Latest news with #HouseBill417
Yahoo
21-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Impasse on tax package extends into New Mexico legislative session's final hours
Sen. Carrie Hamblen (D-Las Cruces) on the Senate floor Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (Danielle Prokop / Source NM) With fewer than 24 hours left in the 2025 session, New Mexico lawmakers on Friday tried to breach a rupture between the House and Senate on a proposed package of tax benefits that would cost $126 million in the coming year and more than a half a billion dollars over the next four years. After one meeting earlier in the day ended in a failure to produce a compromise, lawmakers spent much of Friday in negotiations with the members on finance committees in both chambers. Lawmakers on the panel had said they would reconvene at 4 p.m. However, that time came and went without a meeting; According to Senate majority spokesperson Chris Nordstrum, as of publication, the meeting had been delayed indefinitely, he said, but could happen on Friday night or Saturday morning. The rupture emerged notably during floor debate on Thursday, when the Senate removed the means for paying for the package: a 0.28% tax on oil paired with a reduction in natural gas taxes contained in House Bill 548 and expected to generate $130 million in revenue. The House wouldn't concur with the Senate's changes, requiring negotiations between the chambers. On Friday morning, the conference committee made up of three senators and three representatives met to hammer out the two chambers' differences on the tax package. For a bill to pass out of the concurrence panel, it must receive support from the majority of both chambers, Legislative Finance Committee Chief Economist Ismael Torres explained to the committee. Agreement doesn't have to be unanimous, but at least two senators and two House members must vote in favor of a compromise. In the first round of negotiations, the conference panel agreed to add House Bill 417, which would direct nearly $10 million in liquor excise tax revenue to the Tribal Harms Alleviation Fund rather than the General Fund; and to remove Senate Bill 393, which would have exempted the Ruidoso Downs and Casino — which the June 2024 wildfires in Lincoln and Otero counties impacted — from taxes for the next five years. The bicameral panel tried to put the oil and gas tax changes back into the tax package, but two of the three senators voted against it. Sen. Carrie Hamblen (D-Las Cruces), chair of the Senate Tax, Business and Transportation Committee, told panel members the Senate wants to avoid bringing HB548 back into the package. 'We feel that that would prevent the rest of this from going through,' she said. Rep. Derrick Lente (D-Sandia Pueblo), who chairs House Taxation and Revenue, said HB548 is good tax policy because the oil and gas industry had net profits upwards of $10 billion in 2024. If the Senate isn't willing to create that tax, he said, 'I don't know if we have a path forward, only because I am not in the business — nor would I want to be an advocate for — sacrificing bills to see if we can hold bills hostage or do whatever it takes to raise $130 million.' In response to Lente in the morning meeting, Hamblen said senators do not want to use any bills as a 'sacrificial lamb' to pay for the tax package. 'However, I do have the confidence in the staff who have already started to look at multiple pathways to do that,' Hamblen said. Options to get money into the package remain limited because lawmakers already passed the budget for the upcoming year on Thursday. They could pursue a zombie bill to amend the budget, or pay for the tax package out of reserves, which would require legislative action. They could also find some other revenue source to add to the package, or take some of the tax credits out of the package, Lente said. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
11-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Prospects dim for proposed NM liquor tax increase after bill stalls in House committee
Mar. 10—SANTA FE — A proposal to curb problem drinking in New Mexico by increasing the state's liquor tax rate is facing long odds for approval during this year's 60-day legislative session. But backers say they're not giving up after a bill that would impose a new surtax on the sale of beer, wine and spirits stalled Monday in a House committee on a tie vote. Rep. Cristina Parajón, D-Albuquerque, one of the bill's sponsors, said after the vote she's committed to working on the issue. "We still have two weeks left in the session," she told the Journal, citing several other alcohol-related bills that are still pending at the Roundhouse. "There are other options for us still." One of the state's youngest legislators, Parajón also said younger New Mexicans are especially sensitive to pricing for products, saying higher alcohol prices would lead to a drop in drinking in that population. However, the New Mexico Restaurant Association and numerous local eateries had expressed opposition to House Bill 417, the proposed alcohol tax increase. Given that opposition, Parajón and other backers of the measure had sought to rework the bill in the lead-up to Monday's hearing in the House Taxation and Revenue Committee. Specifically, the new-look legislation would impose a 3% surtax on all alcoholic drinks sold and consumed on site, such as at a restaurant or brewery, while a 6% surtax would be imposed on all other alcohol sales. That surtax would be imposed on top of existing state and local liquor taxes. Critics of the approach said the revised bill could be difficult for retailers to implement and would contribute to rising consumer costs. They also questioned the need for tax increases at a time when New Mexico has been riding an ongoing revenue wave prompted by increased oil production. Two Democrats — Reps. Patricia Lundstrom of Gallup and Doreen Gallegos of Las Cruces — ultimately joined with the committee's Republican members on Monday in voting to block the measure from advancing. Lundstrom, the former chairwoman of the House budget committee, pointed out McKinley County already has a 5% local liquor excise tax and said it was unclear how much money the new proposal would generate. "I don't think a bill should be considered at this point if we don't know how much money it is going to raise," she said. This year's bill marks the latest attempt to raise New Mexico's alcohol tax rate in a state with one of the nation's highest drunken driving fatality rates. Under the proposal, the tax dollars raised by the tax hike would be split between a local alcohol treatment fund and a new tribal prevention fund. New Mexico's total number of alcohol-related deaths recently declined for two consecutive years, falling from 2,274 such deaths in 2021 to 1,896 alcohol-related deaths in 2023, according to state Department of Health data. However, New Mexico still had the nation's highest per capita rate of alcohol-related deaths in 2022, with 42.7 deaths per 100,000 people, per Kaiser Family Foundation data. University of New Mexico researchers this year projected a 25-cent per drink alcohol tax increase would reduce alcohol consumption by more than 1.7% and could generate $132 million in additional revenue. "This is one of the most important policies that we can do for public health," Parajón said, citing a similar tax enacted in Maryland in 2011 that has led to a decrease in alcohol consumption.
