Roundhouse Roundup
The Santa Fe New Mexican
Electric vehicle tax credit: Members of the House Taxation and Revenue Committee gave criticisms and suggestions to the sponsors of House Bill 140, which would establish a tax credit for electric vehicle purchases through 2029.
Buyers would receive a $3,000 tax credit on new EVs, $1,500 for used ones and $2,000 for new hybrid cars from 2024 through 2026. The credit would decrease in the following three years because EVs prices are expected to fall; it would sunset at the end of 2029.
The bill will come back to the committee as part of this year’s tax package. Members can vote to modify it, leave it as is or remove it from the package.
Republican lawmakers, especially those whose districts are in the oil patch, voiced opposition to the tax credit. Supporters, mostly Democrats, said it’s necessary to foster the EV market in the state.
State school board: In a 36-1 vote Tuesday, the Senate passed Senate Joint Resolution 9, which proposes an amendment to the state constitution to create — or, more appropriately, re-create — a statewide school board, similar to the system in place prior to 2003. If approved by voters in November, the change would go into effect in 2027.
Introduced by Sens. Steven Neville, R-Aztec, and Bill Soules, D-Las Cruces, the bill would remove the Public Education Department from the executive branch and replace the department’s top office, currently held by Cabinet Secretary Arsenio Romero, with a 15-person board of elected and appointed officials to manage traditional public and charter schools.
“I am grateful to my Senate colleagues for their support of this proposition,” Neville said in a news release following the vote. “This is a positive step forward in ensuring continuity in education so our students are not subjected to the political instability between administrations.”
The single dissenting vote on the matter came from Sen. Shannon Pinto, D-Tohatchi, who argued on the Senate floor the proposed state school board — which is required only to include one tribal representative — would not provide Native communities adequate consultation.
“Why are we trying to move backwards, when really, we’re trying to be first and trying to be forward-thinking? The call of our students is that they still need more,” Pinto said.
Next, SJR 9 will head to the House. The change would require approval from voters in November to go into effect.
Anti-discrimination bill dies: Members of the House Commerce and Economic Development Committee voted 6-5 against House Bill 25. It would have barred property owners from rejecting applicants seeking to rent or buy based on sources of income.
Owners would be allowed to turn down applicants for insufficient income but couldn’t reject them out of hand because the source of income is not to the owners’ liking, such as the Section 8 housing program.
Two Democratic lawmakers joined Republicans in voting down the bill. One concern expressed is it would be unfairly burdensome on landlords who have a right to decide if an income source would be stable.
Bosque bill OK’d: Members of the Senate Conservation Committee voted 8-0 to approve Senate Bill 160, which would appropriate $20 million in one-time funds to the Local Government Division of the state Department of Finance and Administration to restore Rio Grande Valley State Park in Albuquerque.
Among other benefits, the funds would be used to clean up the bosque area — removing the decades-old jetty jacks put in place to protect the banks, eliminating hazardous fuels that pose a fire risk and ridding the area of some of the non-native species, like Siberian elms, said Sen. Moe Maestas, D-Albuquerque.
SB 160 nexts moves to the Senate Finance Committee for consideration.
PTSD bill moves forward: Members of the House Labor, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee unanimously voted 10-0 to approve House Bill 240, which funnels $2 million to the state Department of Veterans’ Services to help it contract with a post traumatic stress disorder therapy program for military veterans, law enforcement officers and first responders.
Five House Republicans sponsored the bill, which now moves to the House Appropriations and Finance Committee.
What’s in a semiquincentennial? Legislation to recognize the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence secured a unanimous “do pass” recommendation from the Senate Indian, Rural and Cultural Affairs Committee after an impassioned presentation by sponsor Sen. Bill Sharer, R-Farmington.
Senate Bill 106 would allocate $250,000 and create a “semiquincentennial commission” to plan and carry out public commemorations July 4, 2026.
“This document started a nation which is not perfect now and was not perfect then,” Sharer said. “But it lit fires of liberty that almost no one in all of human history or on any continent had ever received before — liberty which was unknown throughout history.”
Film studio at NNMC: The House floor was extra star-studded Tuesday, as lawmakers recognized actors Esai Morales and Julio Macias, film producer Jolene Rodriguez and director and producer Ruben Islas.
The actors and producers have committed to offering educational and career opportunities to Northern New Mexico College students while creating films in the region.
Their work will be part of a broader effort to revitalize Northern’s El Rito campus, which college President Hector Balderas planned to revamp as a student and film crew housing facility.
“The more film we have in the north, the better it is for our constituents,” Rep. Susan Herrera, D-Embudo said.
Quote of the day: “The only constant in this world, madam chair, is freedom and baseball.” —Sen. Moe Maestas, D-Albuquerque, during a particularly patriotic meeting of the Senate Indian, Rural and Cultural Affairs Committee. The agenda included a bill to honor the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence and another to provide funding to broadcast Farmington’s Connie Mack World Series. The phrases “apple pie” and “God bless America” were also uttered.
