A. Beginning with the calendar quarter ending September 30, 2004 and for each calendar quarter thereafter, there is assessed against each employer who is required or elects to be covered by the Workers' Compensation Act [Chapter 52, Article 1 NMSA 1978] a fee equal to two dollars thirty cents ($2.30) multiplied by the number of employees covered by the Workers' Compensation Act that the employer has on the last working day of each quarter. At the same time, there is assessed against each employee covered by the Workers' Compensation Act on the last working day of each quarter a fee of two dollars ($2.00), which shall be deducted from the wages of the employee by the employer and remitted along with the fee assessed on the employer. The fees shall be remitted by the last day of the month following the end of the quarter for which they are due.

B. The taxation and revenue department may deduct from the gross fees collected an amount not to exceed five percent of the gross fees collected to reimburse the department for costs of administration.

C. The taxation and revenue department shall pay over the net fees collected to the state treasurer to be deposited by him in a fund hereby created and to be known as the "workers' compensation administration fund". Expenditures shall be made from this fund on vouchers signed by the director for the necessary expenses of the workers' compensation administration; provided that an amount equal to thirty cents ($.30) per employee of the fee assessed against an employer shall be distributed from the workers' compensation administration fund to the uninsured employers' fund.

D. The workers' compensation fee authorized in this section shall be administered and enforced by the taxation and revenue department under the provisions of the Tax Administration Act [Chapter 7, Article 1 NMSA 1978].

History: 1978 Comp., § 52-5-19, enacted by Laws 1987, ch. 235, § 52; 1988, ch. 71, § 2; 1989, ch. 263, § 87; 1990 (2nd S.S.), ch. 3, § 3; 1992, ch. 52, § 1; 2004, ch. 36, § 2.

The 2004 amendment, effective July 1, 2004, changed the employer's fee provided in Subsection A from two dollars ($2.00) to two dollars thirty cents ($2.30) and amended Subsection C to add the "provided" language after the semi-colon at the end of the subsection.

The 1992 amendment, effective May 20, 1992, rewrote Subsection A; deleted former Subsection B, which defined "employee" and "employer" and redesignated former Subsection C as present Subsection B, substituting "fees collected" for "assessments" in two places therein; and added the Subsection C and D designations, substituting references to fees for references to assessments near the beginning of both subsections.

The 1990 (2nd S.S.) amendment, effective January 1, 1991, substituted "administration" for "division" in the catchline, added the Subsection designations, added Subsection B, and otherwise rewrote the section.

Transfer of funds. — The fees assessed against employers and employees and paid into the workers' compensation administration fund may be diverted to another fund, like the computer systems enhancement fund, even though the other purposes are not specified in the statute creating the workers' compensation administration fund. The general rule permits the transfer to the different fund or purpose as long as the money remains subject to legislative control. 1994 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 94-05.