New Mexico Administrative Code
Title 6 - PRIMARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION
Chapter 50 - INSURANCE
Part 1 - GENERAL PROVISIONS
Section 6.50.1.9 - BOARD PROCEDURES AND GENERAL AUTHORITY

Universal Citation: 6 NM Admin Code 6.50.1.9

Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 18, September 24, 2024

This section establishes procedures governing the board operations for conducting its business affairs and sets forth the general authority of the board.

A. The authority's board shall be composed of a total of 11 members as provided by Section 22-29-5 NMSA 1978. Solely for the purposes of board membership under Section 22-29-5 NMSA 1978, the term "participating educational entities" as used in that section is defined to mean those educational entities that participate in the authority employee benefits coverages or risk-related coverages or both.

B. Membership on the board shall be for a term not to exceed three years pursuant to Section 22-29-5, NMSA 1978. Members shall serve on the board at the pleasure of the party by which he has been appointed and may be removed by the appointing party for any reason at any time.

C. Alternate representatives to the board shall not be allowed. Voting by proxy also shall not be allowed.

D. A board member shall assume office at the time the appointing entity files written notification of the appointment of the board member at the office of the authority. The written notice shall contain the name, title, business address and business and home telephone number of the board member. A board member shall serve until written notification of a change is filed with the authority or until the three-year term is expired. There is no limitation as to the number of terms a board member may serve.

E. The board shall hold an annual meeting each August. At the option of the board the annual meeting may be scheduled to coincide with the regular August meeting of the board.

F. The officers of the board shall be elected from the board membership. The officers shall consist of a president, a vice-president and a secretary, who shall be elected at the annual meeting of the board and shall serve for a period of one year. An officer may be reelected to the same position or elected to fill another position as an officer of the board.

G. If an officer vacates his position on the board, the next lower officer shall automatically assume the duties of the higher officer. For example, if the presidency becomes vacant, the vice-president shall automatically assume the title and duties of president and the secretary shall automatically assume the title and duties of vice-president. After due notice, a new secretary will be elected by the board. In the alternative to the automatic progression to higher office, the board may call a special meeting for the purpose of conducting an election of officers in the event of any vacancy in a board office. Each of the new officers, however selected, shall serve until election of officers at the next annual meeting.

H. The regular meetings of the board shall normally be held monthly, in a place to be determined from time to time by the board. The date of any regular meeting may be changed by a majority vote of a quorum of the board. The president or vice-president may cancel a regularly scheduled meeting of the board by giving notice of the cancellation in advance of any regularly scheduled meeting.

I. Robert's Rules of Order are adopted by the board and shall be used for the conduct of all meetings to be held by the authority. Robert's Rules of Order shall be binding in all cases where they are not inconsistent with New Mexico statutes and rules adopted by the authority.

J. Meetings of the board other than regular meetings shall be called according to the following procedures.

(1) A special meeting of the board is a meeting other than a regular or emergency meeting and may be called by the president, vice-president or any three board members for the specific purposes specified in the call. The call shall be made in accordance with the Open Meetings Act requirements, Section 10-15-1 et seq. NMSA 1978, and board resolutions.

(2) An emergency meeting of the board is a meeting other than a regular or special meeting and may be called by the president, vice-president, or any two members of the board to consider a sudden or unexpected set of circumstances affecting the authority for which time is of the essence. The call shall be made in accordance with the Open Meetings Act requirements, Section 10-15-1 et seq. NMSA 1978, and board resolutions.

K. A majority of all of the board members shall constitute a quorum for conducting the affairs of the authority. The president of the board shall be entitled to debate any issue and vote on any issue in the same manner as other members of the board. The president shall be considered to be a member of the board for purposes of a quorum. All matters will be determined by voice vote. Any member of the board may request a roll call vote on any issue. In the event of a roll call, it shall be in alphabetical order with the president voting last.

L. The board shall be addressed according to the following procedures.

(1) An individual may speak on any item that appears on the adopted agenda, before a final vote is taken, by notifying and subsequently being recognized by the president or vice-president. The president or vice-president may, at his discretion, limit the time any individual or entity is allotted to make a presentation and the president or vice-president may, in his discretion, limit the time allotted for any subject.

(2) A person with a matter to present to the board shall submit the request in writing with appropriate supporting materials four days in advance of a regularly scheduled meeting, 24 hours in advance of a special meeting and three hours in advance of an emergency meeting.

