Latest news with #Anti-HazingAct
Yahoo
23-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Which bills passed, and which failed, during 60-day legislative session
Mar. 23—New Mexico lawmakers filed nearly 1,200 bills during the 60-day legislative session that ended Saturday at noon. A total of 194 of those bills ultimately passed both legislative chambers. Some have already been signed or vetoed by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, but most will have their fates decided by the April 11 bill signing deadline. Here's a look at what bills passed — and which fell short — at the Roundhouse. Measures marked with an asterisk (*) are already signed into law. Crime/Public safety Passed — Allow judges to impose longer prison sentences for fentanyl trafficking.* Change how courts handle criminal cases involving defendants deemed incompetent.* Increase penalty for school shooting threats.* Expand state's red flag gun law to allow law enforcement officers to initiate petitions.* Establish a turquoise alert system for missing Native American individuals. Expand racketeering crimes. Failed — Assault weapon ban. Enhance criminal penalties for violent juvenile offenders. Make it easier to hold certain defendants in jail pending trial. Repeal firearm sale waiting period. Make fentanyl trafficking a first-degree felony punishable by a life sentence. Increase penalties for felons convicted of firearm possession. Education Passed — Require schools adopt student cellphone policies. Ensure local school choice on school year length (vetoed). Increase starting teacher salaries to $55,000 per year. Protect Spanish language and culture. Allow tribal regalia at graduation ceremonies.* Expand the state's higher education nondiscrimination policy. Change how the state calculates eligibility for public service loan forgiveness. Require defibrillators in high schools. Failed — Restrict participation in single-sex sports. Provide free condoms in secondary and higher education institutions. Create an Anti-Hazing Act. Replace the Public Education Commission with an elected and appointed state school board. Require a nominating list for higher education regent selection. Codify an Office of Special Education. Health/family Passed — Create state-run psilocybin program for medical patients. Overhaul state mental health and substance abuse treatment system.* Create an Office of the Child Advocate to oversee the Children, Youth and Families Department.* Exempt public abortion providers' information from public records requests. Establish volunteering doula credential process.* Create a Medicaid trust fund. Failed — Create a state-run paid leave program for workers funded by mandatory employer and employee contributions. Limit attorney fees in medical malpractice cases. Impose a 6% surtax on liquor sales. Set minimum staffing-to-patient ratios for hospitals. Join interstate health care compacts. Environment Passed — Overhaul the Department of Game and Fish and increase hunting license fees.* Funds to achieve net-zero emissions and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Require toxic chemical warning labels for some products. Create wildfire suppression and post-wildfire funds. Establish the Strategic Water Supply Act to fund brackish water projects. Give the state more authority to protect waters. Failed — Codify limits on greenhouse gas emissions. Allow schools to replace buses with clean energy buses. Ban single-use plastic bags. Pass Green Amendment enshrining environmental protections in state Constitution. Increase coverage limits for last-resort fire insurance premiums. Energy Passed — Raise maximum oil and gas royalty rates in the Permian Basin. Allow investor-owned utilities to implement low-income utility rate programs. Create a local solar access fund. Fund abandoned mine cleanup.* Fund geothermal projects.* Allow utilities to recover costs from expanding the capacity of existing transmission depleted oil and gas wells. Create a regulatory framework for carbon sequestration. Failed — Increase penalties for Oil and Gas Act violations. Restrict oil and gas operations within a mile of schools. Retract zero-emission vehicle sales rules. Establish a Consumer Solar Protection Act. Provide tax credits for quantum projects. Economy/Taxes Passed — Give state agency law enforcement power over state cannabis industry. Expand existing property tax exemptions for veterans.* Eliminate personal income taxes for an additional 101,000 New Mexicans. Provide tax credits and breaks for foster parents and health care practitioners. Invest in site readiness efforts. Increase attorney fees and employer advance discovery costs in workers' compensation cases.* Failed — Completely eliminate state's personal income tax. Change the tax valuation for multifamily housing. Provide tax credit for local news outlets. Establish annual $500 per taxpayer rebate through 2033. Prohibit ticket scalping at more public events. Exempt tips from state income tax. Government/Elections Passed — Allow voters to decide if governor should have to give reason for bill vetoes. Require lobbyists or their employees to disclose bill stances. Permit independent voters not to vote in primary elections without changing their party affiliation. Change state's insurance plan for state employee health care premiums. Establish independent election procedures for conservancy districts.* Failed — Create independent commission to set salary levels for legislators. Change length of legislative sessions. Require driver's license or MVD photo ID to vote. Make Election Day a state holiday. Create a DOGE-inspired office to identify fraud, waste and abuse at a state level. Create a Reduction of Grocery Costs Commission. Create regulatory Artificial Intelligence Act. Make changes to state's public records law. Immigration/Labor Passed — Require that projects funded by industrial revenue bonds comply with state prevailing wage laws. Prohibit state employees from disclosing individuals' immigration status or other sensitive personal information. Allow people with authorization to work in the U.S. to work in law enforcement. Failed — Increase state's $12 per-hour minimum wage. Ban federal civil immigration detainment in state. Add more members to the New Mexico Border Authority. Create new state border security office. Create a reimbursement fund for local government costs incurred by state and federal border matters.
Yahoo
30-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Lawmakers discuss bill that would criminalize hazing in New Mexico
SANTA FE, N.M. (KRQE) – A month after NMSU fired its athletic director for failing to stop hazing and sexual assault amongst the men's basketball team, lawmakers will now reconsider an effort to make hazing a crime. Albuquerque Democrat Senator Harold Pope tried this bill last year, but it never got a full vote. However, this time Pope thinks lawmakers can get it done. 'They can no longer turn a blind eye to this and say boys will be boys or this is just what happens in athletics,' said Senator Harold Pope, (D-Albuquerque). Lawmakers push to create Slot Canyon Riverside State Park in southern New Mexico Saying hazing culture needs to end at New Mexico schools, Senator Harold Pope is now re-introducing the 'Anti-Hazing Act,' a bill aimed at keeping hazing from happening in higher-ed. 'New Mexico is one of the states that doesn't have anti-hazing laws, so we've wanted this for a while. I think unfortunately these instances that have happened, that brought it even more to the forefront,' said Sen. Pope. The effort comes a month after the attorney general released a scathing report about what happened with the New Mexico State University men's basketball team two years ago. Investigators say three players spent months targeting team members with sexualized attacks. The bill would make a code of conduct and a hazing prevention committee at New Mexico universities and require annual reports on hazing incidents. It would also make hazing a misdemeanor. 'I think it's really the accountability piece. My hope is that no one ever gets a misdemeanor. My hope is that we change the culture when folks are coming to the school whether they be an employee or a student they are trained on hazing is unacceptable,' said Senator Pope. Attorney General Raul Torrez has urged lawmakers to push hazing legislation this session. 'We think it's a necessary element of any comprehensive package, but I do want to stress the fact that it's far past time for New Mexico to move on these issues,' said Raúl Torrez, New Mexico Attorney General. Senator Harold's bill would also require universities and colleges to give students and staff hazing prevention education at the start of each academic year. Lawmakers debated the bill in a first committee Wednesday where some raised concerns about how the law was written and how it could also apply to minors in middle or high schools when the intent is to address hazing in higher education. The bill is expected to be brought back to the committee by the end of the week. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
