At a vigil Monday outside the Roundhouse for New Mexico homicide victims, Tiara Baca, 10, left, and her aunt, Carolina Flores, hold a banner for family member Leroy Salazar, killed in 2021. Photo by Luis Sánchez Saturno/SFNM
Legislative Roundup
The Santa Fe New Mexican
Cyber protection for schools: Members of the House Education Committee unanimously voted in favor of a bill allocating $45 million to develop a cybersecurity plan for the state’s public schools.
The bill would dole out the money over a three-year period and require the state Department of Information Technology to oversee the plan. The measure follows a cyberattack last month on Albuquerque Public Schools that led to a district shutdown.
According to House Bill 112, the cybersecurity program would include “cybersecurity insurance support, cybersecurity planning and project management, development of a response and recovery plan and quarterly reviews, hardening of cyber-environment infrastructure, operations, processes and systems, monitoring network activity and training for employees and students”.
The bill next goes to the House Appropriations and Finance Committee.
Affordable housing: The New Mexico Housing Trust Fund would have a dedicated revenue source under a bill the Senate approved 37-3.
Senate Bill 134, sponsored by Sen. Nancy Rodriguez, D-Santa Fe, allocates 2.5 percent of the state’s severance tax bonding capacity to the fund.
The fund would draw more than $24 million annually, starting in fiscal year 2024, according to a fiscal impact report.
Administered by the New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority, the fund is used to build, rehabilitate and weatherize affordable homes for low- to moderate-income New Mexicans.
Rodriguez said the fund was established by the Legislature in 2005 to address a lack of affordable housing but has had not had recurring funding.
“The result is that you can’t depend on nonrecurring funds when you’re going to build affordable housing and provide for programs for affordable housing and homelessness,” she said.
Sen. Jeff Steinborn, D-Las Cruces, called the legislation a “historic bill”.
“This is one of those bills that you dream that someday you could ultimately have a solution this big, that would be this sweeping, that would rise to the level of the need of the problem, and this really is a huge problem,” he said.
Propane access: A bill designed to ensure New Mexicans have timely access to propane, particularly during winter months, passed the Senate 32-5.
Senate Bill 141 would give the Liquefied Petroleum and Compressed Gas Bureau of the state’s Construction Industries Division the authority to require propane companies to deliver the product to their customers within 24 hours during an emergency or allow another company to make the delivery.
The sponsor, Sen. Leo Jaramillo, D-Española, said the legislation was born out of a problem Northern New Mexico residents encountered with a Colorado propane company that claimed it didn’t have enough drivers to deliver propane to its customers.
“Temperatures had dipped below freezing, and we had a number of residents who didn’t have enough propane to keep them warm,” he told his colleagues. “When tanks are leased, they can’t get their tanks filled by a competing gas company.”
Sen. Antoinette Sedillo Lopez, D-Albuquerque, said the legislation will “literally save lives”.
Moment of silence: The Senate stood for a moment of silence for U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján, who recently suffered a stroke, and Lt. Gov. Howie Morales, who is dealing with an unspecified family emergency.
“Let’s keep all those families in our prayers for these special people,” said Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth, D-Santa Fe, who requested the moment of silent prayer and reflection.
“It’s always good to remember how fragile life can be,” Wirth said afterward. “As we kind of head into our home stretch, it’s always good to just pause and remember, put everything in perspective.”
Fentanyl testing: The House voted Saturday to approve House Bill 52, which would allow people struggling with substance abuse to test their drugs for fentanyl, a cheap but deadly opioid.
The bill would legalize possession of test strips now considered drug paraphernalia.
Rep. Tara Lujan, D-Santa Fe, and the bill’s co-sponsor, said the measure was about saving lives.
“By preventing overdoses and encouraging harm reduction, we can make it easier for people to seek assistance,” she said in a news release. “This bill would help people when they need it the most.”
Studies show people who use harm reduction materials such as test strips are more likely to seek treatment and have better long-term outcomes. HB 52 now goes to the Senate for consideration.
Quote of the day: “I always seem to be in some forgotten corner of the world.” —Rep. Roger Montoya, D-Española, after having trouble virtually tuning into an online House Health and Human Services Committee meeting Monday.