Today at the Roundhouse, March 11, & recap

T-minus 12 days and the bang of gavels will signal the end of the 2025 Legislature. Here are a few things to watch out for on Tuesday, March 11, plus some highlights from Monday, March 10.

Today at the RoundhousePowering on: The Advanced Grid Technology Act, House Bill 93, needs to pass a few more committees and the full Senate before landing on the governor’s desk. It encourages investments in advanced technology that aim to lessen the energy burden on an overloaded power grid. The Senate Conservation Committee considers the effort in the morning.

Budget: Various state agencies have been presenting their budget requests to the Senate Finance Committee for the last few weeks. The committee is expected to vote this week on the House-approved budget, House Bill 2, after adopting changes. The bill would then have to be endorsed by the full Senate and return to the House for final approval before the session ends March 22.

Social calendar: Tuesday is Los Alamos County Day.

Recap of Monday

As we enter the final weeks of the Legislature, look for highlights from the previous day from our Roundhouse reporters. Here’s a summary of some bill passages and debates from Monday, March 10.

Education: Senate Joint Resolution 15 would allow voters to decide if New Mexico should again have an appointed state board of education, which would oversee the Public Education Department. The Senate passed the measure on a 27-15 vote.

Crime: A bill allowing prosecutors and police to aggregately investigate and prosecute embezzlement cases passed the Senate on Monday. Sen. Joseph Cervantes, D-Las Cruces, urged colleagues to vote for Senate Bill 155 — which they did; it passed unanimously.

“We made a promise to get certain work done by the midpoint of the session on crime, but we’re continuing that march,” Cervantes said. “And the goal here is to make sure that there’s a steady stream of debate and consideration of crime bills.”

Where the bills stand

HB93: Passed House; assigned to Senate Conservation, then Senate Tax, Business and Transportation.

HB2: Passed House; assigned to Senate Finance.

SJR15: Passed Senate, awaiting House committee assignments.

SB155: Passed Senate, awaiting House committee assignments.