Legislative Roundup: 30 Days Remaining In Session
Celeste Ramos, left, Teagan Box, center, and Ewan Herron, with the May Center pet Kiara, the wolf dog in the Rotunda of the state Capitol in Santa Fe on Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025. Kiara comes from the Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary in Candy Kitchen, in Cibola County, and was at the Capitol to educate people on the organization’s mission of helping wolves. Photo by Michael G. Seamans/The New Mexican
Ella Poolaw, 17, far left, Evan Duran, 17, left center, Isabelle Tickjerhoof, 16, right center, and Jade Lovato, 17, far right, all flamenco dancers with Tierra Adentro of New Mexico, wait to perform for the Read More
House Measure Would Support Mining, Mineral Leasing Halt In Upper Pecos Watershed In Santa Fe National Forest
Bill Sponsor Rep. Anita Gonzales
By MARGARET O’HARA
The Santa Fe New Mexican
The Upper Pecos watershed attracts hikers, wildlife enthusiasts, anglers and outdoorspeople of all kinds — and for good reason, said fly fishing guide Adrian Akin.
In addition to participating in local chapters of the freshwater conservation organization Trout Unlimited, Akin leads expeditions for Santa Fe fly shop The Reel Life, estimating he brings a half-and-half mix of locals and tourists to the near-pristine upper Pecos River.
The area is special, he said. It’s resilient.
“It’s in very good condition for Read More
Los Alamos County And LANL ECA Moving Out Of Limbo
DPU Manager Philo Shelton
By KIRSTEN LASKEY
Los Alamos Daily Post
kirsten@ladailypost.com
After a period of uncertainty, the energy coordination agreement (ECA) between Los Alamos County and Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) received some assurance for its continuation through a request to extend the existing ECA for six months.
Department of Public Utilities Manager Philo Shelton reported that as of Tuesday, NNSA requested a six-month extension to the current ECA and was told a determination should be made Thursday.
“We are definitely in weekly communication with our counterparts, Read More
Transportation Board Recommends County Plans To Improve N.M. 4 Crossing And Multi-Use Trail
Los Alamos County Transportation Board weighed in on the N.M. 4 crossing and multi-use trail improvements during its Feb. 6 meeting. Photo by Kirsten Laskey/ladailypost.com
By KIRSTEN LASKEY
Los Alamos Daily Post
kirsten@ladailypost.com
Plans for the N.M. 4 crossing and multi-use trail improvements are moving forward and while those plans do not include a traffic light at either the Sherwood Boulevard or La Vista intersections, the idea to install a signal is not abandoned.
During its meeting Feb. 6, the Los Alamos County Transportation Board approved 5-1, with board member Joshua Muck Read More
Canceled: Los Alamos County Personnel Board Meeting
COUNTY News:
The Los Alamos County Personnel Board meeting scheduled for Feb. 25 has been canceled due to a lack of business to discuss. Read More
Bill To Create New Alcohol Tax Faces Industry Opposition
Three of the sponsors of House Bill 417 take questions from reporters following a House Health and Human Services Committee meeting Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025. The bill, which would impose a new 6% retail tax on all alcoholic beverages sold in New Mexico, passed the committee on a 6-4 vote. Pictured from left are Reps. Micaela Lara Cadena, D-Mesilla, Joanne Ferrary, D-Las Cruces and Cristina Parajón, D-Albuquerque. Photo by Cormac Dodd/The New Mexican
By CORMAC DODD
The Santa Fe New Mexican
Lawmakers are taking another run at driving up the cost of alcohol in New Mexico this year, with a bill to do Read More
Paid Leave Proposal Advances Despite Stiff Opposition
Hands go up in the audience as Rep. Doreen Gallegos, chair of the House Commerce and Economic Development Committee, asks who is opposed to HB11 during a long meeting of the committee Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025, which narrowly voted to advance a revamped version of the proposal for paid family and medical leave. The proposal will go next to the House floor, where a version of a paid family and medical leave bill died in 2024. Photo by Jim Weber/The New Mexican
Rep. Christine Chandler, D-Los Alamos, testifies during a long meeting of the House Commerce and Economic Development Committee Wednesday, Read More
‘Just The Appetizer’: Senators Say Expect More Crime Bills
By Esteban Candelaria
The Santa Fe New Mexican
As the halfway point of this year’s legislative session approaches, lawmakers on the Senate Judiciary Committee sought to temper criticisms that a public safety package making its way through the Roundhouse does not go far enough.
House Bill 8, which the committee took a red pen to on Wednesday, presently represents one of the largest efforts to tackle crime in New Mexico during this legislative session.
After some changes the committee voted 7-1 to advance the bill, with all but Sen. Moe Maestas, D-Albuquerque, voting for it. Maestas argued cracking Read More
Community Benefit Fund Passes Senate Finance Committee
NM LEGISLATURE News:
SANTA FE — The New Mexico Senate Finance Committee voted Wednesday to advance Senate Bills 48, the Community Benefit Fund, marking a major step toward ensuring that communities statewide have the resources to invest, adapt, and innovate in the face of a changing climate.
