The funds created by the state retirement system acts are trust funds of which the retirement board is trustee. Members of the retirement board jointly and individually shall be indemnified by the state from the funds administered by the retirement board from all claims, demands, suits, actions, damages, judgments, costs, charges and expenses, including court costs and attorney fees and against all liability losses and damages of any nature that members shall or may sustain by reason of any decision made in the performance of their duties pursuant to the state retirement system acts. The retirement board shall invest and reinvest the funds in accordance with the Uniform Prudent Investor Act [45-7-601 to 45-7-612 NMSA 1978].

History: Laws 1987, ch. 253, § 132; 1989, ch. 46, § 1; 1992, ch. 116, § 11; 1995, ch. 94, § 1; 1997, ch. 189, § 11; 2003, ch. 345, § 1; 2005, ch. 240, § 4.

Cross references. — For the federal Investment Company Act of 1940, see 15 U.S.C.S. § 80a-1 et seq.

The 2005 amendment, effective July 1, 2005, deleted former Subsections A through J which provided the classes of securities and investments in which the retirement board could invest and reinvest funds; provided that the retirement board shall invest and reinvest the funds in accordance with the Uniform Prudent Investor Act.

Severability. — Laws 2005, ch. 240, § 8 provided that if any part or application of this act is held invalid, the remainder or its application to other situations or persons shall likewise be invalid and that the provisions of this act are not severable.

The 2003 amendment, effective June 20, 2003, in Subsection E, deleted language concerning stock listed on a stock exchange approved or controlled by the securities and exchange commission and substituted "B" for "BBB" and "B" for "Baa" in the first proviso and substituted "not more than ten percent of" for "own more than ten percent of the voting stock of a company" in the second proviso and added the language beginning "be invested in debt obligations" through to the end of the subsection; inserted Subsection F and redesignated the remaining subsections accordingly.

The 1997 amendment, effective June 20, 1997, rewrote Subsections F and G; deleted former Subsections H through K, relating to insured savings deposits, industrial revenue bonds, notes or obligations securing loans made pursuant to the Small Business Act of 1953, and notes or obligations securing loans secured by first mortgages on real estate located in New Mexico, respectively; and redesignated the remaining subsections accordingly.

The 1995 amendment, effective June 16, 1995, added Subsection G; redesignated former Subsections G through K as Subsections H through L; added Subsection M; and made minor stylistic changes.

The 1992 amendment, effective July 1, 1992, rewrote the introductory paragraph; inserted "treasury" and "government" in Subsection A; in Subsection B, inserted "that are registered by the United States Security and Exchange Commission, are publicly traded and are" near the beginning of the first sentence and deleted "for more than three months" following "default" near the end of that sentence; rewrote the provisions of Subsections C to G and redesignated them as Subsections C to F; redesignated Subsection H as Subsection G, while substituting "agency or corporation of the United States government" for "agency of the United States"; rewrote Subsection I and redesignated it as Subsection H; redesignated Subsection J as Subsection I, while substituting "that" for "which" near the middle of the second sentence; redesignated Subsection K as Subsection J while substituting "that" for "which" near the beginning of the subsection and inserting "government" near the end of the subsection; deleted Subsection L, relating to loans pursuant to the federal Higher Education Act of 1965; and redesignated Subsection M as Subsection K, while substituting "that are authorized" for "which are authorized" near the middle of the subsection.

Investment in mortgages. — Under this section, and without violating its fiduciary obligation as trustee, the retirement board may properly invest in a share of a mortgage guaranteed by the United States and the federal housing administration. 1958 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 58-172.