With clock ticking at Roundhouse, Republicans accuse Democrats of blocking key bills

SANTA FE — With the 60-day legislative session entering its final two-week push to adjournment, Republican lawmakers on Monday accused majority Democrats of blocking bills dealing with crime and health care from advancing.

One GOP lawmaker, Rep. Andrea Reeb of Clovis, claimed Democrats have done “nothing significant” to keep New Mexicans safer.

But House Speaker Javier Martínez, D-Albuquerque, said the session has been largely successful, even with hundreds of bills still in limbo at the Roundhouse.

“I respectfully disagree,” Martínez told reporters. “I think we’ve done a lot and we will continue to do more.”

He said a tax package the House could take up later this week would extend a personal income tax credit for families making up to roughly $65,000 per year, while also citing the chamber’s approval Monday of several bills dealing with housing access and affordability issues.

Entering Tuedsay, only four bills have passed both legislative chambers and made it to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s desk for final approval.

But that number is likely to increase to at least a hundred or so bills — if not more — before the session ends March 22.

During their Monday news conference, House Republicans expressed frustration that Democrats have blocked GOP-backed bills from advancing by bottling them up in committee, either by votes or inaction.

Rep. Rebecca Dow, R-Truth or Consequences, described the session as the “unaffordability session.”

“Democrats seem to have not gotten the message that New Mexicans want relief,” Dow said.

Republicans also insisted they’ve proposed solutions to some hot-button issues, including a longstanding state health care provider shortage.

Rep. Jenifer Jones, R-Deming, a registered nurse, cited legislation she’s working on that would give a tax credit to rural practitioners and a $50,000 tax break to new physicians with student loan debt.

That bill, House Bill 593, would also limit punitive damages under the state’s medical malpractice laws.

A separate proposed medical malpractice overhaul was still awaiting its first hearing Monday in a Senate committee.

Crime bills in focus as session nears end

Much of Republicans’ criticism has focused on crime-related legislation, after leading Democrats indicated following passage of a high-profile crime package that additional public safety measures could be advanced.

In particular, GOP lawmakers on Monday renewed their frustration about a juvenile criminal offender bill stalling in a House committee last week.

In response, Martínez cited a bill approved by the House on Saturday, House Bill 255, that’s intended to improve the state’s juvenile rehabilitation system.

“The notion that there’s been inactivity on that front is baseless,” he said.

“Juvenile crime has to be attacked through different strategies,” Martínez added, while also citing bills aimed at overhauling the state’s Children, Youth and Families Department that are awaiting action in the Senate after passing the House.

Stall ball at the Roundhouse?

Given the Democrats’ 44-26 majority in the House, Republicans also acknowledged they’ve used to their advantage chamber rules that allow floor debates to last for up to three hours in an attempt to slow the progress of some Democratic-backed proposals.

Debate on multiple bills have hit the three-hour limit in recent days, causing some committee meetings to last until late in the evening.

“Ultimately, being in the minority, all we have is time,” House Minority Leader Gail Armstrong, R-Magdalena, said during Monday’s news conference at the Capitol.

“The strategy is not to stop Democrat bills, the strategy is to stop bad bills from moving forward,” Armstrong added.

But she also said Republicans remained willing to work with top House Democrats on compromise solutions to hot-button issues.

For his part, Martínez described his relationship with Armstrong and other top House Republicans as positive, saying he understands their position.

“They are the minority party and they have to use every tool at their disposal,” he said, saying Democrats used similar tactics when Republicans held a majority in the chamber for two years ending in 2016.

The Speaker of the House also said this year’s session has been busy from the start, unlike some past 60-day sessions in which most key bills did not advance until the final weeks.

“This has felt like a marathon in which we are sprinting,” said Martínez.