NM Legislative recap Feb. 18: From the heart
The Roundhouse is often full of heart-pounding action, but the American Heart Association took that literally Tuesday during CPR day.
Students from the Albuquerque-based Health Leadership High School volunteered their First-Aid know-how with demonstrations on adult and infant dummies, while also lobbying for House Bill 54, which would require all high schools to have automatic electronic defibrillators on campus, and train employees to use them. HB 54 has cleared its first committee and is scheduled for a Wednesday hearing in House Education.
The deadline to introduce bills will coincide with the session's halfway mark Thursday, Feb. 20.
The House has introduced 472 bills, while the upper chamber has introduced 442 bills.
The total bill count so far is lower than the last 60-day session 2023, which had more than 500 bills introduced in both chambers — more if you include memorials and resolutions.
So far, the Feed Bill House Bill 1, which funds the Legislature, has been the only legislation to pass through both chambers and make it across the governor's desk.
By Tuesday, the full House had passed six bills, including two on Tuesday afternoon.
The House of Representatives on Tuesday afternoon passed House Bill 26, which would make it a misdemeanor to resell for profit tickets to events hosted by the state or nonprofits. Current law only prohibits ticket scalping at college athletic events.
The House also voted in favor of House Bill 22, which would prohibit bosses from taking a portion of workers' tips to cover credit card processing fees.
'Hardworking New Mexicans deserve to keep the tips they earn from customers,' said lead sponsor Rep. Art De La Cruz (D-Albuquerque) in a written statement after the vote.
Debate on the bills pushed back the start of the afternoon House committee hearings by two hours; they started just before 4 p.m. Tuesday.
The full Senate has passed nine bills so far this session.
Legislation crossing chambers
In addition to the Feed bill, The full House has passed:
House Bill 6, which would require workers on publicly bonded projects to be paid minimum wage. Read more here.
House Bill 8, which is the six-bill public safety package that includes stiffer penalties for fentanyl trafficking; makes blood testing easier for police officers in DWI cases; increases shooting threats to a fourth-degree felony; criminalizes the possession of 'switches' to modify semi automatic firearms into fully automatic weapons; and a controversial criminal competency bill. Read more here.
House Bill 47, which would create property tax exemptions for veterans approved by voters in November.
House Bill 218, which updates the tax code. Read more here.
House Bill 26, which makes changes to the state's ticket-scalping laws.
House Bill 22, which prevents bosses from using workers' tips to cover credit card fees.
The Senate has passed the following:
Senate Bills 3, 2 and 1, which are parts of the behavioral health package that moves regional planning under the courts; spends $200 million for building out the infrastructure; and establishes a $1 billion dollar fund to further pay for behavioral health care. Read more here.
Senate Bill 19, which would require Boards of Regents to complete 10 hours of training on topics such as fiscal responsibility, ethics, public meetings laws and student success.
Senate Bill 47, which updates recognized land grants to include Santa Cruz de la Canada land grant-merced in Rio Arriba and Santa Fe.
Senate Bill 75, which makes technical changes to the limited gifts Educational Retirement Board members and employees can receive to align with other state laws. Read more here.
Senate Bill 85, which would amend campaign finance laws to clarify what donations can be received, changing when reports are filed.
Senate Bill 124, which would allow the Office of the Superintendent of Insurance to issue investigative subpoenas.
Senate Bill 16, which would update criminal background checks for Department of Military Affairs employees and volunteers working with youth under 18.
A bill to start a $50 million fund for the cleanup of contaminated sites such as abandoned uranium mines or ground water contamination advanced through its first committee Tuesday morning. Senate Bill 260 received a unanimous OK from the Senate Conservation Committee Tuesday morning and now heads to Senate Finance.
READ MORE: https://sourcenm.com/briefs/two-bills-to-make-life-easier-for-renters-are-headed-to-nm-house-floor/
House Bill 348, which raises civil penalties for water violations for the first time since 1907, advanced through the Agriculture, Acequias and Water Resources committee on a 8-1 vote. The civil penalty would be raised from $100 per day to $2,000 per day. HB 348 now heads to House Judiciary.
A bill that would raise the maximum civil fines for oil and gas violations such as flaring or spills passed through the first of three committees Tuesday with a party-line 7-4 vote in House Energy and Natural Resources. House Bill 259 increases penalties from $2,500 to $10,000 per violation. If there is a 'risk to public health and safety or the environment,' the penalty increases from $10,000 to $25,0000. The bill also allows the Oil Conservation Division to raise a cap on administrative penalties from $200,000 to $3.6 million.
'Penalties are enacted to deter people from a certain behavior,' said sponsor Matthew McQueen (D-Galisteo) during the hearing. 'If they don't serve that purpose, then they're just fees.'
HB 259 would have to clear House Judiciary and House Appropriations and Finance before it can head to the floor for a full House vote.
For people who love hogs, you can read about a vintage motorcycle license plate bill here.
Austin Fisher contributed to the writing and reporting of this story.
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