Politics

By ROBERT NOTT
The New Mexican

The House Energy, Environment and Natural Resources Committee voted 8-5 along party lines to approve a bill that would significantly alter the structure of the state’s Public Regulation Commission.

House Bill 11, introduced by state Reps. Linda Trujillo, D-Santa Fe, and Nathan Small, D-Las Cruces, would move many of the divisions currently under the commission’s authority to a department within the governor’s administration.

It also would give the governor the right to appoint the PRC’s chief of staff for a term of six years, following an initial Read More

Legislative Roundup
SFNM News:

Help the animals: The Senate passed the Wildlife Trafficking Act Saturday, which aims to halt the trafficking of endangered species and animal parts through the state. Senate Bill 75, sponsored by Sen. Mimi Stewart and approved by a vote of 22-9, would create civil penalties for wildlife trafficking and help New Mexico quash the sale of endangered species and their parts.

“Right next door to us, El Paso is one of the top five ports of entry for wildlife trafficking in the nation,” Stewart said. “Much of that contraband is moved through New Mexico as it’s distributed, Read More

Scene from the public committee meeting Thursday during which state senators kicked a television reporter out, telling her she was not allowed to film the hearing. Courtesy/New Mexican

By JENS GOULD
The New Mexican

State senators kicked a television reporter out of a public committee meeting Thursday, telling her she was not allowed to film the hearing.

Rachel Knapp, who covers the Legislature for KRQE-TV, was filming the Senate Conservation Committee’s deliberations on a hazardous waste bill when Sen. Antoinette Sedillo Lopez interrupted the meeting to ask the reporter Read More

NMDP News:

SANTA FE — The House of Representatives passed House Bill 25 Thursday, the Pregnant Worker Accommodation Act, sponsored by Rep. Gail Chasey (D-Albuquerque), and Sen. Liz Stefanics (D-Cerrillos), that requires employers to make reasonable accommodations for pregnant workers so they may continue to work.

The Pregnant Worker Accommodation Act would ensure that women and other pregnant employees can continue to earn a living while maintaining a healthy pregnancy and being reassured of their job security.  

House Bill 25 amends the Human Rights Act to include protections for pregnant Read More

The Roundhouse in Santa Fe. Photo by Carol A. Clark/ladailypost.com

By JENS GOULD
The New Mexican

The House Taxation and Revenue Committee tabled two bills Friday that proposed to eliminate or reduce the state’s tax on Social Security income.

Key legislators had previously voiced support for House Bills 29 and 77, and the majority of public attendees who spoke favored it at Friday’s committee hearing. Yet Democratic and Republican legislators alike said they were worried about altering the tax without having a plan in place to replace the revenue that would be lost. 

“You can’t have Read More

Members of the Los Alamos League of Women Voters gather Thursday for League Day at the Roundhouse with Dist. 43 Rep. Christine Chandler, center, to celebrate New Mexico’s vote to ratify the 19th Amendment 100 years ago this month. Courtesy photo

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham speaks to an enthusiastic audience of Read More

Legislative Roundup
SFNM News:

Free lunch for more kids: A measure that would provide $650,000 to cover the breakfast and lunch copays for more than 12,000 public school students in New Mexico who qualify for reduced-price meals through a federal program received unanimous support Friday from lawmakers on the House Education Committee.

House Bill 10, introduced by Reps. Willie Madrid, D-Chaparral, and Melanie Stanbury, D-Albuquerque, and backed by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, would both create a safety net for low-income families and protect public school districts and charter schools Read More