Dancers from Moving Arts Española, from left, Alani Unzueta, Maggie Ortiz, Lauren Gonzalez, perform in the Rotunda at the state Capitol Monday. Photos by Michael G. Seamans/The New Mexican
Dancers from moving Arts Española perform in the Rotunda at the state Capitol on Monday. Photos by Michael G. Seamans/The New Mexican
The Santa Fe New Mexican:
Insurance bill yanked amid opposition: A measure mandating that all motor vehicle owners carry uninsured coverage crashed and burned Monday on the Senate floor.
Sen. Katy Duhigg, D-Albuquerque, pulled Senate Bill 319 after more than an hour of discussion and debate during which lawmakers from both sides of the aisle expressed concerns it would lead to higher insurance premiums.
The Office of the Superintendent of Insurance and others said policyholders would face a “sizable increase” in premiums if the bill was signed into law, according to a fiscal impact report.
“There might be some slight increases, but frankly, the return on investment for that coverage” is worthwhile, Duhigg argued before pulling the bill.
“You might spend an extra $10, $15 a month, and what you get in return is when you are hit by an uninsured motorist and you are out of work for a month and you have massive medical bills, you are covered, you are made whole. So it is one of the best investments one could possibly make,” she said.
Others, however, warned the increase would be much higher.
“If this bill were to go through, we’re looking at about a 16% increase in people’s policy costs,” said Sen. Gabriel Ramos, a Silver City Republican who works as an insurance agent. “I called my office and asked them to run a general policy for one of my constituents, and the basic policy will end up costing the person $311.40 more per year on just one car.”
Protecting abortion providers’ information: Records that contain personal identifying or sensitive information involving the practice of a medical provider in a public institution who performs services related to abortion would be exempt from the state’s Inspection of Public Records Act under a bill the Senate passed Monday along a party-line 26-16 vote.
Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth, D-Santa Fe, who is among the sponsors of Senate Bill 57, said the measure is designed to stop the “weaponizing of IPRA” in the abortion arena.
“Over the last 10 years, a significant amount of time has been expended by [University of New Mexico Hospital] faculty and employees in responding to numerous inspection requests,” he said. “Basically, what IPRA is being used for is to target providers and puts those providers and their contacts at risk.”
Wirth said public employees who work at the Albuquerque-based hospital have had their work emails targeted, revealing identifying information that puts them and others at risk.
“Given the uncertainty and violence that’s involved in this particular area over the last number of years, this IPRA exception, I believe, is needed,” he said.
Wirth said the vast majority of requests come from out of state.
Republicans introduced two separate amendments shot down by their Democratic counterparts. One of the amendments included a provision calling for the exception not to “extend to information and aggregated data related to abortion services provided by a public body.”
“There are already exemptions for sensitive and personal information an IPRA request cannot reveal to the public, so what exactly is this bill trying to hide?” Sen. Pat Woods, R-Broadview, said in a statement after the vote. “New Mexicans rightfully deserve to know how their taxpayer dollars are being spent. This bill aims to directly contradict that.”
Bicycle bill gets green light: A bill that would allow bicyclists to treat stop signs as yield signs and pedal past red lights if the intersection is clear whizzed through its third reading Monday on the Senate floor.
Senate Bill 73 passed on a 36-2 vote with no debate or discussion. Sen. Joe Cervantes, D-Las Cruces, and Sen. Craig Brandt, R-Rio Rancho, cast the dissenting votes.
“I know that this may be a little counterintuitive for nonbicyclists, but when you are riding a bike and you come to a stop sign, under this bill, you will yield, and if there are no cars, no bikes, no pedestrians, you can keep going without a full stop,” the sponsor, Sen. Antoinette Sedillo Lopez, D-Albuquerque, said.
“This keeps your momentum going a little bit, and it avoids stress on aging ankles,” she said.
Sedillo Lopez explained bicyclists still have to come to a full stop at a red light but can proceed if there isn’t any traffic.
“Eleven states and the District of Columbia have passed this bill, and they’ve seen their bicycle fatalities dramatically decrease,” Sedillo Lopez said. “Twelve other states have this legislation pending.”
Trade ports possibly inbound: The state House signed off with a 56-4 vote on a measure creating trade port districts in New Mexico, sending the bill to the Senate.
House Bill 19, carried by nearly a dozen representatives, most of them Democrats, would allow the state to enter into partnerships with private companies to create trade ports near travel infrastructure, such as highways, railroads and airports.
The ports, essentially industrial parks optimized for distributing and processing goods, would help strengthen the economy and create new jobs, House Democrats said in a news release.
“New Mexico is missing out on incredible business opportunities that are currently passing right through our state,” Rep. Patricia “Patty” Lundstrom, D-Gallup, said in the release. “By establishing trade ports, we can make New Mexico a key player in national and international trade markets, while also boosting our economy and bringing jobs to communities across the state.”
Senate confirms IT secretary: The New Mexico Senate confirmed the appointment Monday of Manny Barreras as Cabinet secretary of the New Mexico Department of Information Technology.
“He’s bringing seamless focus to our state’s technology infrastructure, overseeing mission critical public safety communications, [which] we all know are just super critical and important, and driving cybersecurity initiatives, working with our broadband office, ensuring that they’re getting their work done, and maximizing the dollars that are coming to that area,” Sen. Michael Padilla, D-Albuquerque, said before the 27-0 vote.
“His leadership has been key in modernizing and expanding statewide technology services, all while maintaining a budget and making sure that we’re being as efficient as possible,” he added.
Barreras, who has 26 years of professional experience in sales and business development, was appointed to the post in September. He spent 19 years at Motorola Solutions Inc. before joining the administration of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham.
Quotes of the day: “It doesn’t fit anymore, but I try really hard to squeeze into this letterman jacket because you can’t hide my Sundevil pride.” — Sen. Leo Jaramillo, D-Española, in celebration of Española Day in the New Mexico Senate. Jaramillo graduated from Española Valley High School in 1995.
“Your credit card’s first.” — Sen. George Muñoz, D-Gallup, to Sen. Michael Padilla, D-Albuquerque, after Padilla asked which funding sources the state will use to account for an anticipated shortfall of federal funds.