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
NM Legislative Recap Feb. 26: A full House on Behavioral Health Day
Sindy Bolaños-Sacoman, founding director of the New Mexico Tribal Behavioral Health Providers Association, came to the New Mexico Legislature for Behavioral Health Day on Feb. 26, 2025. She is pictured in front of an acrylic painting at the Roundhouse titled "Hoshonzeh" by Douglas Johnson. (Photo by Austin Fisher / Source NM) It's set to be a full House, after Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham's announcement Wednesday selecting Martha Garcia, a former Cibola County commissioner and president of the Ramah Chapter House, to fill the vacant seat for House District 6. The chair, held previously by the late Rep. Eliseo Alcon, has been vacant since his November resignation. Alcon died of liver cancer on Jan. 13. Elsewhere in the Roundhouse, behavioral health providers and state agencies involved in mental health treatment gathered for Behavioral Health Day. One of them was Sindy Bolaños-Sacoman, founding director of the New Mexico Tribal Behavioral Health Providers Association, a group of approximately 50 providers from Native nations in New Mexico. Originally from Guatemala, Bolaños-Sacoman has spent the last 20 years in New Mexico working as an evaluator of state-level health programs. As Source NM was interviewing Bolaños-Sacoman in a hallway outside the Rotunda on Wednesday morning, Lt. Gov. Howie Morales shook her hand and said, 'Thank you again for all the work you're doing,' before disappearing into a restricted part of the Roundhouse. Bolaños-Sacoman explained that she is working on House Bill 417, which would raise New Mexico's tax on alcohol for the first time in 30 years and re-direct revenue toward treatment and programs. She said the bill would generate $100 million in tax revenue, half of which would go to tribal communities that need addiction prevention, recovery, treatment and harm reduction. The Tribal Behavioral Health Association has supported the idea for three years, she said. Her organization acts as a 'bridge' between tribes and the state when it comes to behavioral health, she said. Bolaños-Sacoman said she is also tracking the behavioral health package going through the Legislature this session and hopes the regional planning proposed in that legislation will involve local community voices. 'Every community in our state is drastically different,' she said. 'And all tribal communities, Pueblos, nations and tribes, are drastically different themselves, so we need the voices of everyone to hopefully make this behavioral health package be successful in our state.' Bolaños-Sacoman said her organization has also helped with House Bill 505, which would require pharmacies to maintain stockpiles of buprenorphine, a drug that treats opioid use disorder. She said she also evaluates programs in New Mexico's jails, where she has learned that when people get released, they do not have access to buprenorphine. 'We have a tiny little window of opportunity to make sure that folks obtain the medication that they need to start off on the right track,' she said. HB505 would hopefully let that happen, she said. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Just past this session's midpoint, only four bills have passed through both chambers up to the governor's desk. The Senate passed five bills in the noon floor session Wednesday, all by a unanimous vote. Here is a list of those bills: Senate Bill 162 would increase how much money the state can have in the General Fund by lowering the minimum it must invest by law. 'We want to ensure as we move forward that we do have the available resources,' said Sen. Pete Camps (D-Las Vegas). The change allows the Legislature to adapt to future budget increases, he added. Senate Bill 112 would extend a property tax exemption for student dorms to also include housing built by third parties on college property. Senate Bill 175 would allow the Child Care Revolving Loan Fund to be used by more providers and to expand existing buildings. Senate Bill 8 would create a $2 million loan repayment program for licensed food animal veterinarians in underserved areas. Senate Bill 133 would allow retired teachers to return to work and make up to $25,000 per year without losing their retirement benefits. The Senate was scheduled to reconvene for an evening session on Wednesday. The House of Representatives, without debate, voted 50-9 on House Bill 129, which would shorten the state worker probationary period from one year to six months. The House voted unanimously in favor of House Bill 69, which would establish how colleges and universities can calculate how an adjunct professor's work translates into public service loan forgiveness; House Bill 82, which would allow physical therapists and their assistants with licenses from most of the other states to practice in New Mexico; and House Bill 172, which would make August 'New Mexico Red and Green Chile Month.' The House voted 61-1 to pass House Bill 297, which would establish ways for teachers to become certified in computer science. The governor's Strategic Water Supply initiative in House Bill 137 has undergone drastic shifts since it was introduced, with the bill now only addressing funding for treating water for salty water in aquifers deep underground, striking out previous efforts to include oil and gas wastewater. The bill advanced through its third committee, House Appropriations and Finance, on Wednesday. It passed on a 10-4 vote, though not entirely without protest. There were at least two lawmakers who said their discussion to amend the bill to add more requirements for the State Engineer's office around community notice received short shrift. 