Latest New Mexico State Legislature News

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham speaks about the uptick in confirmed COVID-19 cases in the state and her decision to hold off on opening more of the economy during a news conference at the state Capitol on Thursday, June 25, 2020. (Eddie Moore/Albuquerque Journal via AP)

Home deliveries don't get food-tax exemption during pandemic

Jul. 2, 2020 7:01 PM EDT

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Taxes are being levied on home-delivered groceries that are tax free when purchased at stores in New Mexico, undercutting incentives to stay at home during the coronavirus pandemic, tax policy experts warned Thursday. A panel of government income experts including Taxation Secretary...

Democratic New Mexico state Rep. Javier Martinez, center, of Albuquerque, and Republican Rep. Gregg Schmedes, right, of Tijeras, converse Saturday, June 20, 2020, on the floor of the New Mexico House of Representatives in Santa Fe. The New Mexico Legislature met in a special session to address a gaping budget hole linked to the coronavirus and related economic upheaval. (AP Photo/Morgan Lee)

New Mexico lawmakers back mandatory police body cameras

Jun. 22, 2020 10:07 PM EDT

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico's Legislature on Monday approved a proposal to make police body cameras mandatory for nearly all state and local law enforcement officers, sending the bill to supportive Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham for final approval. The Democrat-led House of Representatives...

Democratic State Sen. Mary Kay Papen, of Doña Ana County, speaks during a meeting of the state Senate Saturday, June 20, 2020, in Santa Fe, N.M. State legislators convened for a special session to redo the budget following the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. (AP Photo/Cedar Attanasio)

Legislature sends solvency plan to New Mexico governor

Jun. 20, 2020 11:21 PM EDT

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico’s Legislature on Saturday sent a budget solvency plan to the governor that would mend a multibillion-dollar deficit by scaling back spending increases while tapping federal recovery act money and state financial reserves. State government finances are reeling from...

New Mexico House lawmakers hold a moment of silence in memory of COVID-19 victims at the opening of a special sessionon Thursday, June 18, 2020, in Santa Fe, N.M. The legislature met for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic without access by the general public at the state Capitol building. (AP Photo/Morgan Lee)

State solvency plan clears New Mexico House, trims raises

Jun. 20, 2020 12:17 AM EDT

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The state House of Representatives on Friday approved a budget solvency plan that fills a gaping general fund deficit by harnessing federal recovery funds, tapping half the state’s financial reserves and pulling back spending increases. General fund spending for the fiscal year...

Republican state House members including Rep. Gregg Schmedes of Tijeras, standing, voiced objections to procedural rules at the opening of a special legislative session on Thursday, June 18, 2020, in Santa Fe, N.M. The legislature met for the first time since the arrival of the coronavirus pandemic in New Mexico, without public access to the state Capitol. Leading Republican lawmakers objected to rules allowing legislators vote participate remotely from home. (AP Photo/Morgan Lee)

Legislature reins in election reform proposal

Jun. 18, 2020 11:20 PM EDT

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A proposal to distribute absentee ballots directly to registered New Mexico voters without a request or application was rejected by a state Senate panel on Thursday at the outset of a special legislative session aimed primarily at shoring up state finances. Absentee ballots will...

Rose Uberuaga, 12, poses with a 3D- printed plastic elephant she designed remotely during a summer camp after her instructor printed it out and gave it to her in a parking lot on Wednesday, June 17, 2020, in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The nonprofit group STEM Santa Fe expanded access to the free camp after COVID-19 forced in-person child care groups to scale back. Uberuaga is starting seventh grade at a publicly funded charter school this fall after winning a

Education funding at risk as New Mexico Legislature meets

Jun. 18, 2020 11:38 AM EDT

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — High-stakes initiatives to improve lagging public schools are on the financial chopping block in New Mexico as economic turmoil from the coronavirus undermines the state's most significant commodity — petroleum. Nearly half the state's $7.6 billion annual spending plan is...

A healthcare worker administers a routine COVID-19 test to state Sen. Mimi Steward, of Bernalillo, on Monday, June 15, 2020, in Santa Fe, N.M.. Legislators and state workers were tested in a parking garage the state Capitol ahead of a special legislative session called in response to the budget crunch caused by the coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo/Cedar Attanasio)

Public access to Statehouse still banned amid pandemic

Jun. 16, 2020 10:00 PM EDT

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico is sticking with a ban on direct public access to the Statehouse in favor of remote internet video access as legislators gather this week to rewrite the state budget. A divided Supreme Court rejected a petition Tuesday from nearly two-dozen rank-and-file lawmakers to keep...

A healthcare worker administers a routine COVID-19 test to state Sen. Mimi Steward, of Bernalillo, on Monday, June 15, 2020, in Santa Fe, N.M.. Legislators and state workers were tested in a parking garage the state Capitol ahead of a special legislative session called in response to the budget crunch caused by the coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo/Cedar Attanasio)

New Mexico may require independent probes of police violence

Jun. 16, 2020 11:00 AM EDT

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Leading Republican legislators in New Mexico say they won’t stand in the way of initiatives to require police body cameras and prohibit chokeholds. Lawmakers are preparing for a special session on Thursday to rewrite the state budget amid a rapid decline in estimated state...

FILE - In this Jan. 21, 2020, file photo New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham gives her State of the State address during the opening of the New Mexico legislative session in the House chambers at the state Capitol in Santa Fe, N.M. In the presidential primary, Joe Biden is likely to receive a warm welcome among most Democrats in New Mexico, where Grisham has pledged to help Biden connect with racial- and ethnic-minority voters. (AP Photo/Craig Fritz, File)

New Mexico governor seeks to sustain state spending, raises

Jun. 10, 2020 7:00 PM EDT

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Wednesday urged lawmakers to tap state reserves and federal recovery money to preserve some state spending increases, including a 2% pay bump for public school personnel and state workers. State lawmakers are considering an even smaller pay...

A legislative staffer walks through the New Mexico Rotunda in Santa Fe, N.M, on Thursday, Feb. 20, 2020. New Mexico Democratic legislators forged a budget agreement Thursday that increases annual spending on government programs and school districts more than a half-billion dollars over GOP objections. (AP Photo/Russell Contreras)

New Mexico state government income faltered in March

Jun. 8, 2020 3:33 PM EDT

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A fiscal analysis from the Legislature shows that New Mexico state revenues faltered slightly in March. Monday's report from the Legislative Finance Committee foreshadows severe economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic. State government general fund income decreased to $690...

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