LEGISLATIVE ROUNDUP
Days remaining in session: 22
Everyone can vote (maybe): A bill that calls for a ballot question on whether the state should allow all registered voters to participate in primary elections cleared its first hurdle Wednesday, when the House State Government, Elections and Indian Affairs Committee voted 5-3 along party lines, with Democrats in favor of moving it forward.
House Joint Resolution 3 was introduced by Rep. Daymon Ely, D-Corrales, who said it “would restore faith in our electoral system and allow for voters to participate — a basic tenant of our democracy that isn’t realized today.”
According to the bill, 22 percent of registered voters in 2016 were not affiliated with either of the two major parties and therefore could not vote in Republican or Democratic primaries.
The resolution is far from a sure thing: It requires a majority vote of approval from both the House and Senate before it goes to voters statewide in a general election, and efforts to pass similar bills in the past have failed repeatedly.
No special-education raise: The Senate Education Committee tabled a bill Wednesday that would have increased minimum salaries for special-education teachers by 15 percent. The move essentially killed Senate Bill 13, sponsored by Sen. Michael Padilla, an Albuquerque Democrat.
Supporters said the bill would help fill a shortage of special-education teachers in the state. But opponents said school districts, not the Legislature, should decide on such raises.
“I think the idea is good and I think we need to put more thought into his bill,” said Sen. Craig Brandt, R-Rio Rancho.
Getting the count right: The Senate passed a bill Wednesday that would appropriate $8 million for outreach efforts to ensure an accurate count in the 2020 census.
According to Sen. Bill Burt, R-Alamogordo,
a sponsor of Senate Bill 4, every 1 percent of people in the state who aren’t counted would lead to a loss of $50 million. Having an inaccurate count would jeopardize funding New Mexico receives from some 54 federal programs, he said.
“If we don’t get a complete count, we don’t have those dollars come back to the state of New Mexico,” Burt told the chamber.
The measure now moves on to the House.
Keeping insulin costs down: Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced Wednesday that Sen. Daniel Ivey-Soto, D-Albuquerque, and Rep. Micaela Cadena, D-Mesilla, will introduce a bill capping insulin costs for patients. House Bill 292 would cap copays and other out-of-pocket costs for New Mexicans suffering from diabetes.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says 1 in 7 adults with diabetes does not take the necessary medication because of high costs.
“That is an unconscionable choice, no one should ever have to make it,” the governor said in a news release.
Looking ahead: The National Rifle Association’s Institute for Legislative Action and the New Mexico Shooting Sports Association will hold a news conference at 9:30 a.m. Friday in Room 322 of the state Capitol to voice concerns about a so-called red-flag gun bill.
Senate Bill 5 would allow law enforcement to obtain a court order to take guns from people considered dangerous.
The Senate Public Affairs Committee voted 4-3 along party lines Tuesday, with Republicans opposing it, to move SB 5 forward to the Senate Judiciary Committee. A similar bill failed to gain traction during last year’s legislative session.
Quotes of the day: “That flag was still there, over the home of the free and the home of the brave.” — Sen. Bill Sharer, R-Farmington, closing his narration on the Senate floor of the British bombardment of Fort McHenry during the War of 1812, and Francis Scott Key’s poem on the events that later became “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
“To make changes to the pension system right now is critical because we promised people their retirement and that’s what we have to uphold in New Mexico.” — Sen. George Muñoz, D-Gallup, in a plug on the Senate floor for his bill to address the unfunded liability of the Public Employees Retirement Association.
“It’s nice to be on the bills and not the memorials.” — Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth, D-Santa Fe, after the chamber heard a slew of legislation with no force of law, most of which merely recognizes a group or issue.
“Mr. President, a big lizard with black and red stripes on it — what do you call that?” — Sen. William Payne, R-Albuquerque, in response to a suggestion that elk are also called “Gila monsters.”