Tax Compromise Keeps Earned Income Credit, Axes Oil And Gas Hike
Rep. Derrick Lente, D-Sandia Pueblo
Chair
House Taxation and Revenue Committee
By Esteban Candelaria and Nathan Brown
The Santa Fe New Mexican
A bipartisan committee of House members and senators struck a deal late Friday night to preserve an expanded tax credit for working New Mexicans while nixing a tax hike on oil and gas producers.
The conference committee of three lawmakers from each chamber voted 5-1 around 9:30 p.m. to approve the agreement, with Rep. Mark Duncan, R-Kirtland, opposed. The revised version of House Bill 14 needs to pass the full House and Senate before the Legislature adjourns Read More
NM ‘Wasting Money’ With Billions In Unspent Capital Outlay
Sen. George Muñoz, D-Gallup
Chair
Senate Finance Committee
By Daniel J. Chacón and Esteban Candelaria
The Santa Fe New Mexican
Highly coveted capital outlay is proving to be a double-edged sword for the New Mexico Legislature.
While the so-called pork barrel spending allows lawmakers to bring the bacon home to their districts, a growing backlog of projects and balances of unspent capital outlay expected to exceed $6 billion are turning into a major headache.
Sen. George Muñoz, D-Gallup, chair of the powerful Senate Finance Committee, reiterated his frustrations with the backlog Thursday, Read More
Bill Creating More Open Primary Elections In New Mexico Heads To Governor’s Desk After Narrow House Victory
Rep. Cristina Parajón, D-Albuquerque
By DANIEL J. CHACÓN
The Santa Fe New Mexican
A bill that would allow some 330,000 unaffiliated voters in New Mexico to participate in primary elections without changing their voter registration to a major party is one step away from becoming law.
Senate Bill 16 headed to the governor’s desk Friday after squeaking by the House of Representatives on a 36-33 vote.
Rep. Cristina Parajón, D-Albuquerque, said the measure seeks to increase voter turnout in the state’s primary elections. Independent voters, or those who decline to state a party affiliation, would Read More
Bug Conservation Provision In New Mexico Game And Fish Department Bill Beelines Into Law
The Roundhouse in Santa Fe. Post file photo
By ALAINA MENCINGER
The Santa Fe New Mexican
Every time an inventory of insects and other arthropods is conducted in New Mexico, new species are discovered.
The state, home to thousands of native pollinator species, is a “biodiversity hot spot” in North America, especially for insects and other arthropods, said David Lightfoot, the senior collection manager for the Division of Arthropods at the Museum of Southwestern Biology.
It keeps Lightfoot busy.
“We’re still kind of the Wild West when it comes to understanding our insects in the state, which Read More
Interstate Compacts To Help Ease New Mexico’s Health Care Worker Shortage Are Stuck In Committees
The Roundhouse in Santa Fe. Post file photo
By MARGARET Ó’HARA
The Santa Fe New Mexican
New Mexico is very close to joining all 10 major medical provider compacts.
Lawmakers have proposed several bills this session to join those compacts, allowing a freer exchange of working doctors, audiologists and speech language pathologists, occupational and physical therapists, counselors, psychologists, physician assistants, social workers and emergency medical technicians between New Mexico and other states.
The biggest one — a compact that would significantly ease the process for doctors Read More
New Mexico State Land Office Named A National Top Workplace By USA Today For Second Year In A Row
Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard, holding award, and her staff gather for a group photo to celebrate being named a Top Workplaces by USA Today for the second year in a row. Courtesy/NMSLO
NMSLO News:
SANTA FE — USA Today has announced that the New Mexico State Land Office (NMSLO) has won a Top Workplaces USA award for midsize organizations (with between 150-499 employees) for the second year in a row. more than 2,220 organizations participated in anonymous employee surveys as part of the national challenge.