M. The board retains and reserves unto itself all powers, rights, authority, duties and responsibilities conferred upon and vested in it by the constitution of the state of New Mexico and statutes, including those prescribed by Sections 22-29-1 et. seq. NMSA 1978, and such other power and authority as may be conferred upon the board from time to time. In execution of those powers and duties specifically provided by law, the board has the following general power and authority to:

(1) exercise general control and management of the authority, third party administrators, consultants retained by the authority and other agents, servants and employees;

(2) establish such programs, and provide such services as it deems necessary for the proper and efficient operation of the authority and the good of the participating entities;

(3) exercise control and management of all authority assets and use such assets to promote authority business in such ways as the board deems necessary and proper in accordance with law;

(4) make and adopt or amend rules and regulations for governance of the authority by a majority of the board membership;

(5) make and adopt or amend substantive rules and regulations by a majority vote of the board membership;

(6) repeal a substantive rule of the authority by a majority vote of the board membership, but the board has no power to suspend any substantive rule except by a two-thirds vote of the membership of the board;

(7) make provisions for interpreting the authority's programs for dissemination to the public and to seek the opinion and advice of the participating entities concerning the authority's insurance programs;

(8) work in a cooperative manner with interested citizens in a continuous effort to improve the authority's programs;

(9) appoint advisory committees, including a risk advisory committee and an employee benefits advisory committee, which are permanent standing committees of the board, as well as ad hoc advisory committees as needed;

(10) establish an executive committee, a permanent standing committee of the board, which shall be made up of the president, vice-president and secretary of the board and which shall serve as the agenda committee; and

(11) hire an executive director and to delegate to the executive director the day to day activities of the authority pursuant to board policy as developed in its open meetings.

N. The permanent risk advisory committee and the permanent employee benefits advisory committee shall be chaired by members of the board or if no board member is available, then by staff. The board shall name the advisory committee members from authority participating entities or covered individuals assuring a balance of large and small participating entities and a geographic balance. The board may also name an ex-board member to serve on the advisory committees as a voting member for a term not to exceed three years, with the option to renew the appointment for an additional three years.

O. An ad hoc advisory committee shall be established for a specific purpose or goal and shall be established for a stated period of time.

P. Members of advisory committees shall be appointed by the president of the board with the advice and consent of the board and shall serve at the pleasure of the board. Advisory committees shall provide notice of meetings as required by the Open Meetings Act, Section 10-15-1 et seq. NMSA 1978, and these rules. Minutes in compliance with Subsection R of 6.50.1.9 NMAC shall be kept by the chairman or his designee. Advisory committee minutes shall be considered acted upon when the board acts on the advisory committee report.

Q. The authority shall pay per diem and mileage consistent with the Per Diem and Mileage Act, Section 10-8-1 et.seq. NMSA 1978, as amended, and the applicable department of finance and administration rules. The per diem and mileage payments shall be limited to the following situations.

(1) Authority employees are entitled to receive per diem and mileage for travel incurred in the normal course and scope of their employment; provided however, that no employee shall be entitled to receive per diem and mileage for travel outside of the state without obtaining the board's prior approval for the travel.

(2) Authority board members are entitled to receive per diem and mileage for travel incurred for attending all regular, special and emergency board meetings, or any standing or ad hoc committee meetings of the board called pursuant to the Open Meetings Act, Section 10-15-1 et seq. NMSA 1978 and the authority's open meetings resolution. In addition, the executive committee serving as the authority board agenda committee is entitled to receive per diem and mileage for travel incurred as necessary to conduct the business of the board. Authority board members shall not be entitled to receive per diem and mileage for any other travel, inside or outside of the state, without obtaining prior approval of the board.

(3) Authority advisory committee members named by the board to serve on advisory committees are entitled to receive per diem and mileage for travel incurred for attending authority advisory committee meetings which has been scheduled in writing by the board or by the executive director. Authority advisory committee members shall not be entitled to receive per diem and mileage for any other travel, inside or outside of the state, without obtaining prior approval of the board.

R. Minutes of the board.

(1) The authority shall keep written minutes of all its open meetings. The minutes shall include as a minimum the date, time and place of the meeting, the names of members in attendance and those absent, the substance of the proposals considered, if any, and a record, where appropriate, of any decisions and votes taken which show how each member voted. All minutes of meetings shall be open to public inspection at reasonable times. Draft minutes shall be prepared within 10 working days after the meeting. Minutes shall not become official until approved by the board. The minutes shall be kept on file as the permanent official record of the authority.

(2) It is the practice of the authority staff (but not a requirement by the authority board) that board meetings are tape recorded. The board secretary shall make notes of board meetings sufficient to reflect the information required in Paragraph (1) of Subsection R of 6.50.1.9 NMAC, and the tape recording shall be available to the secretary, any board member or member of the public for review with regard to the accuracy of draft minutes. However, 30 days after minutes have been adopted by the board, the board secretary shall recycle the tapes by erasure and make them available for re-use.

Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. New Mexico may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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