'I'm very concerned about the way in which the notice section was written,' said Rep. Pamelya Herndon (D-Albuquerque) after her vote against advancing the bill and said it was 'unacceptable' that the sponsors would not commit to making an amendment. Chair Nathan Small (D-Las Cruces) asked the sponsor Rep. Susan Herrera (D-Embudo) about the concerns expressed by Herndon. Herrera said the concern was brought forward in the previous committee, House Energy and Natural Resources, but that the bill still received support out of the committee. 'It was not as big of a concern,' Herrera said. 'It wasn't the discussion we had today, let me say that.' Other lawmakers, on both sides of the aisle, extended praise for the current efforts to consider solutions to treat brackish water. 'When I first saw your bill, I had a lot of problems with it,' Rep. Jack Chatfield (R-Mosquero) told sponsors in the hearing. 'You keep amending it and amending it and I've run out of things to complain about.' The Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday afternoon passed a bill that would create an exemption for public sector abortion providers in the state's sunshine law. Specifically, Senate Bill 57 would exempt from public disclosure any records that contain 'personal identifying information or sensitive information related to the practice of a medical provider employed by a public body who performs medical services related to abortion.' At 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Senate Judiciary was scheduled to hear Senate Bill 152, Senate Bill 281, Senate Bill 299, Senate Bill 319, Senate Bill 505 and Senate Bill 507. One of the bills that advanced through the Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday was Senate Bill 5 which would change the name and mission of the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish and its governing board. SB5 received a 9-1 vote, and now heads to the Senate floor. The House Commerce and Economic Development Committee passed a substitute version of House Bill 61, which would expand the scope of consumer protection law; and passed House Bill 64, which would prohibit colleges and universities from refusing admission, in-state tuition or financial aid to people for their immigration status; and House Bill 99, which would allow motor insurance companies to obtain titles for totaled vehicles. The House Agriculture, Acequias and Water Resources Committee passed House Bill 431, which would make watershed district board directors appointed by the supervisors of their local soil and water conservation district, rather than by an election. The House Labor, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee passed House Bill 468, which would establish the procedures for retiring a New Mexico state flag that's no longer used or useful. The House Consumer and Public Affairs Committee passed House Bill 405, which would require bosses to give leaves of absence to their workers who are volunteer firefighters when they respond to an emergency fire during normal work hours; and House Bill 532, which would require schools to give students water safety guidance. The House Taxation and Revenue Committee passed House Bill 199, which would allow some tax data to be shared with the Legislative Finance Committee, which could use it for program evaluation. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
20-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Bill to impose 6% alcohol sales tax passes first committee
Feb. 19—SANTA FE — Democrats are trying once again to impose a tax on alcohol sales in the hopes of addressing one of the leading causes of death in New Mexico. The legislation might have enough support this year to get to the governor's desk after failing in past years. The House Health and Human Services Committee passed House Bill 417 Wednesday morning by a vote of 6-4. All committee Republicans voted against the measure that would institute a 6% tax on alcohol sales at the register, on top of the state's current wholesale liquor excise tax, starting in July 2025. The effort aims to discourage New Mexicans from buying alcohol. The proposed 6% alcohol tax is estimated to reduce the consumption of spirits by 1.2%, wine by 1.14% and beer by 0.66%, according to a legislative analysis of the bill. HB418 would also redirect where money from the current liquor excise tax goes, sending the annual $25 million to $50 million to local harm alleviation funds instead of the state's general fund. The surtax revenue, an estimated $30 million to $60 million annually, would go to the Indian Affairs Department for tribal prevention and help efforts. Bill sponsor Rep. Micaela