The State Land Office previously won a 2023 and 2024 Woman-Led Organizations Read More
Governor Kills Key Provision In Game And Fish Overhaul — And Threatens Full Veto If It Doesn’t Stick
Roundhouse in Santa Fe. Post file photo
By Alaina Mencinger
The Santa Fe New Mexican
Supporters of a bipartisan bill to overhaul the New Mexico Game and Fish Department and State Game Commission questioned on Thursday the governor’s power to line-item veto a key provision, but they chose to tread carefully.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed the majority of Senate Bill 5, which gives the agencies a broader mission to manage wildlife as well as new names: the Department of Wildlife and the Wildlife Commission.
But she struck a section of the bill creating a new removal process for Wildlife Read More
House OKs Changes To State Budget, Transportation Spending — But Not Tax Package
By Margaret O’Hara
The Santa Fe New Mexican
The Senate went two-for-three Thursday.
Members of the House of Representatives concurred with the Senate’s changes to House Bill 2, the $10.8 billion spending plan for fiscal year 2026, and House Bill 3, an appropriation to the New Mexico Department of Transportation. Both bills will now head to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s desk.
However, the House voted not to concur with the Senate’s changes to House Bill 14, a tax package that combined an Earned Income Tax Credit for low- and middle-income New Mexicans with an oil Read More
Bill To Attract Businesses And Jobs To New Mexico Headed To Governor’s Desk
NMDP News:
SANTA FE — Thursday, the House of Representatives passed legislation to identify and prepare locations for business development in New Mexico by a vote of X-X.
Senate Bill 169 would create the Site Readiness Fund to identify ideal business locations and assist with pre-development. This would include surveying, assessing, permitting, and landscaping, in order to give businesses eager to set up shop or expand in New Mexican communities the ability to do so at a construction-ready location.
“Construction-ready locations that are prepped and ready for businesses to easily set Read More
Bill To Increase Top Oil And Gas Royalty Rate On NM State Lands Passes House Floor, Heads To Governor’s Desk
NMSLO News:
SANTA FE — Legislation pushed by New Mexico Commissioner of Public Lands Stephanie Garcia Richard to increase the top royalty rate offered for new oil and gas development on the best state lands passed a floor vote in the House of Representatives today and now heads to the governor’s desk.
Senate Bill 23, sponsored by Sen. George Muñoz and co-sponsored by Speaker of the House Javier Martinez, Sen. Liz Stefanics and Rep. Matthew McQueen, would increase the top oil and gas royalty rate on New Mexico state lands from 20% to 25%, bringing it in line with what is offered in Texas and on private Read More
New Mexico Legislature Unanimously Passes Turquoise Alert System To Help Locate Missing Indigenous People
NMIAD News:
SANTA FE — The New Mexico Legislature has unanimously passed Senate Bill 41, creating the state’s new Turquoise Alert system designed specifically to assist in locating missing American Indians.
The bill awaits the governor’s signature and will allow law enforcement to quickly share information about missing Indigenous individuals through various alert channels. New Mexico becomes the fourth state with a specialized alert system addressing the missing and murdered Indigenous people (MMIP) crisis.
“Too many Native American families have faced crisis and Read More
Video: Councilor David Reagor Shares Thoughts On LEDA
Los Alamos County Councilor David Reagor shares his thoughts on the County’s LEDA program during an interview this afternoon in the newsroom at the Los Alamos Daily Post. Video by Kirsten Laskey/ladailypost.com Read More
Luján Joins Push To Save Task Force Combating Threats To Election Officials
U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján
STATE News:
SANTA FE — U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) joined Senators Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, and Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and more than two dozen Democratic Senators in urging Attorney General Pam Bondi to continue the essential work of the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Election Threats Task Force, which directs the Department’s efforts to protect election officials from rising threats and acts of violence.
