Roosevelt County Chamber’s

Jan. 25, 2022
First things First
One thing moved forward quickly early this week — pay for legislators. That’s right, we have gobs of money to spend so why wouldn’t they put a bill that would create a paid legislature at the top of the list. Never mind that it is an election year. SJR 8 would put an amendment on the ballot that would have the recently-formed State Ethics Commission setting state elected salaries from Governor on down to legislators. The measure easily passed through the Senate Rules Committee 7-1 with the lone Republican present for the hearing voting no. The amendment would also give the State Supreme Court authority to appoint two of the Ethics Commissioners going forward.

Water bills flow through committee
SB17 easily passed the Senate Conservation Committee this week. The bill funds 32 water projects in New Mexico. Sponsored by Sen. Stuart Ingle of Portales, the bill would impact the Eastern New Mexico Water Authority, which is constructing a pipeline from Ute Reservoir to communities on the east side of the state including Clovis and Portales. This is the first year money available is sufficient to fully fund all submitted projects.

Senior citizens may get no tax relief
HB48, seeking to repeal state income tax on Social Security benefits, stalled out quickly in the House Labor, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee with a 4-4 vote. Three Democrats and one Republican voted against the measure, saying there wasn’t a way to replace the revenue in the budget. This measure was among the Governor’s stated goals at the start of the session. It will likely take work behind the scenes from her to revive the measure. This is a measure that the Chamber has advocated for in the past and the New Mexico Chamber again listed it as a priority this year.

Police raises a go, bail changes a whoa
A measure to provide retention pay raises to police officers statewide moved forward in committee this week. It would provide a 5 percent raise for cops every five years for remaining on the job in New Mexico. On the other hand the so-called pre-trial detention bill got major push-back from public defenders and others. This debate could be one of the most emotional of the session as some believe the move borders on being unconstitutional. This bill was also on the Governor’s list of must-have legislation to address an out-of-control crime problem in Albuquerque and rising problems statewide.

Universities support Opportunity Scholarship bill
Word from the administrations of the state’s higher ed institutions, including ENMU Chancellor Patrice Caldwell is that they are supportive of a plan to make college tuition free for all New Mexicans. Caldwell says the structure of the bill is more flexible than the current Lottery Scholarship.