Sponsored by Senate Pro Tempore Mimi Stewart (D-Albuquerque), the Community Benefit Fund (CBF) is a key component of the Clear Horizons Act, providing $340 million in funding for locally driven projects that improve infrastructure, expand clean energy, and create economic opportunities across urban Read More
Legislative Roundup: 31 Days Remaining In Session
Nancy DeHerrera Crochet, right, tears up a little as her father 105-year-old Valdemar DeHerrera, the oldest survivor of the Bataan Death March, is honored by Secretary of Veterans Services Jamison Herrera during a short ceremony in the rotunda for Military and Veterans Day at the State Capital Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025. Photo by Jim Weber/The New Mexican
State Sen. Shannon Pinto reacts as Secretary of Veterans Services Jamison Herrera, right, presents her with a forgotten heroes flag during a short ceremony in the rotunda for Military and Veterans Day at the State Capital Wednesday, Feb. 19, Read More
‘Welcome Child And Family Wellness Leave’ Act Headed To House Floor
Rep. Christine Chandler -
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- Updated proposal reflects input from community stakeholders and small business owners
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Council To Hold Public Hearing On C-PACE Financing
COUNTY News:
The Los Alamos County Council will hold a public hearing 6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 25 in Council Chambers, 1000 Central Ave., to consider an ordinance establishing the Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) program. A virtual attendance option will be available via Zoom.
The proposed ordinance, presented by the Department of Public Utilities, would enable an alternative financing option for commercial property owners seeking to make energy-efficient, water-saving, or resiliency-related improvements. Interested individuals are encouraged to attend the meeting Read More
Bipartisan Legislation Introduced To Bring New Mexico Into Nine Major Interstate Compacts For Health Care Workers
Fred Nathan, Jr.
Executive Director
Think New Mexico
From Think New Mexico:
A bipartisan team of 10 legislators has introduced a package of bills to bring New Mexico into the interstate compacts for physicians, physician assistants, psychologists, counselors, dentists and dental hygienists, emergency medical personnel, audiologists and speech therapists, physical therapists, and occupational therapists. (See below for a chart listing all bill numbers and sponsors.)
Joining these interstate compacts was one of the top reforms recommended by the nonpartisan think tank Think New Read More
Canceled: County P&Z Meeting Scheduled For Feb. 26
COUNTY News:
The Los Alamos County Planning and Zoning Commission meeting scheduled for Feb. 26, has been canceled because no applications were submitted for this meeting date. Read More
Ringside Seat: MIA: Still No Legislator For One District
By MILAN SIMONICH
The Santa Fe New Mexican
New Mexico’s Legislature has been in session for a month. The 30,000 residents of House District 6 still do not have a representative.
Few believed the wheels of government would grind this slowly, but corruption is like molasses in the fuel tank.
Several politicians are to blame for leaving residents in parts of Cibola and McKinley counties without representation. The breakdown began with the man who last held the seat, the late Rep. Eliseo Alcon. Ill with liver cancer, Alcon ran for reelection and won a ninth term.
He resigned from office Nov. Read More
House Committee Halts Measure That Would Eliminate Personal Income Tax
The Roundhouse in Santa Fe. Post file photo
By Mike Easterling
The Santa Fe New Mexican
State Rep. Rod Montoya acknowledged Monday he had no illusions about the likely fate of a measure that would eliminate the personal income tax in New Mexico.
“I don’t believe anyone expected this bill to get serious consideration for this budget this year,” Montoya, R-Farmington, told fellow lawmakers on the House Taxation and Revenue Committee on Monday, referring to House Bill 275.
He and other Republican supporters said their real aim in introducing the bill was simply to initiate a discussion Read More
Bill Sets Sights On Immigration Detention Centers With Histories Of Inhumane Treatment
By Esteban Candelaria
The Santa Fe New Mexican
About 1,500 people facing deportation are being held in three New Mexico detention centers with long track records of accusations of inhumane conditions, according to New Mexico Immigrant Law Center managing attorney Sophia Genovese.
Immigration detention at those facilities is based on intergovernmental agreements between the federal government and Torrance, Cibola and Otero counties. The counties in turn hire private contractors to actually manage the detention centers. It’s an arrangement that lets the federal government Read More
Proposal To Pay Lawmakers Stalls In Key Senate Committee
Sen. Natalie Figueroa
By CORMAC DODD
The Santa Fe New Mexican
Sen. George Muñoz said he opted to seek election to the Legislature years ago because he wanted to “serve”.
“Now we are going to have people running for a paycheck, and that’s going to be a completely different scenario,” Muñoz, who chairs the influential Senate Finance Committee, said at a meeting of the committee Tuesday afternoon.
The committee deadlocked in a 5-5 vote on an amendment to the New Mexico constitution that would provide salaries for legislators, a plan its supporters maintain would make it easier for a more diverse group Read More
Legislative Roundup: 32 Days Remaining In Session
The Santa Fe New Mexican Staff:
Top prosecutor resigns at Trump’s request: The U.S. Attorney for New Mexico, Alexander M.M. Uballez, stepped down Friday at the request of President Donald Trump.
Uballez, who was nominated by former President Joe Biden in January 2022 and confirmed by the U.S. Senate that May, is among more the 20 U.S. attorneys who the Trump administration asked to resign.
“Today, I say farewell to a Department that I love,” Uballez said Friday in a statement.
“Together, we have made our community safer by delivering swift and certain justice to the most prolific violent offenders, Read More
Governor-Backed Site Readiness Bills Will Attract Business
EDD News:
SANTA FE — Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham and New Mexico lawmakers are backing a pair of bills that will make New Mexico more competitive when attracting larger industrial and commercial investments.
The Strategic Economic Development Site Readiness Act, SB 169, and the Utility Pre-Deployment Act, SB170 NMFA Definitions, Funds & Rates, will have their first hearing in the Senate Tax Committee at 1:30 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 18 Introduced by Sen. Michael Padilla, other sponsors on the bill include Reps. Meredith A. Dixon, Joshua N. Hernandez, Joy Garratt, and Sen. Craig W. Brandt. Read More
