2023 New Mexico Statutes › Chapter 10 - Public Officers and Employees › Article 11A - Volunteer Firefighters Retirement › Section 10-11A-6 - Determination of service credit.

A. A member may claim one year of service credit for each year in which a fire department certifies that the member:
(1) attended fifty percent of all scheduled fire drills for which the fire department held the member responsible to attend;
(2) attended fifty percent of all scheduled business meetings for which the fire department held the member responsible to attend; and
(3) participated in at least fifty percent of all emergency response calls for which the fire department held the member responsible to attend.
B. The chief of each fire department shall submit to the association by March 31 of each year documentation of the qualifications of each member for the preceding calendar year; provided that the chief shall:
(1) submit the documentation on forms provided by the association;
(2) acknowledge the truth of the records under oath before a notary public; and
(3) have the notarized forms signed by the mayor, if distributions from the fire protection fund for the fire department are made to an incorporated municipality, or the chair of the county commission, if distributions from the fire protection fund for the fire department are made to a county fire district.
C. For service credit that has been earned, but not credited pursuant to Subsection B of this section, a member may post or adjust service credit earned for not more than the two preceding calendar years; provided that the member shall:
(1) file with the association a completed "Corrected Qualification Record" or "Adjusted Qualification Record" as prescribed by the association;
(2) acknowledge the truth of the records under oath before a notary public; and
(3) have the notarized forms signed by the mayor, if distributions from the fire protection fund for the fire department are made to an incorporated municipality, or the chair of the county commission, if distributions from the fire protection fund for the fire department are made to a county fire district.
D. Prior to April 1, 2020, for service credit that has been earned, but not credited pursuant to Subsection B of this section, a member may post or adjust service credit earned for one or more years beginning on or after January 1, 1984; provided that the member shall:
(1) file with the association a completed "Corrected Qualification Record" or "Adjusted Qualification Record" as prescribed by the association;
(2) acknowledge the truth of the records under oath before a notary public; and
(3) have the notarized forms signed by the mayor or city manager, if distributions from the fire protection fund for the fire department are made to an incorporated municipality, or the chair of the board of county commissioners, if distributions from the fire protection fund for the fire department are made to a county fire district.
E. The association may request the state fire marshal's office to verify member qualifications submitted to the association.
History:
Laws 1983, ch. 263, § 6; 1997, ch. 150, § 2; 2005, ch. 119, § 1; 2009, ch. 262, § 4; 2015, ch. 67, § 1; 2019, ch. 240, § 1; 2020, ch. 9, § 26.
ANNOTATIONS
The 2020 amendment,
effective July 1, 2021, substituted the fire marshal division of the public regulation commission with the state fire marshal's office; and in Subsection E, after "request the", deleted "fire marshal division of the public regulation commission" and added "state fire marshal's office".
The 2019 amendment,
effective June 14, 2019, permitted members to post or adjust service credit earned but not credited; in Subsection C, Paragraph C(1), after "prescribed by the", deleted "board" and added "association"; and added a new Subsection D and redesignated former Subsection D as Subsection E.
The 2015 amendment,
effective January 1, 2016, limited the time period for posting or adjusting service credit for certain firefighters; in the introductory language of Subsection C, after "service credit earned for", deleted "one or more calendar years beginning on or after January 1, 1979" and added "not more than the two preceding calendar years".
The 2009 amendment,
effective June 19, 2009, in Paragraphs (1) and (2) of Subsection A, changed seventy-five percent to fifty percent, and at the end of each sentence added "for which the fire department held the member responsible to attend"; in Subsection B, after "each year", deleted "the records of attendance of members for emergency response calls, fire drills and business meetings during" and added "documentation of the qualifications of each member for"; in Subsection C, after "calendar years", deleted "prior to January 1, 2005, but for not more that five years of additional service credit, by filing with the association no later than December 31, 2005" and added "beginning on or after January 1, 1979; provided that the member shall"; deleted former Paragraph (1) of Subsection C, which provided for filing the member's record of attendance for emergency calls, fire drills and business; in Paragraph (1) of Subsection C, at the beginning of the sentence, added "file with the association"; added Paragraphs (2) and (3) of Subsection C; deleted former Subsection D, which provided that failure to timely file the records shall result in loss of the member's service credit; and added Subsection D.
The 2005 amendment,
effective June 17, 2005, added Subsection C to permit volunteer firefighters to post or adjust service credit for one or more calendar years prior to January 1, 2005, but not for more than ten years, by filing with the public employees retirement association a copy of the state fire marshal's records of attendance at emergency calls, fire drills and business meetings and a "Corrected Qualification Record or Adjusted Qualification Record" prescribed by the retirement board; and added Subsection D to provide that failure to timely file the records required by Subsection C results in the loss of the service credited pursuant to Subsection B.
The 1997 amendment,
effective June 20, 1997, substituted "association" for "state fire marshal's office" and "March 31" for "April 30" in Subsection B.