LEGISLATIVE ROUNDUP
10 Sen. Leo Jaramillo, D-Española, set out Tuesday to show his constituents how to easy it is to get to the Capitol if they don’t have their own wheels.
Instead of driving to Santa Fe, the first-term senator got up early and took a 25-minute walk from his home in Middle San Pedro to the Española Transit Center, where he boarded the North Central Regional Transit District’s Blue Bus.
“Española Day [at the state Capitol] is coming up on March 15th, and I want to show Española residents how easy it is to get to the Capitol free of charge to be part of the celebration,” he said.
“The bus is safe. The bus is free. And it’s an easy way for you to get to the Capitol,” added Jaramillo, who documented his journey on Facebook.
Jaramillo, who conducted a faceto-face interview on the bus, said he enjoyed the experience.
“It was nice to just be able to have a conversation, meet new people, get my steps in that early,” he said. “It really got me ready for the day without being behind the wheel in traffic. I got here in no time at all.”
Free menstrual products: The House of Representatives voted 42-20 Monday night to approve House Bill 134, which would provide free menstrual products in all public schools.
A BMC Public Health study cited in the bill’s fiscal impact report says 20% of teenagers nationwide have had difficulty affording these products, and the figure rises to 25% for Hispanic teens.
The “study also shows nearly 25 percent of teenagers who menstruate have missed class because of lacking a menstrual product,”
the report says.
Some Republican lawmakers who support the bill’s intent took issue with the idea that products would be available not just in girls’ restrooms, but boys’ as well.
Several Democratic lawmakers countered the products should be made available for transgender students or for male students who can access them for girls.
HB 134 originally had an appropriation of $3 million, but Rep. Christine Trujillo, D-Albuquerque, who is one of the bill’s sponsors, said the money had been moved into House Bill 2, the budget bill.
HB 134 now goes to the Senate for consideration.
Burn ban: Members of the House Energy, Environment and Natural Resources Committee voted 10-0 Tuesday to support Senate Bill 21, which would prohibit prescribed burns during times
when the National Weather Service issues a red flag warning.
Sen. Ron Griggs, R-Alamogordo, said he introduced the bill in response to the prescribed burns that went wrong last year and ignited the historic Hermits Peak/ Calf Canyon Fire, which destroyed about 350,000 acres in Mora, San Miguel and Taos counties.
Griggs said SB 21 is an effort to ensure another wildfire started by a prescribed burn won’t hit other cities around the state — “even Santa Fe.” The bill next goes to the House floor for consideration.
Zero traction: An initiative to eliminate all vehicle-related deaths by 2030 stalled Tuesday on a tie vote in the House Transportation, Public Works and Capital Improvements Committee.
House Bill 328 would create a coordinator position in the state Department of Transportation to develop a traffic safety plan, evaluate traffic and road conditions and accident data and make recommendations to improve road safety. The coordinator’s goal would be to find a way to end traffic-related deaths in the state.
While some members of the committee liked the plan, several said there is no need for a bill to appoint a new staffer when the Department of Transportation could do this without any enabling legislation.
Others, including Rep. Harry Garcia, D-Grants, and Rep. Cathrynn N. Brown, R-Carlsbad, said the state should improve roadways, which would help cut down on crashes, before embarking on the Vision Zero Plan.
The committee voted 4-4, effectively stalling the bill.
More school hours: House Democrats and Republicans both like House Bill 130, which would mandate an increase in learning time in public schools to 1,140 hours, including up to 60 hours of professional development for teachers, while allowing districts some flexibility in when to add the hours.
After just a few minutes of debate, the House voted 60-0 to move the bill to the Senate for consideration.
Rep. Joy Garratt, D-Albuquerque, who co-sponsored the bill, said elementary school students now have 990 of required instructional hours while secondary students have 1,080, though many districts, including Santa Fe Public Schools, provide more.
Supporters of HB 130 say it is one way to bridge gaps in student learning, while critics say the state should first shore up its educator workforce and provide more supports for students who are struggling to keep up.
Lottery anonymity: If you win a million dollars, you automatically win a million friends.
That’s Sen. Pat Woods’ theory behind Senate Bill 198, which would keep the names, addresses and other personal information of lottery game winners confidential.
“I am a believer that many people that win lotteries are besieged by people that do their best to take money from them, so this would give them an opportunity to take their newfound wealth and keep it for their own use, their own family, their own prosperity,” said Woods, a Broadview Republican.
Motorcycle registration fees: The Senate unanimously approved a bill Tuesday to increase the registration fee for two- and three-wheeled motorcycles from $15 to $20.
“Right now, out of that current $15 fee, $2 goes to the motorcycle training fund,” said Sen. Benny Shendo Jr., D-Jemez Pueblo, who is sponsoring Senate Bill 396.
The bill would increase the amount to the motorcycle training fund from the current $2 per registration to $7 per registration.
Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth of Santa Fe said he’s been having “lots of issues” with the various bills dealing with fees.
“But this particular one, we had the motorcycle groups all show up and support,” he said. “It goes specifically into a fund for their education.”
Apples to apples: Members of New Mexico’s branch of the National Education Association, including teachers from several Santa Fe schools, delivered apples to state senators Tuesday in a continued push for the Legislature to cover 100% of educators’ health insurance premiums.
“An apple a day isn’t enough to keep the doctor away! Educators need fully funded healthcare!” a note on each apple said.
Educators have been demanding the state fully cover educators’ insurance premiums throughout this session, stating the decrease in insurance costs is essential for recruiting and retaining teachers.
Current appropriations, however, would only cover one-third of the likely cost of their insurance premiums.
An alternate bill, Senate Bill 533, would cover 80% of insurance costs for educators making less than $50,000. But three-quarters of educators would be excluded from that figure because salaries for teachers start at $50,000, said Steve Siañez, a spokesman for NEA-New Mexico, said in a statement.
“We want them to fully fund health care for all the employees in the public schools,” said Grace Mayer, president of NEA-Santa Fe. “Those of use who are making $50,000 or more, we aren’t going to see any change. It’s going to be the status quo.”
For many educators, legislators’ offers so far are inadequate, said Nicole Pearson, a special-education teacher at Aspen Community School in Santa Fe.
“In terms of the trauma that teachers endure — the fact that we are front-line providers, the fact that we are equally battling COVID and putting our health on the line and our mental health — this isn’t sending a message that we’re appreciated,” she added.
Quote of the day: “And that’s why I don’t exercise.” — Transportation Secretary Ricky Serna after talking about how people work out to get healthy and then get on their bikes and get hit by a car. Serna spoke to the House Transportation, Public Works and Capital Improvements Committee about a bill to reduce traffic crashes.
“I’ve got a call in to Danny DeVito, he’s going to help me out.” — Sen. Joseph Cervantes, D-Las Cruces, responding to requests he do an impersonation of Sen. George Muñoz, D-Gallup, on the Senate chamber floor.