Lara Cadena, D-Mesilla, said New Mexico would become the second state to impose such an alcohol surtax. Legislative finance and tax officials would be required to review the tax and surtax rates as well as the distributions before 2033 to consider if any changes should be made. "We have enough humility to say we are not projecting that we're getting this exactly right, but we know we need to go in a new direction," Cadena said in a news conference after the committee meeting. The legislation came after failed attempts in past years to impose new alcohol taxes. The state hasn't changed its liquor excise tax in 30 years, said bill sponsor Rep. Joanne Ferrary, D-Las Cruces. Cadena explained that she joined onto the bill this year because she thought it was more reasonable than last year's proposed 12% tax. The proposal started over the summer as a 3% surtax from Reps. Cadena and Christina Parajón, D-Albuquerque, and the bill's seven sponsors landed on a flat 6% as a compromise, Cadena said. "We've spent many contentious hours looking at research around the country, like what impact do we think we can have? My argument continued to be before we go to a sky-high rate, I need to see that we're even changing consumption," she said. "Six was about as low as they would go, and we said we couldn't go higher." Many liquor and restaurant industry representatives showed up to oppose the bill. Ron Brown, who owns the convenience store Latitudes in Rio Rancho, said the legislation "was a brilliant vision" at 3%. "And we could have supported that vision at 3% as it was this summer. It would have helped out retailers with cash flow," he said. "But unfortunately at 6% this creates a giant bureaucracy ... and it's going to put us in an uncompetitive point." He also brought up that alcohol consumption and charges for driving while intoxicated are down. Data from the New Mexico Department of Health indicates that alcohol-related deaths have dropped over the past two years. However, New Mexico is still consistently at the top in the nation for alcohol-related deaths and had twice the national average in 2021, when the number peaked at 2,274 deaths. The pandemic worsened the rate of alcohol deaths. In 2023, nearly 1,900 people in New Mexico died as a result of alcohol, according to DOH. Rep. Jenifer Jones, R-Deming, said she wasn't completely confident in the accuracy of New Mexico's data tracking deaths directly caused by alcohol. "I have a feeling that we are reporting alcohol-related deaths, like in cirrhosis of the liver, that perhaps have nothing to do with alcohol. ... We may not really be that far ahead of anybody. We may not even be at the top of the list," she said. The bill is expected to be heard in the House Taxation and Revenue Committee Friday or Monday, Cadena said.
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Proposed alcohol tax passes first committee
A new bill proposes a new tax on alcohol retail sales to benefit treatment programs. Lawmakers today introduced a proposal to raise New Mexico's tax on alcohol for the first time in 30 years and re-direct revenue toward treatment and programs. The House Health and Human Services Committee voted 6-4 to advance House Bill 417, Liquor Tax Changes and Programs. It now heads to the House Taxation and Revenue Committee. The bill specifically creates a new 6% sales tax — also called a surtax — on alcohol sold in retail establishments, and eliminates distribution of revenue from the existing alcohol excise tax to the general fund, which currently receives a portion of that money. Instead, the bill creates a new Local Alcohol Harms Alleviation Fund to allocate funding to counties and 'target the communities most in need by prioritizing counties with the highest death rates from alcohol use,' a news release on Wednesday said. Counties that receive the funding 'could use these funds for grants to raise awareness of the harms and risks associated with substance misuse, promote prevention, get people into treatment, and address issues like impaired driving.' HB417 also creates a new Tribal Alcohol Harms Alleviation Fund and Program to provide grants to the state's tribes, nations and pueblos, as well as entities that serve Native Americans. Lawmakers say the bill arrives after months of discussion. The proposal also follows several years of failed efforts to raise the tax on alcohol, and increasing scrutiny of New Mexico's top ranking for alcohol-related deaths. Representatives Micaela Lara Cadena (D-Mesilla), Joanne Ferrary (D-Las Cruces) and Cristina Parajón (D-Abuquerque) and Senators Shannon Pinto (D-Tohatchi) and Antionette Sedillo-Lopez (D-Albuquerque) co-sponsored the bill. 'Far too many of us have lost a loved one to alcohol,' Ferrary said in a statement. 'With this bill, we are taking an important step that is many years in the making to help improve access to treatment, reduce excessive drinking, and hopefully begin saving lives.' A fiscal analysis of the bill estimated that the proposed surtax imposition will generate $45.7 million in FY26, and that HB417 would reduce recurring general fund revenue by $24.7 million by redirecting revenue to the alcohol prevention and treatment programs.
