Roundhouse Roundup
The Santa Fe New Mexican

Gun bills head to House floor: Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee said Wednesday a bill that would raise the minimum age to purchase certain types of guns to 21 might not pass constitutional muster.

“Age restrictions on young adults have been found unconstitutional,” Rep. Andrea Reeb, R-Clovis said. She noted people younger than 21 can serve in the military and become certified law enforcement officers. And they can vote, added Rep. Bill Rehm, R-Albuquerque.

An amended version of House Bill 127 was one of a pair of high-profile gun control measures the committee advanced to the House floor late Wednesday in votes that fell along party lines, with Republicans voting no.

HB 127 would prohibit the purchase and possession of automatic and semiautomatic firearms and large-capacity ammunition feeding devices for anyone under 21. It would allow younger adults to use such weapons while hunting and target shooting and exempts certified police officers, security guards and members of the military.

The second bill, a substitute for House Bill 137, would prohibit gas-operated semiautomatic firearms and magazines that hold more than 10 rounds. It would ban some of the same guns covered by assault weapons bans that have passed in other states, although it uses different criteria to define which guns would be prohibited. People who currently own such guns would be grandfathered in, with some restrictions.

Cervantes trying again to raise judges’ pay: Sen. Joe Cervantes, D-Las Cruces, is hoping the third time is the charm.

Cervantes is once again spearheading a bill that would increase the salaries of New Mexico Supreme Court justices to $232,600 a year, making them equivalent to the salary of federal District Court judges. The justices currently earn about $191,500 annually.

Senate Bill 70 would also increase salaries for Court of Appeals and District Court judges “because all judicial salaries follow a formula based on the salary paid to Supreme Court justices,” according to a fiscal impact report. It would make a $6.1 million appropriation to the Administrative Office of the Courts to cover the salary increases.

“This is the third year in a row where I expect this bill to pass,” Cervantes said after the Senate Finance Committee endorsed his bill. “It’s passed almost unanimously in both chambers repeatedly. The governor has vetoed it twice, and I’m optimistic this will be the year that she can join with us to attract more experienced lawyers to the bench. That’s really what this boils down to, is the salaries that we pay judges now are far eclipsed by what attorneys can make in private practice.”

Fossil fuel bill advances: The House Judiciary Committee voted 7-4 along party lines Wednesday in favor of a bill that would make the most significant changes in decades to the 1935 Oil and Gas Act. 

House Bill 133, which will now advance to the House floor, would raise drillers’ bonding rates for insurance on wells, remove caps on penalties for rule breakers, give the state more authority to intervene on oil field sales, particularly when large companies sell lower-producing wells to small operators who are more likely to go out of business and abandon the wells. 

Republicans bashed the bill as onerous, saying it would drive smaller companies out of business or to another state. Democrats insist it would add much-needed updates to the nearly 90-year-old law. 

Environmentalists and community advocates have expressed disappointment that a provision was removed from the original version requiring oil wells be set back 2,250 feet from schools, home and businesses and as much as 660 feet from water bodies.  

School board training passes Senate: Senate Bill 137, a proposal to specify the number of hours and subject matter for school board member training, passed the Senate Thursday afternoon. 

The bill’s sponsor, Senate President Pro Tem Mimi Stewart, D-Albuquerque, said it would mandate training hours for school board members; list board members who have not completed training requirements on public websites; require campaign finance reporting for any candidate spending more than $1,000 on their bid for school board; and bar school boards from firing a superintendent without cause for 60 days following their ascension to the board. 

“These individuals are being charged with the largest percentage of our budget,” said Sen. Roberto “Bobby” Gonzales, D-Rancho de Taos. “It is only right and it’s only in the best interest to have the best kind of information for the decisions that they make.”

Some Republicans framed the bill as an infringement on local decision making. 

“That’s just Santa Fe pulling the power out of the people’s hands once again,” Senate Minority Leader Greg Baca, R-Belen said.

Hooray for Santa Fe: The state House of Representatives took a few minutes Thursday to recognize the city of Santa Fe, “the greatest place in the United States and on earth.”

“We are in the nation’s oldest state capital, with a history that spans centuries, and today embodies and champions our New Mexico history and culture as well,” said Rep. Reena Szczepanski, D-Santa Fe, who sponsored House Memorial 36, marking City of Santa Fe Day, along with the four other House members who represent the city.

House Speaker Javier Martínez, D-Albuquerque, thanked Santa Fe’s residents “for welcoming us every year with open arms,” and the resolution notes the city’s residents “work hard to make each legislator’s experience in Santa Fe an enjoyable one by offering access to various city facilities and services.”

Mayor Alan Webber was on hand for Thursday’s vote, as was most of the City Council. The memorial says the city “has made outstanding progress in the last year,” pointing to accomplishments such as the opening of the Santa Fe Teen Center and the passage in November of an excise tax on the sale of high-end homes. The memorial also lists off some of the accomplishments of the city’s public works staff, noting that they have filled 9,488 potholes in the past year and a half.

Quote of the day: “I hope you stick around for some carne adovada. It is the best.” —House Speaker Javier Martínez, D-Albuquerque, to actress Jennifer Garner. Garner was visiting the New Mexico Legislature Thursday as part of her work with the charity Save the Children.