The Senators’ letter Read More
New Mexico Senate Floor Wrap For March 18, 2025
SENATE News:
SANTA FE — On the final Tuesday of the First Session of the 57th Legislature of New Mexico, the New Mexico Senate convened for a split session. Business discussed included:
Continuing the Professionalization and Growth of High-Quality Early Childhood Education in New Mexico
Passed by a vote of 30-0, Senate Bill 58 furthers the growth and professionalization of the state’s workforce and facilities for early childhood education programming. The bill strengthens the statutory framework for a universal high quality early childhood system by reducing administrative burden Read More
Stephanie Garcia Richard Announces Bid For Lt. Governor
Stephanie Garcia Richard speaks about her decision to run for lieutenant governor of New Mexico during an interview March 3 at the Los Alamos Daily Post. Photo by Carol A. Clark/ladailypost.com
By CAROL A. CLARK
Los Alamos Daily Post
caclark@ladailypost.com
New Mexico Commissioner of Public Lands Stephanie Garcia Richard has announced her candidacy for the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor in the 2026 election.
Garcia Richard, first elected as land commissioner in 2018 and re-elected in 2022, will reach her term limit in December 2026. If elected, she would become the only Read More
Senate OKs $10.8B Budget GOP Likens To ‘A Bloated Cow’
Minority Leader Bill Sharer R-Farmington
By DANIEL J. CHACÓN
The Santa Fe New Mexican
A $10.8 billion spending plan Democrats hailed as a “budget of opportunity” and Republicans compared to a “bloated cow” passed the Senate largely along party lines Thursday.
House Bill 2, which was revised by the Senate Finance Committee, now heads back to the House for concurrence.
The 294-page budget bill for fiscal year 2026, which begins July 1, sparked a two-hour discussion and debate that ultimately ended with a 24-16 vote. Two Democrats, Sens. Harold Pope of Albuquerque and Shannon Pinto of Tohatchi, Read More
Community Benefit Fund Passes New Mexico House Of Representatives, Awaits Governor’s Signature
STATE News:
SANTA FE – Wednesday a proactive solution that invests in New Mexico’s resilient future passed the legislature in a historic step to support a thriving and sustainable state for generations to come.
Senate Bill 48, the Community Benefit Fund now awaits the Governor’s signature. Sponsored by Senate Pro Tempore Mimi Stewart (D-Albuquerque) and House Majority Leader Reena Szczepanski (D-Santa Fe), the Community Benefit Fund represents a bold commitment to proactively investing in locally-driven projects that will strengthen communities, create good-paying jobs, and help Read More
GOP: New Mexico Democrats ‘Playing A Game Of Chicken’ With Trump On Some Bills
State Rep. John Block, R-Alamogordo, sits among his President Donald Trump campaign memorabilia in his shared office with Rep. Stephanie Lord, R-Sandia Park, at the Roundhouse Thursday, March 13, 2025. Photo by Michael G. Seamans/The New Mexican
By DANIEL J. CHACÓN
The Santa Fe New Mexican
As the sponsor of a bill that would prohibit the state from releasing driver data to help enforce federal civil immigration law, Sen. Antoinette Sedillo Lopez, D-Albuquerque, said she’s not trying to rile the Trump administration.
“I’m trying to protect our people,” said Sedillo Lopez, one of the most progressive Read More
Senate Confirms Rob Black As New Mexico Economic Development Department Secretary
Rob Black
SENATE News:
SANTA FE — The New Mexico Senate March 19 unanimously confirmed Rob Black as the cabinet secretary for the Economic Development Department.
“Sec. Black understands that expanding economic security starts with creating high-quality jobs,” Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said. “Rob is proving that his broad experience and consensus-building skills will grow our economy and expand opportunity in all corners of the state.”
Born and raised in Lovington, Black graduated from the University of New Mexico and the University of California College of the Law, San Francisco. Read More
Legislative Roundup: 3 Days Remaining In Session
Jojo Sandoval and other second grade students from Thrive Community School look up at the glass ceiling of the state Capitol building while getting a tour on Wednesday, March 19, 2025. Photo by Gabriela Campos/The New Mexican
The Santa Fe New Mexican Staff:
Senate confirms secretary in mourning: The Senate held a moment of silence Wednesday during an emotional confirmation hearing for Rob Black as Cabinet secretary for the state Economic Development Department.
“Mr. Black’s mother passed away right before he came into the confirmation hearing,” Sen. Jay Block, R-Rio Rancho, announced on Read More
