Nina Klimenko, center, alongside a group of National Dance Institute of New Mexico dancers, wave their arms in the air while practicing their routine on the House floor before they performed for the House of Representatives and Senate at the state Capitol Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025. Photo by Gabriela Campos/The New Mexican
The Santa Fe New Mexican:
Criminal competency bill moves forward: House Bill 4, a piece of legislation aimed at reforming the state’s system for criminal commitment, earned initial approval from the House Consumer and Public Affairs Committee in a unanimous vote Tuesday night.
Sponsor Rep. Christine Chandler, D-Los Alamos, said the proposal would expand the types of crimes that could result in criminal commitment in addition to establishing treatment options for lower-level offenders.
The bill garnered approval from Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham during a news conference Tuesday morning. Public safety officials and local leaders backed the bill during the committee meeting, too.
“As a social worker, I know that jails don’t disappear our social problems — they disappear people — and that our overreliance on the carceral system to attempt to address many of these challenges is expensive and has never yielded the safety we all desire for our communities, ” Las Cruces City Councilor Johana Bencomo told the committee.
Even the Republican members who spent much of the afternoon serving as committee contrarians got on board.
“I think that this is going in the right direction, and I think it could help with the crime crisis that we have in the state,” said Rep. John Block, R-Alamogordo.
Though some commenters noted this version of the bill is an improvement over a proposal with a similar objective that died during a failed summertime special session, reservations remained. Jim Jackson with Disability Rights New Mexico told lawmakers the bill is still “a little bit out of balance.”
“We’ll work on that,” Jackson said.
Path grows clearer for ‘Clear Horizons’ bill: Senate Bill 4, a proposal to set pollution reduction targets to meet Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050, narrowly secured approval from the Senate Conservation Committee in a 5-4 vote Tuesday.
Sponsored by Senate President Pro Tem Mimi Stewart, D-Albuquerque, the “Clear Horizons Act” would require the state meet a 45% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, a 75% reduction by 2040 and a 100% reduction by 2050, using the state’s 2005 emissions — which totaled nearly 100 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent — as a yardstick.
The bill garnered support from Environment Department Cabinet Secretary James Kenney and Travis Kellerman, a senior climate policy analyst for Lujan Grisham, in addition to climate advocates.
“We’re making good progress, but we’ve got to do more. Our state has all the solutions, all the minds, all the technology, all the innovation, but this innovation doesn’t come without clear instructions from you,” Camilla Feibelman, director of the Sierra Club Rio Grande Chapter, told the committee.
Proponents of business, agriculture and oil and gas raised worries the bill’s ambitious goals would stymie their industries. Sen. Larry Scott, R-Hobbs, argued limiting emissions would limit economic prosperity. The result, he said, would take New Mexico “further down the road to poverty in a state that is already represented as a poor state.”
The committee’s vote was largely split down the party line with one exception: Sen. Joe Cervantes, D-Las Cruces. Cervantes, an attorney, voted against the bill, arguing it was too ambiguous and likely to result in litigation.
“I assure you that I can predict the future of this bill and this law, if it becomes law, which is litigation, years of litigation. And we shouldn’t be blind to that,” Cervantes said during the meeting.
Competing to combat hazing: Two pending bills — Senate Bills 10 and 148 — are vying to curb hazing in New Mexico schools.
The bills, which come amid high-profile incidents in both K-12 schools and higher education institutions in New Mexico, would create different criminal penalties for hazing.
Under Senate Bill 10, sponsored by Sen. Harold Pope and Rep. Pamelya Herndon, both D-Albuquerque, hazing and failing to report incidents of it would be misdemeanors. Under Senate Bill 148, sponsored by Sen. Moe Maestas, D-Albuquerque, the level of the crime would escalate based on the harm done, starting with a misdemeanor charge and ending with a second-degree felony if the hazing results in death.
SB 10 is scheduled to go before the Senate Education Committee Wednesday morning. SB 148 is in the Senate Judiciary Committee but had not yet been scheduled for a hearing as of Tuesday afternoon.
Take me out to the opera … or the symphony … or a flamenco show: Get your tickets! Legally.
The House Consumer and Public Affairs Committee on Tuesday offered initial approval to House Bill 26, a proposal to include events put on by government agencies and nonprofit organizations in the misdemeanor definition of scalping.
A similar provision against profiting from reselling tickets already applies to college athletic events.
“Our local arts programs are very important, not just for our culture and our history, but also as a revenue generator,” said the bill’s sponsor Rep. Kathleen Cates, D-Rio Rancho.
Stansbury, Vasquez to address lawmakers: Two members of New Mexico’s all-Democratic congressional delegation are coming to Santa Fe on Thursday.
U.S. Reps. Melanie Stansbury and Gabe Vasquez will be at the Roundhouse, where they are scheduled to address a joint session of the Legislature.
Protections for librarians: After an hourslong discussion, the House Consumer and Public Affairs Committee on Tuesday gave an initial green-light to House Bill 27.
The bill would require compliance with the American Library Association’s Library Bill of Rights, which prohibits banning books due to partisan disapproval or based on authors’ identities or views.
Christmas in August: A group of House Democratic and Republicans are setting aside their differences for a common goal: Declaring August as “New Mexico Red and Green Chile Month.”
House Bill 172 — sponsored by Reps. Rebecca Dow, R-Truth or Consequences; Nathan Small, D-Las Cruces; Doreen Gallegos, D-Las Cruces; Jenifer Jones, R-Deming; and Cathrynn Brown, R-Carlsbad — was introduced on the House Floor Tuesday to officially honor the popular chile-roasting month.
Workers’ comp bill clears committee: A bill raising the attorneys’ fees that can be collected in workers’ compensation cases and the amount of money employers can required to pay for discovery moved forward Tuesday.
House Bill 66, which raises the cap on attorneys’ fees from $22,500 to $30,000 and on employers’ costs of discovery from $3,000 to $6,000, moved out of the House Labor, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee on a 7-4 vote. It heads next to the House Judiciary Committee.
The bill is being sponsored by Rep. Pamelya Herndon, D-Albuquerque. In a statement, Santa Fe attorney Peter White said the changes are much needed.
“Current state limits make it financially unsustainable for lawyers to take on these cases, especially when going up against big insurance companies that deny, delay, and drag out claims,” White said. “This crisis leaves workers like [White’s clinet] David Staszewski, who suffered devastating injuries over a decade ago, without the representation they need to navigate the complex workers’ compensation system.”
Quote of the day: “This is a set-up.” — Sen. Nicole Tobiassen, R-Albuquerque, after learning she is responsible for organizing a celebration since a piece of legislation she is sponsoring ended up as Senate Bill 100.