Latest news with #AngelicaRubio
Yahoo
02-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Income-based housing protections bill moves onto Senate
Mar. 1—An anti-discrimination housing bill is heading to the Senate. House Bill 339 passed the House floor by a vote of 42-24 on Saturday. The legislation would amend the Human Rights Act to label housing discrimination based on a source of income an illegal practice. The legislation specifically adds protections for Social Security benefits; pension, annuity, alimony or child support; and any form of assistance from local, state or federal governments or nonprofits, such as housing vouchers. Bill sponsor Rep. Angelica Rubio, D-Las Cruces, said she introduced the legislation because landlords are denying housing requests based on a potential tenant's source of income. "You can still do credit reports, you can still check their history, you can still do all of the things that you're doing already for tenants when you're looking for tenants," Rubio said in response to a question on the floor. "But you just cannot deny them just because of their source of income." If anyone believes they've been discriminated against for housing based on source of income, they could report it to the New Mexico Department of Justice along with a burden of proof — something like a letter from a landlord listing a denial reason as not accepting Social Security, Rubio explained. She also said this effort could help to preemptively prevent homelessness. Rep. Mark Duncan, R-Kirtland, voiced concerns about landlords violating this bill if they don't fix up a housing property to meet low-income loan standards, and therefore don't accept housing applications from people with low-income loans or vouchers. To address this, he successfully amended the bill to ensure it doesn't require anyone to repair or improve a property to meet housing standards set by optional assistance programs. Duncan still voted against the bill, along with other Republicans. "There's a reason why they say you should make three times the amount (of rent)," said Rep. Stefani Lord, R-Sandia Park, who said this would back landlords into a corner of human rights' violations and lawsuits.
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Water treatment and reuse bill passes its first committee, despite concerns
Feb. 12—A water treatment and reuse proposal is moving forward with some changes after more than five hours of discussion in the Roundhouse. The legislation passed its first committee by a vote of 5-4 on Tuesday, likely a preview of the tough battle it has ahead to get through the rest of the Legislature. Rep. Angelica Rubio, D-Las Cruces, joined Republicans in voting against the bill, and other Democrats on the committee said they're still uncertain about the measure as it stands. With two more committee assignments before getting to the floor, it's a long journey for House Bill 137. The legislation would allow the state to enter into contracts and award grants for projects using treated brackish or produced water, a way to incentivize businesses to participate in the market. It would also impose a 3 cent tax on each barrel of produced water from oil and gas wells, unless the water is reused for drilling or at a state-permitted reuse facility. Four to seven times more produced water comes out of the ground than oil when drilling, according to the New Mexico Environment Department. The bill, which moved forward through the committee as a substitute of the initial legislation, lowered the fee on produced water barrels, which was formerly 5 cents per barrel. HB137 also comes with a $75 million appropriation ask. It's significantly less than proponents sought last year, when the proposal failed twice. It's rare to see oil and gas industry representatives and environmental advocates fighting on the same side, but the strategic water supply proposal has created a united front of sorts for the lobbyists. Some have different reasons for opposing the bill, including disagreement over the tax on oil and gas operators or concern over the safety of treated and reused water. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, after the bill passed the committee, said in a statement this is a way to support clean energy and advanced manufacturing "without putting our freshwater supplies at risk." "I look forward to continued work with the Legislature to advance the bill and secure the needed funding for the program," she said. The bill goes to the House Energy and Natural Resources Committee next, then House Appropriations and Finance. Meanwhile, a bill that would restrict using produced water outside of oil fields, Senate Bill 178, goes before Senate Conservation on Wednesday.
