Roosevelt County Chamber’s
Legislative Report
Jan. 23, 2018

by Karl Terry

Nursing bill starts things fast
With a Friday deadline, both Houses and the Governor moved quickly on SB 1 the Nurse Licensure Compact. The legislation allows for continued participation in a compact with other states in the region that share licensure requirements. With nursing recruitment seen as critical in the state many said this was akin to an emergency if not passed. Experts say the compact is especially helpful for rural health care institutions. Our guess is that this area will benefit greatly from the measure with our proximity to the Lubbock and Amarillo markets.

Then things slowed down
We were in the bank here in Portales early Friday afternoon when Sen. Stuart Ingle marched into the building.  When asked why he wasn’t in Santa Fe he reminded us that the first weekend they always adjourn on Thursday.  We’re not sure if he was in the bank to cash his first per diem check or not but the legislature also made quick work of the feed bill that provides them money to operate.  Stuart promised to get right back to work

Budget bill idling
The budget bill is currently idling in the House Appropriations and Finance Committee awaiting a firm revenue report on Wednesday. Preliminary estimates place new money at $330 million. The budget is the main duty of the legislature in a 30-day session so look for things to start to heat up again tomorrow when both Houses are back in session and more is known about how much is available to spend.

Keep us informed
Let us know what issues or specific bills you’re interested in tracking and we’ll try to keep you informed. The Chamber leadership along with our county and city officials will be in Santa Fe next Monday for the Portales/Clovis Legislative Appreciation dinner. We’ll let you know how that goes and what our area lawmakers have to say next Tuesday.

Legislative website
To track a bill easily or follow a livestream of sessions and major committee meetings go to the NM Legislature’s website by following this link.  https://nmlegis.gov/