13-03-2025
Today at the Roundhouse, March 13, & recap
Mar. 13—With bill debates lasting into late in the evening, it's clear legislators feel a ticking clock with the 60-day session nearing adjournment. Here are a few debates and bills to watch out for on Thursday, March 13, and a recap of Wednesday.
Net-zero emissions: A proposed innovation in state government fund, Senate Bill 83, wants to send money to state agencies to help them achieve net-zero emissions and implement sustainable economic policies. It goes before the House Energy, Environment and Natural Resources Committee in the morning, though it currently lacks a budgetary appropriation.
CARA: Senate Bill 42 would move the primary oversight of the state's Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act, or CARA, program away from the Children, Youth and Families Department and to the Department of Health. It's No. 5 on the Senate floor calendar.
Wednesday recap
Game commission reform: Senate Bill 5, an attempt to overhaul the state Department of Game and Fish, passed the House on a 42-26 vote after hitting the three-hour debate limit. It goes back to the Senate for concurrence, since a House committee amended the bill with cleanup language and different licensing fees. House Republicans failed to amend the bill twice on the floor.
Veterans property taxes: A bill implementing property tax changes approved by New Mexico voters last fall is headed to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham's desk. The measure, House Bill 47, passed the Senate on a 39-0 vote Wednesday. It would expand an existing property tax exemption for veterans, starting in the 2025 tax year.
Get your camera out: It's Film and Media Day, courtesy of Santa Fe labor union IATSE Local 480.
Where the bills stand
SB83: Passed Senate. Must pass House Energy, Environment and Natural Resources and House Appropriations and Finance Committees, then the full House, then the governor's desk.
HB5: Passed Senate and House. Goes back to Senate for concurrence, then to governor's desk.
HB47: Passed Senate and House. Headed to Lujan Grisham's desk for final approval.
