Latest news with #AfricanAmericanDay
Yahoo
10-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
New Mexico Legislature passes 23 bills over weekend
Students look over a gathering for African American Day at the Legislature on Feb. 14, 2025. (Photo by Julia Goldberg / Source NM) Nearly two dozen pieces of legislation advanced through chamber votes or committee hearings in the New Mexico Legislature over the weekend. The House of Representatives on Friday night passed House Bill 9, known as the Immigrant Safety Act, which would prohibit state agencies and local governments from entering into agreements used to detain people for violations of civil immigration law, and would require any existing agreements to end as soon as possible. The legislation still needs to pass through the Senate Health and Public Affairs Committee and the Senate Judiciary Committee before reaching a vote in the full Senate. 'Behind each detention bed is a human being—parents separated from children, workers torn from their communities, and asylum seekers who fled violence only to face new trauma in detention,' New Mexico Immigrant Law Center Director of Policy and Coalition Building Jessica Martinez said in a statement. 'By passing the Immigrant Safety Act, the House has chosen to stand on the right side of history. We urge the Senate to act swiftly to complete this important work and end New Mexico's complicity in this harmful system.' On Saturday, the House passed House Bill 255, which would expand community-based services already provided to young people exiting juvenile detention to include children and young adults in the Children, Youth and Families Department's custody; and extend how long someone remains on supervised release from juvenile detention. 'Evidence shows us that focusing on intervention and rehabilitation will lead to better outcomes for our children, while addressing the root causes of juvenile crime in our state,' lead sponsor Rep. Liz Thomson (D-Albuquerque) said in a statement. 'HB 255 helps us guide our at-risk youth down a better path, by providing them with key resources proven to be more effective at deterring crime and reducing recidivism than punitive measures alone.' On Saturday morning, the Senate Tax, Business and Transportation Committee passed Senate Bill 52, which would align mileage reimbursements for lawmakers and their staff with the U.S. General Service Administration rate; a substitute version of Senate Bill 118, which would require the Motor Vehicle Division to distribute to other state agencies' organ donor application materials; Senate Bill 318, which would regulate firearms and destructive devices under consumer protection law; Senate Bill 352, which would make confidential photographs taken by medical investigators; Senate Bill 377, which would create a special license plate for New Mexico's professional soccer team, New Mexico United; Senate Bill 408, which would raise the threshold for when a state agency needs to seek competitive bids on a contract; Senate Bill 413, which would allow the State Investment Council to spend more on the Private Equity Investment Program; Senate Bill 422, which would set aside $5 million for grants to nonprofits providing affordable or transitional housing and other services for homeless people; and Senate Bill 460, which would allow the State Investment Council to make zero-interest loans to film production companies. The Senate Finance Committee on Saturday morning passed Senate Bill 219, which would establish a program for medicinal use of psilocybin mushrooms. Later on Saturday, the Senate passed Senate Bill 169, which would set aside $24 million for preparing sites for business development; Senate Bill 353, which would ensure potential search-and-rescue incidents are reported to the Department of Public Safety; and Senate Bill 81, which would provide property insurance to homeowners and businesses who struggle to get private insurance due to high risks from things like wildfires. The Senate unanimously passed Senate Bill 480, which would require the Public Education Department to track all school-aged people who haven't graduated from high school within four years from entering ninth grade; Senate Bill 39, which would prohibit prior authorization or step therapy, when insurance companies and pharmacy benefit management companies refuse to cover a specific drug until after the patient has tried cheaper alternatives, for off-label medications or therapies for rare diseases; and Senate Bill 252, which would allow all licensed social workers to provide telehealth services. On Saturday afternoon, the Senate Judiciary Committee passed Senate Bill 78, which would allow certified nurse anesthetists to practice independently; Senate Bill 303, which would remove the need for gaming machines to meet standards set by Nevada and New Jersey and instead require them to meet standards set by the state; Senate Bill 457, which would set aside $20 million for civil legal services to low-income people; Senate Bill 302, which would strengthen background checks for Gaming Control Board contractors; and Senate Bill 375, which would allow early discharge for people who comply with probation and makes other changes to parole. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
15-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
NM Legislative recap Feb. 14: ‘Our song rises when we all rise together'
