Tuesday, March 14, 2023 Roosevelt County Chamber of Commerce
Paid Family Medical Leave bill clears Senate, heads to House
A bill that would have raised payroll taxes for both employees and employers and provide for up to three months of paid leave for all New Mexico employees was tabled in the House Commerce and Economic Development Committee.

After several hours of debate on Friday the committee rolled the bill to the next meeting without a decision. Bernalillo County Democrat Marian Matthews expressed reservations as that session came to a close but said she was willing to work toward a compromise, prompting the decision to postpone a vote.

A full weekend of backroom dealing failed to allay her fears and on Monday she joined fellow Democrat Patricia Lundstrom along with Republicans in tabling the SB-11 6-5. While Democrats vowed to keep trying to get this act passed that will almost certainly have to wait another year or two.
Further ballooned budget passes Senate, heads back to House
The Senate approved version of the bill leaves the cost at a record $9.6 billion. Prior to the session the Governor’s and Legislative Finance Committee’s budgets were calling for a 12 percent increase over the previous year, this level would bring that increase to 14 percent. New chairman of the Legislative Finance Committee George Munoz D-Gallup warned that the legislature had increased recurring expenditures by 30 percent over the last 3 years and that level was unsustainable.

After the Senate Finance Committee passed the bill Sunday they took the almost unprecedented move of pulling the bill back from the floor for more work, a move that Republicans say smacked of backroom dealing, possibly with a displeased Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham.

“We shouldn’t be putting this stuff in here without running it through the process, letting every legislator in the House vote for it before we just stick it in the … budget as a personal piggybank,” said Sen. Pat Woods, R-Broadview.
Omnibus tax bill passes House
In a hurry-up move to pass a hefty omnibus tax bill the House fast tracked HB 547 through committee last week and passed it along mostly party lines Sunday with Republicans voting no. The bill would provide $500 rebates for individuals and $1,000 for couples but that’s about all that Republicans and business groups liked about the amalgamation of tax measures. The bill contains income tax restructuring, increased gas taxes and more.
Voter rights bill sent to Governor’s desk
A bill to make substantial changes to election laws passed the Senate and changes were approved by the House, sending it to the Governor’s desk this week. HB-4 would make voter registration automatic when doing business at the DMV, it would restore felon voting rights immediately on release, make election day a state holiday, provide more drop-off boxes and maintain a permanent absentee list, among other measures.