State, Nation & World

Rep. Stephanie Garcia Richard

Rep. Stephanie Garcia Richard, D-Los Alamos, Santa Fe, Sandoval and Rio Arriba counties, issued the following statement this morning regarding the Minimum Wage and Early Education Bills voted down by House GOP members Wednesday evening.

“As a representative of a swing district, I have had to cross the aisle on numerous occasions these last two years and go against my party to support key pieces of legislation that our district would benefit from. I understand and value the needs of my district over a political party and believe there are certain bills everyone Read More

N.M. LEGISLATIVE News:

SANTA FE–Members of the House and Senate made a significant down payment on a plan to create 160,000 jobs in New Mexico over the next 10 years. The House passed a budget, which includes more than $23 million in appropriations for economic development and work training programs that will bolster the state’s job numbers. 

Most of the appropriations were based on the job creation blueprint developed in the interim by the Legislative Jobs Council, chaired by Speaker of the House W. Ken Martinez, D-Bernalillo, Cibola, McKinley, Socorro, San Juan, Valencia Read More

LEGISLATIVE News:

House Highlights

On the Floor

House Joint Resolution 15 Navajo Nation Gaming Compact Approval, carried by Rep. James Roger Madalena, D-Rio Arriba, Sandoval, San Juan, has passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 36-30. HJR 15 approves the Gaming Compact negotiated by the Navajo Nation and the governor of New Mexico, which allows for five casinos that can be operated 24 hours a day based on specific parameters. The approved compact addresses concerns that the Department of the Interior had with the compact submitted to the state Legislature in 2013. The renegotiated Read More

N.M. HOUSE News:

SANTA FE – The House of Representatives has passed the budget. The House passed the Senate Finance Committee substitute SB 313 on a 58 to 8 vote. It now heads to the Governor. 

SB 331 prioritizes education with increased spending in public education spending. SB 331 is a reflection of HB 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.

“This entire legislative session, Democrats have outlined our education priorities,” said Speaker of the House W. Ken Martinez, D-Bernalillo, Cibola, McKinley, Socorro, San Juan, Valencia. “Our priorities are decreasing class sizes, protecting funding for Read More

Rep. W. Ken Martinez

N.M. HOUSE News:

SANTA FE—Omaree’s Law, House Bill 333, sponsored by House Speaker W. Ken Martinez, D-Bernalillo, Cibola McKinley, Socorro, San Juan, Valencia, was passed on the floor of the House on a 52 to 11 vote and now heads to the Senate.
 
House Bill 333, sponsored by Martinez and co-sponsored by Rep. Stephanie Garcia Richard, D-Los Alamos, Santa Fe, Sandoval, Rio Arriba, Rep. Emily Kane, D-Bernalillo, and Rep. Liz Thomson, D-Bernalillo, requires CYFD to immediately take custody of children showing specific injuries of abuse, and requires the parents, guardians Read More

N.M. SENATE News:

SANTA FE—A substitute bill for the General Appropriations Act (SB 313), which proposes a $6.19 billion budget package, was heard and passed unanimously on the Senate floor Tuesday.

The substitute bill was presented to the Senate Finance Committee (SFC) last Sunday with an amended proposal of $17.5 million appropriated to the Department of Education for the administration’s education reforms. Education reform was the primary issue that led to a budget stalemate in the House.

In addition, the Senate adopted measures that are intended to deal with the Lottery Scholarship Read More

Rep. James Madalena

LEGISLATIVE News:

SANTA FE—The House of Representatives has approved a new gaming compact with the Navajo Nation by a majority vote of 36-30. It would allow the Navajo Nation to operate up to five gaming facilities, the most of any New Mexico tribe or pueblo. 

“Congratulations to the Navajo Nation on House action to move House Joint Resolution 15 forward to the Senate,” said Rep. James Roger Madalena, D-Rio Arriba, Sandoval, San Juan, who carried the legislation. “There are challenging issues as debated in the House and I wish them well in their efforts to renew their Read More

Sen. Tim Keller

LEGISLATIVE News:

SANTA FE—Senate Joint Memorial 5 (SJM5), sponsored by Sen. Tim Keller, D-Bernalillo, and Rep. Liz Thomson, D-Bernalillo, has cleared both the Senate and the House chambers. The legislation requests that the New Mexico Legislative Council establish a Medicaid Disability Services Oversight Council.

“New Mexicans living with disabilities are in some of the most vulnerable circumstances, yet have the least say in key decisions. This legislation provides a way for people with disabilities to engage in meaningful participation with state agencies to help Read More

Rep. Mimi Stewart

N.M. HOUSE News:

SANTA FE—House Republicans voted to kill a House Education Committee report on House Bill 391 with a 30 to 33 vote.

House Bill 391 is a sub for House Bill 67, sponsored by Rep. Mimi Stewart, D-Bernalillo, chair of the House Education Committee, which would increase the current salary minimums for teachers over the next five years to $40,000 for Level I, $50,000 for Level II and $60,000 for Level III.

HB 67 was re-introduced in the form of HB 391 over the weekend to increase salary levels to mirror the original HB 67. Republican House Education committee members darted Read More