Senate Bill 272 appropriates $75,000 to UNM BBER to complete the work of the Task Force on Work Life Balance.
Senate Bill 272 appropriates $75,000 from the GENERAL FUND to the Board of Regents of the University of New Mexico for the Bureau of Business and Economic Research (BBER) to cover expenses related to completing the work of the Task Force on Work-Life Balance pursuant to House Memorial 1 of the First Session of the Fiftieth Legislature, including outreach to small business owners.
YEAR 1 – With the help of Giovanna Rossi, who acted as facilitator, BBER convened the task force with the involvement of State various agencies and with representation from other organizations as laid out in the legislation. The Task Force met as a full task force 5 times in each case for 2-hour sessions. As required, in early October, the Task Force made a preliminary report of finding to the Legislative Health and Human Services Committee. That report consisted of a power point presentation and two detailed matrices summarizing research regarding the impacts of family friendly policies.
YEAR 2 – The agenda for the second year of this task force is ambitious in its goals both to develop and awards program and to develop a set of policy recommendations. To provide a sound basis for policy recommendations, the Task Force plans to reach out to the business community, for example, by recruiting business people to serve on the task force, by holding meetings in Albuquerque, Rio Rancho, Santa Fe, and Las Cruces, where we can meet with local Chambers of Commerce, and by conducting focus groups with large and small businesses in communities around the state. The Task Force also intends to undertake a careful review of the family friendly policies that have been implemented in other states and in other countries, including an analysis of the costs and benefits of these policies as well as their suitability to the conditions in New Mexico.
