Roundhouse Roundup
The Santa Fe New Mexican
Mooning over a moose: He’s been spotted at Ski Santa Fe and wandering the banks of the Rio Grande near Española and Abiquíu: Marty the Moose, the four-legged loner who prefers New Mexico to points north and elsewhere. He has generated news coverage, inspired a children’s book and starred in a number of videos chronicling his journeys around the state.
On Wednesday the House of Representatives approved a certificate deeming Marty the most “eligible bachelor” for Valentine’s Day — an initiative that led to moose jesting and the like. House Speaker Javier Martínez, D-Albuquerque, said Marty “is a legend” while Rep. Elizabeth “Liz” Thomson, D-Albuquerque, said the moose comes to New Mexico because it knows the state has the best chile.
Rep. Cynthia Borrego, D-Albuquerque, who introduced the certificate, topped the brief celebration off by calling Marty the “moose eligible bachelor.”
But is Marty still in New Mexico? It’s unclear. According to an from Darren Vaughan, spokesperson for the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish, “We have had no reported sightings of Marty since this past fall.”
In the weeds: They huffed. They puffed. But ultimately, senators on Wednesday morning passed House amendments to a bill that aims to tidy up New Mexico’s Cannabis Regulation Act.
The element of Senate Bill 6 that caused the most heartburn on Wednesday was language banning state lawmakers from applying for a cannabis license or be licensed to “engage in any commercial cannabis activity” before July 1, 2026.
Sen. Mark Moores, R-Albuquerque, called the language “bad government.”
“You can be a dental hygienist, you can be a lawyer … you can have oil wells, you can have everything else,” he said. “When you have a citizen Legislature, you’re going to have those kind of conflicts.”
The bill would provide procedures for background checks; exempt retailers from proving they have water rights; and allow residents with a liquor license to also obtain a cannabis retail license, though both products could not be sold at the same location.
Senators voted 22-17 to concur with House amendments to the measure, sending it to the governor’s desk.
Senate says goodbyes: The Senate took some time Wednesday afternoon to say farewell to several members who are leaving after this year.
Departing are Sens. Mark Moores, R-Albuquerque; Jerry Ortiz y Pino, D-Albuquerque; Steven Neville, R-Aztec; Bill Tallman, D-Albuquerque; Ron Griggs, R-Alamogordo and Brenda McKenna, D-Corrales.
“You truly have a heart for the people of the state of New Mexico,” Lt. Gov. Howie Morales told Moores. “You truly have a heart for this chamber.”
An emotional Moores compared his colleagues’ accolades to the scene in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer in which Tom and Huckleberry Finn listen in on their own funeral. Moores also announced on the floor he and his wife are having another child.
“This has been an amazing 12 years, but I love these women more,” Moores said, referring to his wife and daughter. “Hopefully I’ve got another 30 years left and I’m going to spend every moment I can with them.”
Neville’s colleagues from both parties praised him as a quiet, gentlemanly and effective senator who never had an unkind word for anyone.
“From the very beginning I was just so impressed with his statesmanship. … His ability to calmly listen to issues and to make his own judgment [and] ask really good questions,” Ortiz y Pino said.
Housing bill passes Senate: A bill to fund affordable housing sailed through the Senate with little debate Wednesday afternoon.
House Bill 195 passed on a mostly party-line 26-14 vote. It now heads to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s desk.
“These changes will help a segment of the population that isn’t invested in enough — teachers, police officers, nurses and others — who work full time in incredibly important jobs, but still aren’t able to afford a home,” the governor said in a statement after the vote.
The bill will expand the Opportunity Enterprise Revolving Fund to make loans to finance workforce and affordable housing projects. It also encourages municipalities to adopt zoning regulations friendlier to housing construction by directing the fund to “prioritize projects that are in political subdivisions that are implementing zoning reforms that support housing development projects.”
“We did work all year to put together some housing initiatives,” sponsor Sen. Michael Padilla, D-Albuquerque said. “This is one that’s going to produce some very great results for New Mexico.”
Another housing bill Lujan Grisham supported, Senate Bill 71 which would have created a state Office of Housing, appears to be dead for the session. With less than a day left before the session ends, the legislation still hasn’t been scheduled to be heard in the Senate Finance Committee.
Quote of the day: “Sen. [Leo] Jaramillo, I have a great big kiss for you.” —Sen. Shannon Pinto, D-Tohatchi, handing over a giant Hershey’s kiss on the Senate floor Wednesday morning. Jaramillo, D-Española, responded that he took the gesture as Pinto asking him to be her valentine — and he accepted.
