WHAT THEY DID
A total of 111 bills passed both the House and the Senate in the 30-day legislative session that ended Thursday. Gov. Susana Martinez has until March 7 to sign or veto bills passed in the closing days of the session, when the fate of most legislation is decided. If she takes no action on a bill, the measure dies on a “pocket veto.”
Here’s a look at some of the bills considered by legislators:
HEALTH AND FAMILY
PASSED: Adopt multistate compact allowing nurses licensed elsewhere to continue practicing in New Mexico; improve the guardianship system for incapacitated persons; arrange treatment for inmates struggling with mental illness or addiction after jail; impose fee on dog and cat food to pay for spay-neuter programs; regulate the use of “step therapy” in medicine coverage; make it easier to operate a crisis triage center.
FAILED: Require parental notification before a minor has an abortion.
CRIME
PASSED: Stiffen penalties for violent felons caught with firearms; make it a crime to falsely claim military service for financial gain; authorize up to $40 million for security upgrades at schools.
FAILED: Reinstate the death penalty; expand “Baby Brianna’s Law” to impose a life sentence for intentional child abuse resulting in death, when the child is ages 12 to 17; broaden “three strikes” law.
TRANSPARENCY/GOVERNMENT
PASSED: Expand confidentiality for aerospace companies at the Spaceport; require audits of governor’s fund for social events; change reporting requirements for lobbyists; move most nonpartisan elections to November; increase pay for statewide elected officials; nominate, rather than elect, the major-party candidates for lieutenant governor.
FAILED: Force lawmakers convicted of felonies to give up their pensions; require audit of Sunshine Portal compliance; disclose capital outlay spending by sponsor.
EDUCATION
PASSED: Increase minimum salaries for teachers; provide flat amounts, rather than a percentage of tuition, for students who qualify for the lottery scholarship.
FAILED: Limit administrative spending by schools; text parents when children fall behind; require high school graduates to apply to college or trade school; remove a requirement that the lottery send 30 percent of its revenue to scholarship fund; seek to ensure young public school students can read well before advancing.
BUSINESS/LABOR
PASSED: Allow creation of regional air center districts to encourage use of former military bases; provide about $30 million to help prevent the collapse of an old brine well in Carlsbad.
FAILED: Help Public Service Company of New Mexico recover costs from closing coalfired plant in San Juan County; require “net neutrality”; increase minimum wage to $9 per hour.
LAW ENFORCEMENT
PASSED: Offer retention bonuses of $15,000 to veteran officers; establish database to help recover stolen vehicles; increase funding for prosecutors, public defenders and court staff; lessen penalties for minor offenses to ease burden on prosecutors; tighten alcohol testing requirements for people who want to remove an ignition interlock device installed on their car.
FAILED: Grant immunity to officers who follow their training; allow retired police officers to return to work while still collecting pension benefits.