Roundhouse Roundup
The Santa Fe New Mexican
Clearly favored: A measure that aims to shed light on costs and profits for manufacturers and sellers of prescription drugs drew support from a wide range of groups in a committee meeting Tuesday morning, from New Mexico Voices for Children to the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce to the New Mexico Pharmacists Association.
House Bill 33, which is formally titled the Prescription Drug Price Transparency Act, passed the House Health and Human Services Committee Wednesday on a 7-0 vote.
The bill, sponsored by Rep. Pamelya Herndon, D-Albuquerque, requires a host of companies that make and distribute prescription drugs to report prices and trends every year to the Office of Superintendent of Insurance, as well as to the influential Legislative Finance Committee and Legislative Health and Human Services Committee, according to a fiscal analysis of the bill.
Nurse practitioner Celia Andrews spoke in favor of the bill, telling lawmakers the issue of skyrocketing drug prices affects her work “every single day.”
“We prescribe a medication and the patient comes back, they can’t afford it,” she said. “Not only is the access to those medications not there, the quality of care also suffers.”
Only two people spoke against the measure, representing the Healthcare Distribution Alliance and Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America.
Anti-hazing bill advances: New Mexico is one of a handful of states without an anti-hazing law, something that could soon change if a bill that advanced Wednesday morning becomes law.
The Senate Education Committee voted unanimously to advance Senate Bill 55. Its next stop will be the Senate Judiciary Committee.
The measure comes in the wake of a hazing scandal at New Mexico State University that led to the suspension of the team’s 2022-23 season and sexual assault charges against three basketball players.
Sponsored by Sen. Harold Pope, D-Albuquerque, the bill would make it a misdemeanor to engage in hazing at a college or university, as well as requiring institutions to educate students on hazing.
As currently written, the bill would make hazing that results in substantial bodily harm a fourth-degree felony; however, the committee approved an amendment to remove the potential felony charge, leaving the misdemeanor.
Pay hike for faculty dies: House Bill 84, sponsored by Rep. Joy Garratt, D-Albuquerque, and intended to increase the minimum compensation for public college faculty, will not move forward this session after a discussion before the House Education Committee revealed the need for further study.
Under HB 84, full-time faculty with nine-month contracts at four-year institutions would have received a minimum salary of $60,000 while the same type of employees at two-year institutions would receive at least $55,000 a year.
Temporary faculty, meanwhile, would be paid by credit hour, receiving a minimum of $2,000 per credit hour at four-year institutions or $1,833 per credit hour at two-year institutions.
HB 84 included a $44 million recurring appropriation to pay for the increase in faculty wages.
That was the bill’s sticking point: The appropriation is not included in the budget bill. If the bill had passed, colleges would be on the hook for raises and likely would pass on the costs to students through tuition hikes — a proposition both lawmakers and college representatives resisted.
Garratt told the committee she plans to bring a memorial to study faculty pay and return with a more viable bill in the future.
Bill tied to Yazzie/Martinez moves forward: House Bill 39, intended to respond to the 2018 Yazzie/Martinez court decision by funding higher education programs, secured a “do pass” recommendation from the House Education Committee Wednesday in a 7-3 vote.
Sponsored by Rep. Yanira Gurrola, D-Albuquerque, the bill purports to tackle the court decision — in which a district court judge determined the state failed to provide sufficient education to low-income, disabled and Native American students as well as English-language learners — by directing $27 million in state funds toward higher education institutions and tribal colleges.
That money would create educational pathways and recruitment strategies geared to the students identified in the Yazzie/Martinez lawsuit, with the ultimate goal of creating a diverse, multilingual workforce from education to health care to social work, proponents said.
Several Republican lawmakers expressed hesitation, pointing out its lack of accountability measures and that its $27 million appropriation is not yet included in the state’s proposed budget — while acknowledging the importance of a bilingual, multicultural workforce.
Still, HB 39 received widespread support from higher education officials, bilingual education advocates and tribal officials, with some of its strongest proponents being current students.
Lucia Martinez, a first-year medical student at the University of New Mexico, said the bill would help other students like her attend college and medical school, reducing the shortage of health care providers in places like her hometown of Las Vegas, N.M.
Ruben Loza and Diego Renteria, a graduate and undergraduate student in UNM’s Department of Chicana and Chicano Studies, respectively, called their experience in the department — one of many that would be funded by HB 39 — life-changing.
“It’s really important that we keep ethnic studies not only alive but accessible,” Renteria said before lawmakers.
New gun violence office?: Among the numerous gun-related proposals being considered by lawmakers this year will be a bill to create a state Office of Gun Violence Prevention and Intervention.
During Wednesday’s floor session, House Speaker Javier Martínez declared House Bill 144 germane, meaning it can be considered under the rules of the 30-day session, and referred it to the Consumer and Public Affairs Committee.
Sponsored by Reps. Dayan Hochman-Vigil and Cristian Parajón, both Albuquerque Democrats, the bill would create an office to compile statistics on gun violence in New Mexico “with a focus on public health, education and racial equity.” The office also would be charged with making an annual report to the Legislature, including suggested legislation.
Quote of the day: “This bill does not cause people to become sick, nor does it — and I’m sure this is no surprise to you — cause people to become pregnant.” —Rep. Christine Chandler, D-Los Alamos, speaking about House Bill 6, the proposed Paid Family and Medical Leave Act.
Annalazia Bleich, 5, with Baile Encanto of Silver City, dances with the group on the Rotunda during Gallup/McKinley County Day at the Legislature on Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024. Photo by Luis Sánchez Saturno/The New Mexican
Samayya Cabre of Santa Fe, with Santa Feans for Justice in Palestine, left, leads a demonstration calling for a cease-fire in Gaza, outside the state Capitol on Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024. Photo by Luis Sánchez Saturno/The New Mexican
