State Legislature plans for January 2021 session

The New Mexico State Legislature met online on Monday (Dec. 14) to plan for their next legislative session, slated to begin Jan. 19. Foremost on the agenda was how to run a safe and effective 60-day session for the House and Senate during a pandemic.

Safety first

“We need to determine what members are absolutely essential to have on site, and what staff is going to be able to work from home,” said Raúl Burciaga, director of the New Mexico Legislative Council Service.

With daily shifts in the number of deaths due to COVID-19, and the introduction of a vaccine this week, stay-at-home requirements are an ongoing conversation.

A 5-bill limit

In response to these challenging new work conditions, the Legislature is considering a five-bill limit for members of the House of Representatives in the upcoming session.

“It will be helpful on the analysts. It'll be helpful for the workload of committees. And it will also help the public to be able to focus on a reduced and prioritized legislative list,” said Brian Egolf (D-Santa Fe), Speaker of the New Mexico House of Representatives.

It's a matter of future debate whether the limit would be a formally adopted rule, or a practice that House members would agree to adhere to.

“The 125 bills that would be available to the minority, and the 225 bills that would be available to the majority — are you thinking that those numbers would flow from caucus member to caucus member,” asked Rep. James Townsend (R-Artesia), District 54. “Or are you trying to limit those individually?”

Egolf countered that the fivebill limit was being considered as a way to prioritize the efforts of the legislation while everyone coped with the social distancing mandates and other hurdles brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I think it is easy to say that, based on past experience, there's no advantage whatsoever in terms of bills passing, for the number that you introduce,” said Egolf. “There's just no relationship between those two things.”

The limit would not apply to bills introduced in the Senate or to bills originating from the governor's office.

More space

The Legislature discussed using the Santa Fe Community Convention Center as an overflow workspace for the January 2021 legislative session. The extra space would potentially be used by staff, and could afford greater public access to lawmakers.

“Given what we're hearing from the public health experts, I don't see that the convention center adds anything from a health and safety perspective,” said Egolf. “I didn't want to foreclose that as an option, because it has a no-penalty cancellation process. I think it's fine to continue to look at it.”

Redistricting ahead

The Decennial U.S. Census occurred this year, and the legislative council has begun making plans to redistrict the state. A working group will propose a budget and make general recommendations to be taken up by the redistricting committee once it is formally established.

It's expected that the proposals coming out of the working group will be similar to those proposed in 2001 and 2011.