Limit on legislation won’t leave out the late Roxy
Roxy died a painful death at age 8. A blue heeler mix, she was strangled in a snare near a hiking trail at Santa Cruz Lake Recreation Area.
The state Game and Fish Department said a man from Chimayó set an illegal trap that took Roxy’s life.
What happened to Roxy led a group of Democratic state legislators to introduce a bill to ban all traps, snares or wildlife poisons on public lands in New Mexico. Neighboring Arizona and Colorado already have such a prohibition on trapping.
Ranchers closed ranks to work for the bill’s defeat. They say traps, even ones on public lands, help protect their livestock from predators.
Their argument carried the day. The anti-trapping bill failed in the state House of Representatives in 2019, soon after Roxy’s death had become a national story.
The debate over trapping on public lands in New Mexico went on hiatus. It will resume soon enough, even if members of the state House must limit the number of bills they sponsor next year.
State Rep. Matthew McQueen, D-Galisteo, says a new version of what he calls Roxy’s Bill will be introduced when legislators begin their 60-day session in January.
Outlawing trapping on public lands has been one of McQueen’s priorities since Roxy’s death.
“For me, personally, I think it’s cruel,” McQueen said Tuesday. “Whether it’s a pet or a coyote that’s trapped, the suffering doesn’t change.”
Though Roxy’s Bill won’t be new, the rules of next year’s session in the House might be.
McQueen predicted the 70 members of the House each will be limited to being the primary sponsor of no more than five bills. They typically average more than three times that many in 60-day sessions. But, he said, any restriction won’t stop Roxy’s Bill from being revived.
House Speaker Brian Egolf, D-Santa Fe, says the coronavirus pandemic is likely to limit public access to legislative hearings and floor sessions. Egolf advocates for reducing the number of bills to make it easier for the public to track legislation online and participate in remote hearings.
The 42-member state Senate isn’t interested in restricting bill introductions, though it should be.
Capping the number of bills isn’t just an efficiency measure that’s sensible in a pandemic. It could be a way of forcing legislators to set priorities instead of clogging the system with legislation that’s going nowhere.
Democratic Sen. Pete Campos of Las Vegas is one of the worst offenders.
Campos in the last 60-day session in 2019 introduced 25 memorials. Those proposals had no force of law, but they devoured time.
Campos also sponsored 36 bills in that session. Thirty-two died.
One failed measure from Campos was a retread favored by lobbyists for lottery vendors. The bill would have struck down language in the New Mexico Lottery Act requiring 30 percent of gross ticket sales to be dedicated to college scholarships.
The lottery staff for years has wanted to change the law so it could spend more money on prizes and advertising. Campos’ lottery bill died soon after he introduced it.
Though House members might have to limit their bills, one way around the rule would be to get senators to introduce legislation on their behalf.
This might even happen on Roxy’s Bill. McQueen said the proposal could start in the Senate this time.
That would give someone in his chamber an opportunity to introduce a different bill in its place.
But, McQueen said, he’s committed to Roxy’s Bill, and would introduce it in the House if necessary.
As it stands, trappers in New Mexico are supposed to obtain a state license, mark their traps with a code and follow rules on where traps can be placed.
The state charged the man whose snare allegedly strangled Roxy with 34 counts of illegal trapping. All the charges were dismissed when a judge found the Game and Fish Department had conducted an illegal search and did not preserve evidence.
McQueen said the return of Roxy’s Bill is a move to protect animals, similar in some ways to the state’s ban on cockfighting after years of contentious debate.
New Mexico was one of the last two states to allow cockfights. Louisiana was the other.
Lawmakers can start introducing bills Monday. The session starts 15 days later, Jan. 19.
Roxy’s Bill drew an enormous audience, requiring a move to a larger hearing room when it was debated in 2019.
In all likelihood, crowds will be missing this time. Little else has changed. Emotions over Roxy’s Bill will still be running high.
Ringside Seat is an opinion column about people, politics and news. Contact Milan Simonich at msimonich@sfnewmexican.com.