NM Legislature recap Feb. 7: Sovereignty and cooperation
The Roundhouse in Santa Fe welcomed dignitaries from New Mexico's sovereign tribal nations on Friday for American Indian Day.
Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren and Jicarilla Apache Nation President Adrian Notsinneh addressed a joint session of the Senate and House of Representatives, as did Chairman for the All Pueblo Council of Governors James Mountain.
'Our state of New Mexico is unique because of our different Pueblos, tribes and Native nations, and our individual sovereign rights,' said Rep. Wonda Johnson (D-Rehoboth), who is a member of the Navajo Nation and presided over the joint session. 'Today, we are also facing issues and challenges that demand our communication, coordination and collaboration.'
Mountain outlined legislation the APCG wants to see written into law, including Jemez Democrat Sen. Benny Shendo's Senate Bill 13, which would allow tribes to work with the state to establish language- and culture-based schools.
He asked lawmakers to pass Senate Bill 163, sponsored by Shendo and Johnson, which would allow public school students who are enrolled in a federally recognized tribe to wear their tribal regalia at graduation ceremonies or public school events.
Mountain also endorsed House Bill 137, a controversial proposition to eventually treat hard-to-access deep aquifer water and oil and gas wastewater for proposed end uses such as hydrogen fuel or manufacturing solar or wind components.
He implored lawmakers to turn the promise of the Yazzie-Martinez education equity ruling into reality.
'It's not just about Indian education, it's about New Mexico children and students,' Mountain said. 'It's about our school system that needs to be improved, and we have to figure out a way to come together.'
Excluding House resolutions to name certain days at the Legislature, the 'feed bill' to fund the session has been the only bill to cross the governor's desk. Next week, we expect to see some legislation hit chamber floors for debate.
The House Judiciary Committee on Friday afternoon agreed to delay jumping into one of the more contested issues in the governor's public safety agenda: rewriting the state's Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Code to give prosecutors more options to involuntarily commit people into a locked psychiatric facility if they are found to be dangerous and unable to stand trial. The committee 'rolled' Los Alamos Democrat Rep. Christine Chandler's House Bill 4 to next week, in order to give the panel more time to hear other public safety bills and vote on them as one package, House Speaker Javier Martínez (D-Albuquerque) said.
'I'm grateful and I'm proud, and I can't wait to see this play out in practice, and the restorative impact it will have on all of our communities,' Martínez said of HB 4. 'This is what legislating for the people looks like. We're not legislating to score political points, or legislating out of chaos. This is how it should be done. I can't wait to get this on the floor and over to the other chamber.'
Meanwhile, the Senate is working on a complementary package of bills meant to rebuild the state's behavioral health treatment system, Martínez said, 'that will be a part of the system we're creating together.'
The Senate Education Committee passed the Advancing the Science of Reading Act, Senate Bill 242, this morning by a unanimous 7-0 vote. The bill, sponsored by President Pro Tempore Mimi Stewart (D-Albuquerque), proposes changes to the public school code and course requirements for teacher licensure to include more training on the 'science of literature.' It heads to the Senate Finance Committee next.
Sen. Bill Soules (D-Las Cruces) briefly introduced Senate Bill 235, which proposes the creation of a statewide plan for addressing low math scores in the state, including professional learning plans. However, the bill was rolled to the committee's next Wednesday meeting.
On Monday afternoon, advocates for criminal legal reform and voting rights will rally to demand lawmakers expand New Mexicans' voting rights. During 'End Mass Incarceration Day,' Millions for Prisoners New Mexico and the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico will push for bills to address disparities in the criminal legal system, including House Joint Resolution 10, which would ask voters to amend the state Constitution to eliminate the state's practice of taking away people's right to vote for being convicted of a felony.
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Expect both longer days and longer weeks at the Roundhouse, as Saturday committee sessions get into full swing. Here's what's happening in committees this weekend:
The House Consumer and Public Affairs Committee has six public safety bills on the agenda brought by Rep. Andrea Reeb (R-Clovis), including House Bill 104,which addresses the definitions of crimes against peace officers; House Bill 107, which proposes stricter penalties for drug trafficking resulting in a death; and House Bill 136, which would define fentanyl exposure of a minor as child abuse.
The House Judiciary Committee is scheduled to discuss penalties for vehicle thefts; expanding the state law on ticket scalping to state and nonprofit events; and changes to worker's compensation.
Among the six bills the House Energy, Environment and Natural Resource Committee will discuss is House Bill 212, the Per- & Poly-Flouroalkyl Protection Act.
Two PFAS bills scheduled for Saturday House Energy and Natural Resources committee
On the Senate side, only the Senate Conservation Committee is meeting at 9 a.m. with eight bills on the agenda, according to Chair Sen. Liz Stefanics (D-Cerrillos).
'We're going to try and power through them, because we're not moving very fast in committee,' Stefanics said Friday on the Senate floor. Those bills include Senate Bill 48 and Senate Bill 49, both from Senate Pro Tem Mimi Stewart (D-Albuquerque), which establishes a $340 million grant fund for communities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and provides the funds for state agencies, respectively.
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