Dr. Karissa Culbreath, Assistant Professor of Pathology at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine, addressed a joint session of lawmakers at African American Day. (Photo by Danielle Prokop / Source NM) For seven generations, Dr. Karissa Culbreath's family has called New Mexico home and their dinner table reflects their uniquely Black New Mexican history. 'We are people who have biscuits and tortillas,' she told a joint session of the New Mexico House of Representatives and Senate on Friday. 'We have collard greens and posole. We have pinto beans and black-eyed peas.' Throughout her speech, Culbreath honored Black New Mexicans who changed history, including Estevan the Moor and the Buffalo Soldiers. It was the 25th anniversary of African American Day at the Legislature, said Rev. N.D. Smith. 'Twenty-five years later, we're able to celebrate the long suffering and the hard work that others put into making this day a very special day,' Smith said. Culbreath talked about the hope and determination of the Black experience in New Mexico. 'The story of New Mexico has always been a multicultural story and, in that story, the contributions of the Black community have always been present,' Culbreath said. Earlier on Friday, Black organizations from across the state tabled in the Rotunda, including the New Mexico Black Student Alliance, the Public Education Department's Black Education Advisory Council, the Office of African American Affairs and the New Mexico Martin Luther King, Jr. Commission. Culbreath is the daughter of two Albuquerque educators, an assistant professor of pathology at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine and a Rio Rancho city councilor. 'We too, sing New Mexico,' Culbreath said, adapting a poem by Langston Hughes, the Black poet, novelist, essayist and playwright. 'It is not just the song of my family that makes up this story. The song of the African American experience in New Mexico is as varied as the jazz music our people created. It is complex and beautiful.' The joint session closed with a performance of 'Goodness of God' by Kendra and Tasha Crawford, students at Cochiti Elementary School. 'Our song is an orchestra that is richer and more vibrant when each instrument plays its chord,' Culbreath said. 'This has always been our strength: Our song rises when we all rise together.' Constance Williams, a licensed clinical social worker from Clovis, New Mexico, is a new vice chair for the New Mexico Martin Luther King Jr. Commission. She also participated on the local commission in Clovis, which first started operating in 1991. The local commission includes artistic, speech contests based on themes from King's work, and works to award two $1,000 scholarships for graduating seniors based on an essay. The following interview has been edited for clarity and concision. Source NM: For people unfamiliar, what is the New Mexico Martin Luther King Jr. Commission? Constance Williams: The state supports local commissions in making sure that local communities have information, access to and an ability to help promote Dr. King's legacy. What does that look like? On the eastern side, in our local commission, we have an essay and speech contest that happens every year. We have district contests where all the schools submit their top projects, and then we pick winners from that. This year, our local theme was based on Dr. King's second principle which is: nonviolence seeks to win friendship and understanding. How have the recent federal announcements to remove MLK's birthday from celebrated holidays and federal denouement of diversity equity and inclusion impacted your work? It is worrisome; there is basically a regression. No matter what happens, I think we'll continue to honor Dr. King's legacy and what he means. All the issues that he spoke about are issues that we're still dealing with in this time, and we really have to educate people. In a 5-4 party-line vote Friday morning, the Senate Education Committee advanced a bill that would make comprehensive sexual education available to every student in New Mexico, as a way of preventing teen pregnancies, sexually transmitted disease, sexual violence, bullying and sexual harassment. Republicans on the committee tried to table Senate Bill 258 but the Democratic majority outvoted them. Sen. Natalie Figueroa (D-Albuquerque) tried to amend the bill so students could complete sex ed either in middle school or high school. The sponsors agreed to the amendment, but Sen. Martin Hickey (D-Albuquerque) joined committee Republicans to block it. In the afternoon, the Senate passed a trio of bills known as the behavioral health package. All three bills still need to go through the committee process on the House side, and a floor vote in the House of Representatives before they go to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham's desk. The House Government, Elections and Indian Affairs Committee backed two bills they hope will reform the New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department. On Thursday, the Senate Indian, Rural and Cultural Affairs Committee passed a bill to designate tortillas as the state's official bread.
Yahoo
14-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Today at the Roundhouse, Feb. 14
Feb. 14—The Legislature is nearing the end of the fourth week of the 60-day legislative session. Expect to see lots of flowers and chocolate at the Roundhouse on Valentine's Day. Here's what else to watch for on Friday, Feb. 14. Baby bonds: A bill that would set up a new state fund to provide cash support to New Mexico families for each child born after January 2025 gets its first hearing in the House Health and Human Services Committee. The "baby bonds" bill, House Bill 7, is supported by state Treasurer Laura Montoya and others. Session lengths: The length of New Mexico's legislative sessions would be changed to 45 days per year, under a proposed constitutional amendment, House Joint Resolution 1, scheduled for debate in the House Judiciary Committee. Under the state's current system, lawmakers meet for 60-day sessions in odd-numbered years and 30-day sessions in even-numbered years. University leaders: A measure that would require a state board to sign off on certain top university administrator contracts gets its first vetting in the Senate Education Commission at 9:30 a.m. The bill, Senate Bill 266, is one of several being pushed by Attorney General Raúl Torrez after a recent string of higher education controversies. Joint session: It's African American Day at the Capitol, and the House and Senate will hold a joint session to hear speakers. It's also Dental Hygienists' Day at the Roundhouse.
