First Tax Bill for School Funding has Hearing
The first of many bills intended to enhance state revenues to prevent
cuts to public school funding had a hearing today in the House Business and Industry Committee today. House Bill 34, sponsored by Representative Brian Egolf of
Santa Fe, would impose a new surtax under the “Liquor Surtax Act”.
This liquor surtax would be imposed on the retail sale of alcoholic
beverages to a consumer by a licensee. The surtax would be equal to
2.5 percent of the retail price of the alcoholic beverages and is
collected by the licensee selling the alcoholic beverages. The tax
would generate $35.6 million in revenue earmarked for public schools.
The measure, House Bill 34 was tabled after debate in the committee. NEA
New Mexico, Voices for Children, and Better Choices New Mexico
testified for the measure. Twenty or so supporters of the liquor
industry testified against. We hope the tabling motion was more
indicative of the House leadership to have a complete tax package than
legislative disinterest in this very progressive legislation.
Let you Legislators know that you support
increasing "sin" taxes such as the liquor tax to raise funds for public
schools
Legislative Finance Committee Budget Proposal Continues
Dismantling School Employee Health Care
If the Legislative Finance Committee (LFC) has its way, your insurance
benefits will be cut again!
Monday, representatives from the New Mexico Public School Insurance
Authority (NMPSIA) and Albuquerque Public Schools told a joint
meeting of the House and Senate Education Committees that failing to
provide funds for increased school employee health care costs would
hurt school employees and perhaps cause some to opt out of health care
altogether!
Some 33,500 education employees and
their families receive health insurance benefits from the authority
and APS.
The New Mexico Public Schools Insurance
Authority and Albuquerque Public Schools are asking for a combined
$20.5 million in extra money to offset increased insurance costs; Gov.
Bill Richardson and the Public Education Department support this
funding. The budget proposed by the LFC provides no funding for school employee health care cost
increases.
Christy Edwards, the NMPSIA 's deputy director testified to the
committees that given the LFC recommendations, the authority would have to do additional
plan cuts. Cuts could include increasing the current $300 deductible
to $500. For the co-insurance, in which employees pay 20 percent of
their medical costs, the employee portion likely would be raised to 30
percent. The current individual of out-of-pocket costs to covered
employees, now at $2,800, probably would be raised to $4,900.
The NMPSIA Board might imposing a surcharge on covered employees who
are overweight and those who use tobacco.
Now it's your turn to TAKE ACTION:
1. Identify Your Legislators.
2. Email or call your senator or representative today.
Use this link to send an email or identify them to call them at
their office number or 1(505) 986-4300 and ask the operator to connect
you to his/her office.
3. Leave a simple message:
1.
Tell them who you are and that you are a voter in the legislator's
district.
2. Ask them to provide the necessary funding to preserve a viable
health care system for public school employees. Ask them to
reject the LFC's mean-spirited approach to school employee needs.
3. Finally, tell them there are better choices.
(Follow this link
for a complete set of talking points for various revenue increases
from Better Choices New Mexico.) Vote for revenue generators which could include rolling back
tax cuts for the wealthiest and closing corporate loopholes - and use
that money to fund our schools and public services!
 Follow
this link to take action on health care funding!
Contact Governor
Richardson and thank him for saying no
to cuts to the classroom and salaries and yes to funding health care
for school employees.
Governor
Richardson's State of the State Address is at this link.
Education Partners' Poll on school funding and revenues |
