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A lot of the activity here in the last days of the session, not surprisingly, is focused on money matters. The first order of business each year is of course the budget (HB 2), and that seems to be nearing the finish line with just three and a half days left to go. Also, lawmakers in the House yesterday unanimously approved a Capital Outlay package (HB 285). Now it s up to the Senate to pick up the baton.
A measure to tap more money from the Land Grant Permanent Fund is also moving forward to the full Senate, after a historic vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday. A staple of recent legislative sessions, the measure has never made it this far before. All that stands between it and the Governor s desk is a full Senate vote. If all of that happens, it would still end up n the November 2022 ballot for voters to ultimately decide.
A busy weekend in the Roundhouse, capped off by yes votes for Medical Aid in Dying and Mandatory Paid Sick Leave measures. But, the big news of the weekend
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Every 10 years after the census, the New Mexico state Legislature redraws its districts. While redistricting is always a contentious and often partisan task, this year, the drama is being felt by both parties. On Saturday, a compromise was reached: An independent committee would offer three to five maps that lawmakers choose from and can change before sending one to the governor. This clears the way for the bill to hit the Senate floor. KUNM spoke with Gwyneth Doland of New Mexico PBS to get a breakdown of the situation.
GWYNETH DOLAND: There was a task force that met for many months last year and into this year, a bipartisan group that was some sitting lawmakers, Democrats, Republicans, Senators, Representatives, also members of the community, good-government groups. There are some judges in there, folks like that. They wrote a bill, and they submitted it, that would take the task of redrawing these boundaries away from the lawmakers whose boundaries they are, right? Because
And then there were 2 - cannabis legalization bills. At least that s the way things seem to be shaping up in this 2021 Legislative Session.
Yesterday, the Senate Tax, Business and Transportation Committee moved ahead both HB 12 and SB 288, although with changes to both measures. Those changes actually bring the two bills closer in line, with the big difference being oversight of a new legal cannabis market. HB 12 leaves that to Licensing and Regulation, while SB 288 would create a new supervisory panel. The other difference is, HB 12 has a shorter path to potential passage, since it has already worked its way through the House of Representatives. You can read more about all of this from Andy Lyman at New Mexico Political Report, and be sure to keep up to date with our Growing Forward podcast, all about the cannabis industry in New Mexico. It s a collaborative project between NMPBS and New Mexico Political Report.
Another busy week in store for the session, and today also marks the second to last Monday of the 2021 Legislative Session. Lawmakers will definitely have their hands full in these last days, with plenty of high profile measures still to decide.
Today we talk the status of House Joint Resolution 1, which is an annual effort to allow the state to take more money from the permanent land grant fund and put that money (about $170 million a year) toward early childhood programs. This measure has often been a political hot potato, but it passed out of Senate Rules on a 7-4 vote. Next, it will move to Senate Finance.