Capitol recap: Here’s what happened at the Legislature on Friday

SANTA FE — The last Friday of the 2024 Legislature was full of long afternoon debates in both the Senate and House as more and more legislation piles on for senators and representatives to pass or fail.

In the House, representatives passed six bills, including pay increases for Supreme Court justices.

On the other side of the Roundhouse, the Senate passed five bills in the afternoon, including legislation that would impact health care, law enforcement retention and the lottery scholarship. The senators voted against passing a joint resolution focused on the use of retiree health care fund trust dollars.

Both chambers were meeting again Friday evening.

Also on Friday, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed into law House Bill 171, one of the first bills to clear the Roundhouse. Last year, Lujan Grisham vetoed a similar version of the bill, but said her office worked with the bill’s sponsors to update this year’s version.

House

Passed

HB196, Government Accountability Trust Fund, 39-28

This would create the government results and opportunity expendable trust and the government results and opportunity program fund. The legislation would change the overflow mechanism of the general fund operating reserve to direct dollars into the trust fund.

Bill sponsor Rep. Nathan Small, D-Las Cruces, has said this is a way to protect New Mexico when oil and gas dollars aren’t booming like they are now. Pilot projects could get funding floated over several years as other funding sources are identified for the future. The accountability part of the bill includes provisions to track and report the efficacy of such projects.

There is funding attached to the bill included in HB2, the budget bill.

There was some controversy over changes between the original and committee substitute. Rep. Gail Armstrong, R-Magdalena, said some of the “guardrails” for funding had been removed between versions. Other representatives justified the changes, saying some provisions were “unmanageable” for certain entities.

HB141, Supreme Court Salary Increases, 52-0

A big raise could be heading to the state’s five top justices. This bill would increase pay for Supreme Court justices to $232,600. As of July 2023, the justices were paid $191,700 according to the 2023 Judicial Compensation Commission report. That leaves New Mexico at 29th for state supreme court justice pay, the report says.

HB98, Accounts for Disabled Eligibility, 62-0

This bill would increase the number of people with disabilities eligible for a type of federal savings account, which is tax advantaged. The proposed changes to “achieving a better life experience” account eligibility would allow people who became disabled before the age of 46 to qualify. Currently, the age is 26. Bill sponsor Rep. Elizabeth “Liz” Thomson, D-Albuquerque, said this change would help “catch” more veterans in the program.

Thomson said the change aligns with federal policy changes.

HB253, Capital Outlay Changes, 63-0

The bill would make changes to the state’s capital outlay program. Rep. Derrick Lente, D-Sandia Pueblo, said the changes would make the program more “sustainable.”

A nonreverting fund – the capital development and reserve fund – would be created by the bill and managed by the State Investment Council. Money in the fund would be available to the Legislature to go towards capital projects costing less than $5 million, and for the planning and design of more costly projects.

HB148, Water Project Fund Projects, 64-0

The annual authorization bill would allow the New Mexico Finance Authority to offer loans or grants to public groups for approved water projects. More than 50 public entities already have qualifying projects. If the bill passes, the Water Trust Board will decide which projects will get funding.

HB232, Infrastructure Planning and Development Division, 65-0

The bill would create a new division in the New Mexico Finance Authority: the Infrastructure Planning and Development Division. The division would take over certain functions of the Local Government Division of the MFA, including the rural equity ombudsman role and handling infrastructure capital improvement plans for local governments.

It would also be tasked with helping government entities, including tribal governments, find and apply for infrastructure funds.

Senate

Passed

SB3, Paid Family Medical Leave Act, 25-15

This bill would create a paid family and medical leave program under which, as amended by the Senate, workers could take up to nine to 12 weeks of time off. Employees and employers would pay into a state fund to get the paid time off starting in 2026, and could start applying in 2027.

SB15, Health Care Consolidation Oversight Act, 27-15

This bill would allow the Office of Superintendent of Insurance to determine whether proposed hospital consolidations or mergers could negatively impact health care, excluding state- and university-owned facilities, for the next year.

The legislation held an emergency clause but failed to get the two-thirds floor support necessary for the clause that grants immediate effect, if signed by the governor, to get through.

SB175, Law Enforcement Fund Distributions, 39-0

This bill aims to recruit and retain law enforcement officers, correctional officers, and probation and parole officers. Bill sponsor Sen. Leo Jaramillo, D-Española, said there’s around $25 million drafted in the budget for this, which is about $10 million less than the request in the bill initially.

SB239, Lottery Scholarship Changes, 30-5

This bill would change the definition of a full-time student who’s eligible for the lottery scholarship and count summer semesters.

SB176, Athletic Competition Act Changes, 20-16

This bill would change the Professional Athletic Competition Act to add fighter weight classes and increase annual licensing fees for certain license types. It also would redefine some media terms.

SB201, Transportation Regulation, 35-0

This bill would clarify transportation duties the New Mexico Department of Transportation holds, removing outdated technical language and making technical corrections.

Failed

SJR5, Public Employees Retiree Health Care Fund, 14-25

This joint resolution would have proposed to amend the state Constitution to prohibit the expenditure of retiree health care fund trust dollars for any purpose except the benefit of the trust beneficiaries.

Committee

Passed

SB5, Firearms near polling places, House Judiciary Committee, 7-4

The bill, which passed on the Senate floor last Tuesday, would prohibit guns within 100 feet of polling places, with some exceptions. It needs to pass the House floor before heading to the governor's desk.