NM Legislature

House committee advances bill banning ‘conversion therapy’ for minors

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A House panel approved a bill, along party lines, that would ban the use of therapy aimed at changing a minor’s sexuality or gender identity. The practice is often referred to as conversion therapy. Senate Bill 121 sponsor Sen. Jacob Candelaria, D-Albuquerque, who is openly gay, told the House Health and Human Services Committee a personal story about influence from those in power. He said as a child he was “blessed” to have leaders of faith in his life that engaged in conversations of personal identity. “But I also had priest when I was nine-years-old who told me that if I did not become straight, I was going to hell,” Candelaria said.

2017 legislative session

House rejects charter school moratorium in tie vote

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The House on Thursday rejected a two-and-a-half-year moratorium on licensing new charter schools in New Mexico. Thirty-four House members voted to pass House Bill 46, which would have prohibited a chartering authority — the state or a local school district — from accepting or approving any new applications until Jan. 1, 2020. But 34 representatives also voted against it. In a tie vote, a bill fails.

2017 legislative session

New Mexico House passes budget, tax package

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The New Mexico House of Representatives passed a spending plan late Wednesday that boosts funding for classrooms and the courts, while cutting money for colleges and universities and leaving most other agencies with no new money. A companion bill also headed to the Senate, House Bill 202, would raise more revenue for future years by boosting fees and taxes. The $250 million a year in new ongoing revenue is needed to avoid more spending cuts and to replenish cash reserves, said sponsor Carl Trujillo, D- Santa Fe. “We are bleeding, we need to stop that bleeding,” Trujillo said as he held up a graph showing the state’s diminished reserves. The House approved the revenue measure first, because the proposed budget needs some $157 million in additional money to meet the constitutional requirement for a balanced budget.

2017 legislative session

Bill to require ‘reasonable accommodations’ for working pregnant women advances

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A bill to require workplaces to provide “reasonable accommodations” to pregnant workers passed a state House committee on party lines Friday morning. During debate, Southwest Women’s Law Center attorney Sarah Coffey provided examples of “reasonable accommodations,” which included allowing pregnant workers to have a bottle of water at their desks, giving them more bathroom breaks and allowing them to walk around the office when needed. “We’re trying to alert women and employers that women don’t need to necessarily quit their jobs or stay home if there’s a small accommodation made to keep working,” state Rep. Gail Chasey, D-Albuquerque and sponsor of the legislation, said at the hearing. Three Republicans on the House Health and Human Services Committee—state Reps. Rebecca Dow of Truth or Consequences, Gail Armstrong of Magdalena and James Townsend of Artesia—voted against the measure.

Debbie Armstrong

Panel OKs bill after testimony on NM boarding home conditions

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Lorraine Mendiola told state lawmakers Monday that her son was physically assaulted while living in a bed bug-infested boarding home for people with mental illness in Las Vegas, N.M.

At another boarding home, this one in Albuquerque, her son slept in a converted garage with exposed electrical wiring, a bathroom with no door, a lack of wall insulation and no fire extinguisher or carbon monoxide detector, Mendiola said. “It’s time to recognize and address that New Mexico must take responsibility for their mentally ill citizens,” she told the House Health and Human Services Committee. “These very vulnerable individuals have been living in substandard conditions because there has been no oversight.” Mendiola appeared before the committee in support of legislation, House Bill 85, that would provide for at least minimal regulation of boarding homes. The state Department of Health, which says it doesn’t have the legal authority to oversee the homes, abolished its boarding home rules in 2000.

three strikes law

House passes expansion of three strikes law

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The House voted overwhelmingly to expand the state’s three strikes law to include more crimes to count towards the penalty that would result in life in prison after nearly three hours of debate. Three criminal convictions on certain crime would result in a life sentence if this bill becomes law. The bill, which passed the House 49-14, would need to pass the Senate in identical form to make it to the governor’s desk. The Senate did not pass a similar bill during the regular session. The House amended the bill to remove some crimes that were included in the bill as originally introduced.

2016 elections

NM’s final ballots include eight presidential candidates

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The election ballots for November are set, and New Mexicans will have a few options when it comes to the presidential race. The ballots became final Tuesday at 5 p.m., giving time to print ballots and send to overseas and military voters starting this weekend. Secretary of State Chief of Staff Ken Ortiz told NM Political Report the ballots are final, barring a court stay or another order. At this point, that seems unlikely. On the presidential ticket, six smaller political parties qualified for the ballot alongside Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and Republican nominee Donald Trump.

State Budget

House passes $6.3 billion budget, depends on transfers

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The House of Representatives passed the state’s $6.32 billion budget Saturday morning amid falling oil prices. The bill passed on a 38-31 vote, with two Democrats joining the Republican bloc in voting on the bill. “We did the best we could with the revenues that are there,” House Appropriations and Finance Committee Chair Larry Larrañaga, R-Albuquerque, said when presenting the bill. Larrañaga said Medicaid, education, public safety, corrections and early childhood funding marked the top priorities. “Almost all of the increases are in five particular areas in this budget,” he said.

Brian Egolf

House Energy committee clears solar tax bill

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The House Energy and Natural Resources Committee narrowly passed a bill to extend the state’s solar energy tax credit for another eight years. Two Albuquerque Republicans, one of whom is co-sponsoring the measure, supported the bill while all GOP representatives from rural communities opposed it. The final tally was 6-4. Rep. Sarah Maestas Barnes, R-Albuquerque, is carrying the bill in the House, with Sen. Mimi Stewart, D-Albuquerque as a cosponsor. “I see this bill as critical in terms of maintaining a key area of our economy,” Maestas Barnes said.