The eastern New Mexico legislative delegation met with citizens and representatives of local government to discuss the upcoming 60-day session of the New Mexico Legislature.
The pre-session event is the first one held in recent years and over 60 attended.
Much of the event was mix and mingle over coffee and donuts. The program portion of the morning gave each legislator an opportunity to speak. In attendance were District 64 Representative Andrea Reeb, District 63 Representative Martin Zamora, District 7 Senator Pat Woods and newly elected District 27 Senator Pat Boone.
Zamora said he remembered similar events in his first year of office in 2019 and how scared he had been. He said he’s overcome his stage fright and become familiar with communicating with crowds and one-on-one with constituents and other legislators. He invited folks to contact him with input and needs.
Reeb joked that with the addition of Boone she was just thankful she was no longer the freshman legislator. Former 9th Judicial District Attorney Reeb said she felt like this session would take a hard focus on crime and she was looking forward to once again serving on the House Judiciary Committee where crime legislation will be funneled and sifted. Reeb said she has 15 bills prepared for the session, mostly dealing with crime. Among those bills would be one to enhance sentencing for those committing crimes against law enforcement.
While Woods’ district doesn’t include portions of Roosevelt County, he and Rep. Jack Chatfield (not attending the coffee) are a part of a five-legislator coalition he has risen quickly in committee stature since starting in 2012 to include a standing committee post on Legislative Finance and interim slots on Legislative Finance Committee. Woods shared that with rapidly rising budgets over the last several sessions most people had assumed revenue derived from oil and gas would slow. He said that early reporting shows that it is likely that an additional $900,000 would be available this year.
The legislative session will begin at noon on Jan. 21 and end at noon on March 22. Deadline for filing legislation is Feb. 20.
The Roosevelt County Chamber along with the Clovis/Curry County Chamber will hold the annual Legislative Appreciation in Santa Fe Monday, Feb. 10 at 6 p.m. at The Hotel Santa Fe. Tickets are available by contacting the Clovis/Curry County Chamber at (575) 762-3435/
