LEGISLATIVE ROUNDUP
Days remaining in session: 2 Senate OKs small loan rate cut: The Senate late Tuesday approved a measure slashing the interest rates charged by so-called storefront lenders to 36 percent from 175 percent.
House Bill 132, which will take effect Jan. 1 if the governor signs it into law, allows companies offering small loans to charge a fee of up to 5 percent on loans of $500 or less. It applies to loans of up to $10,000.
Sen. Katy Duhigg, D-Albuquerque, noted the measure applies not only to brick-and-mortar businesses but also online lenders.
A recent report found 89 percent of such lenders are from out of state, she said.
“We’re not going to be pushing lenders out of New Mexico,” Duhigg said, adding the origination fee for the smallest loans creates “enough profitability” for the businesses to operate.
DWI arrest: Blood-alcohol tests administered on a prominent Albuquerque Democrat arrested in Santa Fe this week on suspicion of aggravated DWI registered more than twice the legal limit for driving, according to a police report.
The results from two breath samples collected from Rep. Georgene Louis “were .17 and .17 grams of alcohol per 210 liters of breath,” the report states.
A DWI officer assigned to a “Super Bowl saturation patrol” stopped Louis for allegedly speeding near St. Francis Drive and Siringo Road just before midnight Sunday.
The officer reported detecting a strong odor of alcohol coming from inside the car Louis was driving “and noted that her eyes were watery,” the report states.
“I confronted Ms. Louis with my observations and she admitted consuming two or three alcoholic beverages (vodka) before driving, about two hour before the stop,” the report states.
In addition to DWI, Louis was charged with speeding and having no evidence of insurance or vehicle registration. She told police her registration had expired, according to the report.
In a remorseful statement issued by her attorney late Monday, Louis apologized and said she deeply regretted her lapse in judgment.
“I am accepting responsibility for my mistake,” she said.
Pay for Native language teachers: Native American language and culture teachers would earn the same salary as educators in the middle level of the state’s three-tier licensure system under a bill the Senate unanimously approved.
House Bill 60 appropriates $1.25 million from the general fund to pay teachers with a “520 certificate” a salary equal to that of a teacher with a Level 2 license.
Under a separate bill Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is expected to sign into law, middle-tier teachers will see a jump in base pay to $60,000 from $50,000.
“Some districts pay [Native language teachers] as little as $12,000 a year,” said Sen. Benny Shendo Jr., D-Jemez Pueblo, who carried the legislation in the Senate. “This bill will ensure that the Native language teachers are treated fairly and on par with other teachers. The teaching of Native languages is a primary importance to our tribes and pueblos.”
The bill also requires tribes and pueblos, not the the state, to establish proficiency criteria for the 520 certificate.
“We need to pay these teachers what they’re worth,” said Senate President Pro Tem Mimi Stewart, D-Albuquerque.
“This is elevating our Native teachers. It’s elevating our Native languages.”
Fentanyl bill heads to governor: A bill that would allow people using illegal substances to test their drugs for fentanyl is headed to the governor’s desk for her signature.
The Senate late Monday approved House Bill 52 on a 32-3 vote. The bill amends the state’s Harm Reduction Act and removes testing devices from the definition of paraphernalia.
“We have an opioid crisis here in New Mexico,” said Sen. Katy Duhigg, D-Albuquerque, who is one of the sponsors. “Fentanyl overdose is the leading cause of death in adults 18 to 44 right now. This bill addresses that issue.”
Emily Kaltenbach, senior director of criminal legal and policing reform at the Drug Policy Alliance, lauded the Senate’s bipartisan support of a bill to decriminalize the possession of drug checking supplies and devices. Such devices can greatly reduce the risk of overdose and other potential harms by confirming a substance is free of any more harmful combinations before it is ingested, she said in a statement.
“It’s outrageous that people across this country are still being criminalized for possessing supplies and tools that they are solely using to keep themselves safer amid record overdose deaths,” she said.
Senate showers Papen with praise: A familiar face returned to the Senate for a confirmation hearing that turned into a love fest.
Former Senate President Pro Tem Mary Kay Papen, D-Las Cruces, was enthusiastically confirmed to the Colonias Infrastructure Board.
Before the unanimous vote, nearly two dozen lawmakers from both sides of the aisle shared personal stories and spoke admiringly of Papen, who was among four of five conservative-leaning Democrats unseated in the June 2020 primary after they were targeted by a progressive coalition.
“It’s really a good day when I see Mary Kay Papen,” said Sen. Stuart Ingle, R-Portales. “There’s not a better person that served in this Senate. She was fair and her word was her bond and that’s what makes you successful here. … She was truly successful and still is. None better. No brag, just fact.”
Honoring firefighters: It was not quite 100 years ago when Ludwig Ilfeld called the first meeting of the New Mexico State Firefighters Association in Las Vegas, N.M.
Over the past century, volunteer firefighters have saved our property, pets, children and lives, and it’s time to honor them, said Rep. Candy Spence Ezzell, R-Roswell.
“Our firefighters are, more often than not, not even thought of until there is an emergency situation,” she told members of the House on Tuesday after introducing House Memorial 41.
The memorial proclaimed Tuesday as New Mexico Firefighters Association Day.
Ezzell and several other lawmakers spoke of the work those firefighters do in rural communities.
“Until you have a fire in your home, you have no real idea of the impact [firefighters have],” said Rep. Jane Powdrell-Culbert, R-Corrales.
The House unanimously voted to approve the memorial.
Quote of the day: “When I picked this room, I didn’t know it was where all the custodians store their stuff.” — Rep. Daymon Ely, D-Corrales, while trying to explain a 165-page voting rights bill during a committee hearing. Ely had chosen an abandoned room in the Capitol and was clearly being distracted by background activity.