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At the close of this year’s state legislative session, there are several bills that, if signed into law, could create changes in many areas such as the state minimum wage, the Lottery Scholarship and the future of the state’s space travel industry. Gov. Susana Martinez has until noon on April 5 to either sign or veto bills that have passed the Legislature; bills on which she takes no action by then are automatically be vetoed. The following list is not exhaustive but provides some of the highlights of this year’s legislative session.
Passed through the Legislature and already signed by the governor:
The Fair Pay for Women Act, which prohibits wage discrimination based upon gender, and allows New Mexicans to file lawsuits for such discrimination in state court instead of federal court. The bill was approved unanimously by the House and by a 31-2 vote in the Senate.
Passed through the Legislature but vetoed by the governor:
The “Breaking Bad” bill, which would have expanded tax credits for companies filming TV shows in the state for six episodes or more. The bill was approved by the House unanimously and by a 32-8 vote in the Senate. But key provisions of the bill were incorporated into a last-minute tax package that is up for consideration by the governor, in an attempt to circumvent the veto.
Passed and awaiting gubernatorial action:
The $5.9 billion state budget proposal for the next fiscal year, which would include a 3.5 percent increase in funding for UNM and $20 million allocation for the state’s faculty endowment fund.
The capital outlay bill for funding state-owned properties, which includes $10 million for UNM-related projects. These include renovations for Castetter Hall and the Farris Engineering Center, additional lighting on campus and campus bus services.
A bill seeking to prohibit private and public universities from requesting social media account passwords from applicants.
Senate Bill 113, which includes a provision that would funnel $10 million from the tobacco settlement permanent fund into Lottery Scholarship to prevent cuts in tuition assistance to students.
This would be a short-term solution while the search for a permanent solution continues. The tobacco fund consists of money paid by tobacco companies to the state to pay back tobacco-related health care costs.
SB 416, which would increase the state minimum wage from $7.50 an hour to $8.50.
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SB 240, which would make it easier for space tourism companies to operate out of New Mexico’s Spaceport America by shielding them from civil damages lawsuits. This would be possible through the creation of state-specific legal definitions of space flight and related terms, such as what a spacecraft and space tourist are.
Failed to pass the Legislature:
House Bill 77, which aimed to increase regulation of gun sales at gun shows by requiring stricter background checks, was filibustered in the Senate on the last day of the session.
The “Burque Pops” bill was tabled in the Senate and never made it to a vote. The bill would have made it possible to classify online chat rooms and other electronic forums as houses of prostitution.
Aside from SB 113, none of the proposed solutions to the dwindling funds for the Lottery Scholarship made it through the Legislature and were either tabled or defeated in committee.
A number of UNM-related bills, such as a proposal to examine whether UNM Gallup would be better off as an independent community college, a proposal to increase funding to UNM’s dental and nursing programs and a proposal to increase funding to the school of architecture’s community outreach activities all stalled in the Legislature.
