Roosevelt County Chamber’s
Legislative Report
Jan. 22, 2021
by Karl Terry
Like a Herd of Turtles
And they’re off — like the proverbial herd of turtles. People have asked several times this week what the New Mexico Legislature is up to and the answer I’ve been giving is, not too much, at least that the public can see with the Capitol closed to the public. Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham didn’t make a State of the State address at the opening, her office said she would release it on video later. Bills were assigned to committees and the “Feed Bill” which provides money for operating the 60-day session was passed with an extra $2 million for security in the wake of the U.S. Capitol incidents of Jan. 6 that brought threats to every state capitol. The House then adjourned until next week and the Senate said, “We’ll see you in February.” Some organizational committee meetings are happening today online but no testimony is expected.
A Brave New World Online
As this session gets underway it is with lots of questions about what will be done online and how the public will be included in the process. Normally the public can attend and testify at committee meetings and the drama of a packed room with its occupants displaying arms folded across their chest will be lost and if we’re lucky maybe it will be replaced with the Brady Bunch,, Hollywood Squares look. Apparently someone called a Zoom Master will help determine who gets to testify online and how long and other protocols.. We can’t wait to see this in action. I guess the good part is we can all watch the circus from the comfort of our desk.
Proposed Budgets
With the loss of the fiscally conservative Democrat Sen. John Arthur Smith the normally more conservative Legislative Finance Committee (LFC) proposed budget was actually a little more liberal than the executive proposal. The Governor has proposed a $7.3 billion budget up 3.3% over last year’s approved budget,, while LFC’s is a 4% increase at $7.36 billion. Those growing budget came about after oil and gas prices rebounded slightly from mid-summer estimates that predicted budgets would be slashed.
Chamber Announces Legislative Priorities
Our board considered items to include on its Legislative Priorities list with several measures and initiatives we’ll support and a few others we’ll oppose. The list is a general one and by no means is all we’ll be concerned about. Often we are alerted by our members and local leaders and organizations to things that come up during the session and we urge you to continue to do that. We’ll keep everyone informed weekly as we get set to send this report out every Tuesday with the latest news. We pledge to keep it informative and easy to read.
To view/print the Chamber’s Legislative Priorities CLICK HERE
