domestic partnership, the New York state Senate voted down a same-sex marriage bill Wednesday, shocking proponents who had predicted its passage, the New York Times reports.

Two of mayor-elect Richard Berry’s appointees will earn salaries of over $75,000 while collecting a pension from the Public Employees Retirement Association; one has opted not to collect his pension while working for the city.

The New Mexico Legislature’s Courts, Corrections and Justice committee met in Red River Wednesday and there were several interesting topics on the agenda, including double-dipping, predatory lending and a proposed ethics commission. NMI live blogged from the meeting.

Gov. Bill Richardson vetoed the bill that would have reined in the practice of “double-dipping” today.

A bill to rein in “double-dipping” by public employees may not pass constitutional muster, according to the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office, which is causing the governor to backtrack on his promise to sign it. But NMI has found that the AG’s office itself employs 13 double-dippers — which may explain why the office is still not saying what it doesn’t like about the bill.

Another ABQ mayoral hopeful: a man facing felony charges, reports KOB TV. Rudolph Serrano thinks he may have a chance at office, despite pending felony cases including aggravated assault and using  stolen credit cards. Call me crazy, but he may have a difficult time meeting the requirements to even make it to the ballot.