Capitol recap: Despite snow, statehouse still buzzing

SANTA FE — As snow sprinkled the Capitol on Saturday morning, lawmakers continued their work inside the Roundhouse, passing multiple pieces of legislation, including bills to increase oil and gas royalty rates on state trust land leases and boost Supreme Court justice salaries.

The House was particularly productive, sending through a slew of legislation in the afternoon and evening — perhaps promising a slow Super Bowl Sunday at the statehouse. Ten bills passed.

The Senate passed six bills in the afternoon, including measures to change DWI rules and add additional dollars for the state’s conservation fund. Notably, the senators also passed a measure to boost salaries for Supreme Court justices.

The chamber also met again late into the evening to discuss waiting periods on gun purchases.

House

Passed

HB48, Oil and Gas Future Royalty Rate, 39-28: Royalty rates for state trust land leases to oil and gas producers would be increased. Currently, the rates range from about 18% to 20%. The bill would raise that cap to 25% for prime real estate in the Permian Basin and other high-producing areas, matching Texas’ maximum royalty rate percentage.

HB271, Public Finance Accountability Act, 63-0: The bill would codify requirements that capital outlay grant recipients conduct annual audits and make the audits public records. If the audit show “material weaknesses or significant deficiencies,” according to the bill’s fiscal impact report, funds wouldn’t be distributed until the grant recipient fixes the problems.

HB298, Service Members Suicide Prevention, 59-1: The bill would require the Veterans Services Department to raise suicide awareness for service members and increase prevention resources for active-duty service members and veterans as well as their families.

HB236, Public Safety Retirees Returning to Work, 56-7: This bill mirrors a Senate version.

The public safety measure would allow government retirees to return to work in public safety fields, including corrections, police, detention, courthouse security, EMT, paramedics and firefighters. They would be able to return for a period of 36 months while still receiving a pension payment.

HB316, Felon in Possession of Firearm Penalty, 53-11: The measure would increase penalties for felons found in possession of a firearm. People with felony convictions would face five years in prison if found with a gun or destructive device. A repeat offense could lead to nine years behind bars.

HB302, Department of Defense Military Recommendations, 65-0: Child care programs certified by the U.S. Department of Defense would not be required to meet additional state licensing requirements.

HB102, Magistrate as Court of Record, 35-27: Magistrate courts would be required to record all proceedings as a “court of record” so that if an appeal is brought, the Court of Appeals can use those recordings as an appellate record. There are limited cases when the courts would not be required to act as a court of record.

SB153, Early Childhood Fund Transfers, 52-14: The bill would increase the distribution of the early childhood education and care program fund for programs such as child care assistance, doula and lactation support home visits and pre-K. The distributions from the fund would increase by $95 million.

Any excess money would return back to the fund.

“In order to meet that early education budget, that’s how we’re going to do that,” said bill cosponsor Rep. Doreen Gallegos, D-Las Cruces.

HB211, Water Project Prioritization, 67-0: The bill would change the Water Project Finance Act to allow funds to head to wastewater projects. The bill’s fiscal impact report noted there was “significant demand” for wastewater project grants, and less demands for other projects like Endangered Species Act programs.

HB207, Public School Capital Outlay Grants, 64-1: The bill would change one word in the law creating the Public School Capital Outlay Fund. In the existing law, it states the fund “may be expended annually” for grants to school districts and charter schools to make lease payments.

The bill would change “may” to “shall,” making the assistance “mandatory rather than discretionary.” The bill sponsor said it would formalize a practice that already occurs.

Senate

Passed

HB141, Supreme Court Justice Salary Increase, 33-6: This bill, passed by the House on Friday, would set the pay of Supreme Court justices at $232,600. A $6.1 million appropriation from the general fund would fund the pay increases.

It goes to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham now, and she’s rejected similar requests in the past. Bill sponsor Sen. Joseph Cervantes, D-Las Cruces, said he’s adjusted the bill this year removing state salary increases that match federal ones, hoping the third time’s a charm to get this passed.

SB190, DWI Act, 26-8: This bipartisan legislation would add new DWI sections to the Motor Vehicle Code, including addressing penalties, fines and jail sentences. Senators talked about the nearly 100-page bill for over an hour on the floor, and some lawmakers on both sides of the aisles voted against it.

SB169, Conservation Fund Changes, 38: This bill would set aside $10 million for the supplemental land and water conservation fund, which is handled by the Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department.

SB236, Metro Development GRT Increments, 20-9: This effort would impact the procedure for determining gross receipts tax increments paying for metropolitan redevelopment area projects, including allowing new, approved construction in determining the gross receipts tax base.

SB142, Behavioral Health Facility Notification, 39-0: This legislation wouldn’t allow residential behavioral health facilities to admit patients without trying to get family contact information for patients, so patients could notify their family of admission.

SB241, Aging Department Background Checks, 32-6: This bill would require employees and volunteers with the Aging and Long-Term Services Department working in adult protective services, the long-term care ombudsman program and consumer and elder rights to undergo criminal history records checks. Selected applicants would also have to undergo background checks.