Feb. 5, 2025
Trade Ports Bill stalled in committee
Democrat sponsors of HB19, which would create Trade Ports in New Mexico called a press conference Wednesday to try and rally support for the bill which had already stalled in committee. Sponsor of the bill, Rep. Patty Lundstrom said the idea would be for the state to partner with private enterprise to create a mechanism to fund a grant program for what she says are essentially industrial parks. Her idea is to take advantage of interstate highways and railroads that contribute significantly to the nation’s trade infrastructure The rub before the Taxation and Revenue tabled the idea because of the amount of revenue it proposed to draw from other funds. It proposes 4% of motor vehicle excise tax until 2035 and 1% from gross receipts tax. That would draw $12 million annually from motor vehicle tax and $55.4 million from GRT
Reeb’s crime bills see committee
Rep. Andrea Reeb posted on her social media Tuesday that Wednesday would be a big day for some of her most important crime bills as they saw their first committees.HB 106 supports law enforcement in obtaining search warrants for suspects they believe are driving under the influence of meth, cocaine, fentanyl, heroin and opioids. “We will see if Democrats are serious about protecting New Mexicans,” she wrote. She also expects a bill that would include law enforcement as victims for certain crimes against them so that they have the same rights as other victims of crime, to be notified of hearings and releases and have input. She also mentioned that she has a bill that will increase the penalty for shooting at and hitting a police officer. Currently the penalty for just shooting at an officer is a second degree felony, while shooting and hitting a police officer is only a third degree felony.Yeah, sounds like we need to clean that up Andi! She urged folks to “Back the Blue” at the legislature this year.
Behavioral health proposals debated in Senate
Chalk up a mark for bipartisanship where behavioral health is concerned. This week Senate Floor Leaders, Peter Wirth D, Santa Fe and Bill Sharer R. Farmington stood together in committee to introduce one of three bills in plans to strengthen New Mexico’s behavioral health systems. Clovis Mayor Mike Morris told the committee that communities in eastern New Mexico are moving forward with a new crisis triage center The facility would provide temporary beds for individuals dealing with mental illness, or substance abuse issues. He said that such individuals now end up in emergency rooms or jails. “That obviously is not as good as we think we can do,” said Morris.
HB 35 dealing with wells near schools passes first committee
A bill that would ban new oil and gas operations within a mile of a school passed the House Energy and Natural Resources Committee on a 7-4 party line vote with all Republicans voting against it. It has two more committees to clear and even Democrats on the initial hearing said they hoped changes would be made as future committees heard the bill.
Christmas moving to August
After making roasting chile the official state aroma two years ago, lawmakers are now considering a bill to declare August “New Mexico Red or Green Month.” In New Mexico getting both red and green chile on your Mexican plate is called “Christmas.” Ergo, since most of the chile in New Mexico is harvested in August Christmas may be coming early. The measure sailed through it’s first committee at a blistering pace.
See you in Santa Fe
Don’t forget, if you reserved tickets for the Clovis/Portales Legislative Appreciation Dinner, we’ll see you at 6 p.m. at Hotel Santa Fe on Monday.
