Latest news with #SenateBill169
Yahoo
11-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Utility pre-deployment incentive passes Senate
Mar. 10—SANTA FE — Despite some legislators' fears of increased utility bill costs and a lack of transparency, another bill to ensure New Mexico has development-ready land is moving onto the House. Senate Bill 170 passed the Senate by a 31-10 vote Monday, and its companion bill Senate Bill 169 passed the floor 37-2 over the weekend. The site readiness measures are ultimately aiming to draw more economic development — private, tribal or public — to New Mexico. SB170 would allow public utilities to ask the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission for permission to set up power lines, roads and other infrastructure on empty plots of land prime for development — and get money back later for it. Currently, utilities have to write off those costs, explained Economic Development Secretary-designate Rob Black. This bill would allow the PRC to approve rate recovery measures instead, via customer base charges or surcharges. Getting a site set up with all its infrastructure, from public utilities to roads, can take years in New Mexico, something that has dissuaded developers from coming to the state. Senate Minority Whip Michael Padilla, D-Albuquerque, on the floor described his SB170 — a bipartisan bill — as a piece of the puzzle that would change that. A few senators rose with concerns that all utility customers would have to pay for a measure only benefitting some areas. "This is a statewide economic development program, but it really isn't shared statewide. It's shared only by the people within that particular utility's district area," said Sen. William Soules, D-Las Cruces. Black told the Journal the legislation would likely make utility bills cheaper because it would attract large developers that need a lot of energy. In turn, he said, the developers would pay for grid upgrades and attract economic activity. Sen. Antoinette Sedillo Lopez, D-Albuquerque, said she would like to see more guardrails in the bill around what projects are chosen as prime for economic development. "I'm always queasy when we give these big benefits out," she said. But Black said public utilities couldn't ask the PRC for permission to set up infrastructure early and recover costs later unless the Economic Development Department labels it as a prime spot for future economic development projects. Even then, the PRC would still need to approve it. The bill doesn't change the normal regulatory processes utilities go through at the PRC, Black added. "I think there was some confusion about how rates work in the debate," he said. All ten "no" votes on the bill were cast by Democratic senators. .
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Nevada lawmakers target illegal DMV scalpers selling appointments
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) – Scalping DMV appointments has been an ongoing issue. Con artists are selling appointments to those willing to pay up, except they have no affiliation with the DMV and are scamming you out of your money and time. Lawmakers are pushing for change. Senate Bill 169 would provide protections for consumers and other businesses who have fallen victim. The bill would require a third-party reservation platform to have explicit written permission before leasing any restaurants or business services. Violators would be subject to civil penalties ensuring that unsupervised listings and misleading marketing practices are held accountable. Those in favor of the bill also want to impose hefty fines on violators as scalping affects public services like the DMV, creating unfair costs and accessibility issues. Malee and Tiara Simpson spent an hour and a half at the DMV and know how hard it can be to get an appointment. 'We had to wait a month for this appointment, and we had to make sure we had the right documents, and if you're trying to travel and on a time crunch, I can see how someone can fall for a scam trying to get in there,' Simpson explained. Paolo David, the Public Information officer for Nevada DMV said the agency will not try to message you to book an appointment and you don't have to pay to schedule an appointment. He said many services can also be completed online at their official website. 'As for the moment we are remaining neutral on the bill, however, it came to our attention that there are some predatory websites that are trying to get money from the public,' David remarked. 'Again, we do discourage trying to get an appointment from an outside person. The number one thing is trying to communicate to the public that we are actually here and we're being transparent and we want you to be safe as well.' Mary said she is interested to see the outcome of the bill and also added that there needs to be more action done to prevent these types of scams. 'There's so many scammers out there, we have to be careful of everything,' Mary added. 'I've got some friends that have fallen into the scams of various ones so I'm always careful.' Under a proposed amendment, violations would be classified under the Nevada Deceptive Trade Practices Act allowing the Attorney General to take action against offenders and it would allow businesses to privately sue these scalpers. New York was the first state to pass a similar bill last year and lawmakers say SB 169 is mirrored after that bill. Seven states have also proposed similar bills like Florida, California, and South Carolina. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
23-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Highlights and lowlights: An update on business priorities in the Legislature
Feb. 23—It's fast and furious time. That's how Terri Cole, president and CEO of the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce, described going into the last half of the Legislature. She and Adam Silverman, president of NAIOP New Mexico, were on the latest Business Outlook podcast episode to talk about progress at the Roundhouse. On Cole's mind was the crime package, House Bill 8, moving through the Roundhouse. It's a six-bill package and a priority after last summer's very short special session on crime. Cole said the criminal competency bill, an effort to allow for the involuntary commitment of certain civil and criminal defendants, and increasing penalties for fentanyl trafficking are good measures in the package, but she wants to see more — a sentiment echoed by Republicans and the Governor's Office. "There's a lot that we can still do. We have about seven bills that we're going to be pressing hard on," Cole said, referring to measures like more aggressive penalties for juvenile offenders or felons who illegally possess firearms. Silverman acknowledged all the bills aren't perfect, but it's time to try something. "These are economic development issues," he said. "The stuff that gets decided on in the Roundhouse is felt much further than just what happens in that building. People around the country are watching. There are people that want to come to New Mexico, (but) we're on the bottom of all the bad lists." Cole pointed out that education deters people from relocating to the state, as well. Senate Bill 169 would allow the state to help public and private entities get site locations shovel-ready for developers to move in. It's something Cole and Silverman are very supportive of and has bipartisan support in the Roundhouse. It passed its first committee on a unanimous vote. Silverman said it can take four or five months to get something like a water and sewer availability letter, which is required before a developer can apply for permits. Getting a head start on the process, he said, could really change both rural and urban areas in the state. "It's something that will give a shot of adrenaline to the built environment in New Mexico," he said. Cole added that it'll drive New Mexico to be more competitive against other states, a goal of many of the measures business leaders push for in the Legislature. She also feels positive about the job training funds that are moving in the Roundhouse, she said. What Cole believes will hurt the state is House Bill 11, an effort to create up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave and up to six weeks of paid medical leave, paid for by a state agency and premiums on employees and employers, respectively. She supports a more straightforward Republican bill that would provide up to nine weeks of paid parental leave paid for by the state. Cole also doesn't support many of the oil and gas regulation and finance bills making progress. Measures like increasing oil and gas royalty rates and raising civil penalties for violations of the Oil and Gas Act are passing through committees. A lot of the state's revenue comes from oil and gas, Cole said, and the state needs an all-of-the-above approach to energy, using oil and gas but also solar, wind and nuclear. "This oil and gas effort that's going on right now is something I just haven't ever seen in this Legislature before," she said. "They are hell-bent on passing excessive punitive bills to hurt the oil and gas industry." Silverman also brought up efforts pushing for energy-efficiency requirements for developments, something he said would make everything more expensive. "We're just not going to be able to charge the rents, and we're just going to be in this weird cycle of not being able to build new things — commercial, retail centers, hotels, hospitals," he said. He's also concerned about developers being discouraged from building multifamily housing units if Senate Bill 186 doesn't pass, which would create a special method to value residential multifamily housing for property taxes. On the other hand, Silverman said it's looking hopeful that the Legislature will fund more affordable housing projects, which he's excited about. "We need all the housing solutions we can get, from the most populous cities to the most rural areas," he said. "Housing is a major challenge, and I was happy to see the Legislature started to step up and fund some of these programs." Editor's note 2/23/25 9:20 a.m.: This article has been corrected to reflect NAIOP's support for Senate Bill 186.
