Legislative Roundup
SFNM
Bad for box office: Thanks to the pandemic, 2020 was not a good year for movie theaters. Most shut down completely nearly a year ago, and the few that have found a way to keep operating have had to contend with small, socially distanced audiences; a fraction of the usual crowd. The National Association of Theater Owners has estimated up to 70 percent of small or midsize cinemas won’t survive long enough to reopen after health order restrictions are lifted.
The House Taxation and Revenue Committee discussed the issue Wednesday when Rep. Rebecca Dow (R-Truth or Consequences), introduced House Bill 350, which would give cinema owners a gross receipts tax break to help them survive.
The problem, some lawmakers on the committee argued, is that time is running out on this year’s session.
House Speaker Brian Egolf, (D-Santa Fe), asked why the legislation was coming “after the 11th hour … we have no room to do this.” He said he believed House Bill 11, which offers up to $200 million in grants to small businesses devastated by the pandemic, could help some theater operators.
The committee voted 10-2 to table the bill.
Rep. James Strickler, (R-Farmington), was one of two lawmakers on the committee to vote against tabling it. “It’s just not right,” he said of the pandemic’s punch to the theaters. “We love going to the movies.”
Bill to curb governor’s power languishes: In a party-line vote, the Senate rejected an effort to consider as the first order of business Wednesday a bill that seeks to curb the governor’s authority over emergency orders.
Senate Bill 74, which would give lawmakers more say over public health orders and emergency declarations, has languished on the Senate agenda for three weeks. The sponsor, Sen. Greg Baca, (R-Belen), asked the chamber to debate the measure.
“The question for this body is, will we cede power?” he said. “We were elected to represent our people and to give an opinion for them so that their ideas can be contemplated here. If we cannot debate those ideas, we are in fact impotent. We have ceded power to another branch of government when this is the true branch of government.”
Several Republicans spoke in support of debating the bill. “No other bill has sat on the calendar for that long,” Sen. Craig Brandt said, (R-Rio Rancho).
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has said she would veto such legislation, raising questions about the value of debating it.
“Do you really think it’s worth taking the time of this body to debate at length a measure we know is dead on arrival?” asked Sen. Jerry Ortiz y Pino, (D-Albuquerque), who said he supported the measure.
Baca released a statement later in the day criticizing the move.
“By rejecting this legislation, Senate Democrats are telling New Mexicans that we have a government of the elite, not a government of the people.”
Senate passes anti-trapping ‘Roxy’s Law’: The Senate passed a bill late Tuesday that would outlaw the use of traps, snares and wildlife poison on public land in New Mexico.
Senate Bill 32, has generated stiff opposition from the livestock industry and outfitters and guides but support from animal advocates and environmentalists. The measure has become known as Roxy’s Law, named after an 8-year-old dog that was caught and killed by a neck snare at Santa Cruz Lake in 2018.
The bill, which establishes misdemeanor penalties for violations of the anti-trapping measure, includes exceptions, such as for ecosystem management and religious and ceremonial purposes.
Sen. Cliff Pirtle, (R-Roswell), a dairy farmer, pushed unsuccessfully for an amendment to exempt “inaccessible” public land, or land that is landlocked by private property.
Democrats rejected the proposal.
“Public land is public land,” Sen. Majorty Leader Peter Wirth said, (D-Santa Fe). Wirth added such an amendment would “create an incredibly challenging checkerboard situation and enforcement issue.”
Play ball: As more New Mexico counties hit the green or turquoise rankings in the state’s color-coded guide to COVID-19 restrictions, one Republican lawmaker wants the state to let kids get back to playing ball and other sports. Sen. Cliff Pirtle, (R-Roswell), sent a letter to Dr. Tracie Collins, the state’s new Secretary of Health, asking her to remove prohibitions on youth sport activities.
“The prohibition on youth games has now been in effect since the spring of 2020, and without a modification, young children and families will lose another season,” Pirtle wrote. “As a father, I know that my children need sports for both their physical and mental health. Other states have found a way to safely return youth to competitive play and it is time that New Mexico does the same.”
Quote of the day: “Baloney.” —Sen. Stuart Ingle, (R-Portales), retorted when Lt. Gov. Howie Morales, who presides over the Senate, asked Ingle to at least cover his mouth with his face mask because there were people standing behind him in the chamber. Ingle, who regularly pulls his face mask beneath his nose, pulled his face mask beneath his mouth while speaking, saying it bothered him and that there wasn’t anyone around him, anyway.