Latest news with #SenateBill219
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Today at the Roundhouse, March 18, & recap
Mar. 18—It's the last week of the 60-day legislative session and hundreds of bills are still in limbo at the Roundhouse. All bills not approved by both the House and Senate by the time the session ends Saturday at noon are officially dead. Here's a key bill to watch out for on Tuesday, March 18, and a recap of Monday. Tax package remodel: A House-approved bill that would tie an expanded working families tax credit to an increased oil tax is scheduled for a hearing in the Senate Tax, Business and Transportation Committee. The bill, House Bill 14, was approved Saturday by the House. But it's typical for tax bills to be amended in the Senate after being crafted in the House. Monday recap Psilocybin: A bill creating a state-run psilocybin program for New Mexicans with certain diagnosed medical conditions passed its first — and only — assigned House committee. The House Health and Human Services Committee voted 8-1 to advance the legislation, Senate Bill 219, which passed the Senate last week. Cybersecurity: The Senate passed Senate Bill 254, which would require the state's Cybersecurity Office to develop minimum cybersecurity protections for state-operated or state-owned telecommunications networks. It heads to the House now. Bobby's bolo battle: Senators all around were styling on Saturday, vying to win a bolo tie contest put on by Sen. Roberto "Bobby" Gonzales, D-Ranchos de Taos. At the end of the day, Sen. George Muñoz, D-Gallup, pulled in the win with a tiger bolo, presumably representing the Gallup High School tigers. Where the bills stand HB14: Passed House. Awaiting hearing in Senate Tax, Business and Transportation Committee. SB219: Passed House Health and Human Services Committee. Now heads to House floor, then would advance to governor's desk. SB254: Passed Senate. Awaiting House committee assignments, then must pass House committees and House floor in order to advance to governor's desk.
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
"I was broken": Veteran touts medical benefits of psilocybin at Roundhouse
Mar. 17—SANTA FE — After being injured during combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, Chris Peskuski returned to civilian life damaged both physically and emotionally. Even before deciding to leave the U.S. Marine Corps in 2011, the Albuquerque resident said he was starting to spiral due to alcohol abuse, a brain injury and post traumatic stress disorder. "It took me a long time to admit this to myself, but I was broken and I was scaring myself enough to know that I needed to get out," Peskuski said in a recent interview. But Peskuski said he was able to turn his life and his marriage around after traveling to South America to use psilocybin, or magic mushrooms. Now he's one of several veterans who have been sharing their stories at the Roundhouse, as lawmakers debate creating a state-run psilocybin program for medical patients. A bill that would make New Mexico just the second state in the nation with such a program, Senate Bill 219, passed the Senate last week on a 33-4 vote. It's scheduled to be heard in its only assigned House committee on Monday and could reach the House floor later this week. The advocacy of Peskuski and other veterans at the Roundhouse has already made an impact. During the Senate debate on the bill this week, Sen. Jay Block, R-Rio Rancho, said he was previously staunchly opposed to a state-sanctioned psilocybin program. But he said he changed his mind after a heartfelt conversation with Peskuski, who sat on the chamber floor alongside Block while his wife and 7-year old son watched from the Senate gallery. "There are many veterans who haven't come yet," Block said at one point during the Senate debate on the bill, referring to struggles with mental health issues. Peskuski said he was encouraged to share his story with lawmakers by other veterans like Crystal C. Romero, who spoke about her own struggles with post traumatic stress disorder at a recent Senate committee hearing. "I know that our voices have made an impact and changed some people's minds up here," Peskuski said. Going forward, he said he wants to become a psychedelic facilitator to help other veterans experiencing similar struggles to his own. "There's a lot of stigma around it in the Marine Corps," Peskuski said. "Mental health issues weren't really talked about." NM would follow Oregon's lead under bill The bill advancing at the Roundhouse would create an advisory board under the New Mexico Department of Health to oversee supervised use of psilocybin for patients. At least at the start, patients with four conditions would be eligible for the program, which would officially begin in 2028. Those conditions, which would have to be certified by a physician, are depression, substance abuse disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and end-of-life care. It would also decriminalize the production, prescription and possession of medical psilocybin. If the bill is signed into law, New Mexico would follow in the steps of Oregon, which became the first state to decriminalize possession and legalize use of psilocybin in 2022, though such use must be monitored. Some other countries have also decriminalized or partly legalized psilocybin, including Australia, Brazil, Peru, Portugal and Switzerland. Sen. Angel Charley, D-Acoma, also pointed out during the Senate floor debate that psilocybin has been used for thousands of years by indigenous healers. "This medicine is not ground-breaking," she said. "It's only new to western modalities of healing." But several skeptical senators pointed out the drug is still illegal at the federal level, since it's classified as a Schedule 1 substance by the Drug Enforcement Administration, and raised questions about its side effects. An unlikely road to healing After leaving the military, Peskuski said he tried more traditional types of therapy at his wife's urging, including a psychotherapy treatment and acupuncture, but found them only mildly helpful. At one point, he said he was using a daily regiment of pharmaceutical drugs including Adderall to get out of bed in the morning, and alcohol mixed with Tramadol go to sleep at night. "I was just super depressed, and became completely demoralized to the point where I really didn't care anymore," Peskuski said. With his health deteriorating, he said a friend referred him to a nonprofit group called Heroic Hearts that helps U.S. military veterans navigate psychedelic therapy. But that group had a lengthy wait list, so Peskuski decided to travel to Peru on his own to undergo a psilocybin medical treatment. "I'm either going to die in Peru doing this medicine, or I'm going to die here one way or another," he recalled thinking. "I was pretty much at the point where I had nothing left to lose." Peskuski said he had previously tried psilocybin as an adolescent but just for recreational purposes. He recalls the experience as "just running around tripping." As an adult using the hallucinogenic drug in a more controlled setting, he described the experience as profound. Specifically, he said it prompted him to take ownership of his personal struggles, while also reminding him of his resiliency. "In my core, I am a warrior and I had forgotten that and I'd become a victim in so many ways," Peskuski said. He said he's now able to be a better husband and father, though he said he also sticks to a daily routine of meditation, breath work and martial arts to remain grounded. "What it really comes down to is I'm here — I'm present wherever I'm at, and I can be present for my family," said Peskuski. "I'm not worried about the future, and I'm not dwelling on my past," he added.
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Bill to allow medical 'magic mushrooms' in New Mexico gets groovy reception from lawmakers
First marijuana, now magic mushrooms. A state known for ending up at the bottom of a long list of rankings could be among the first in the nation to roll out a program for medical use of psilocybin mushrooms, commonly known as magic mushrooms. The Senate Judiciary Committee late Wednesday endorsed Senate Bill 219 on an 8-1 vote. The lone holdout, Sen. Katy Duhigg, D-Albuquerque, praised psilocybin's efficacy. "I am very torn on this because I know that psilocybin has amazing potential for substance use disorder, intractable depression," she said. "I think it's a really important medicine to have available." But Duhigg said one of her brothers, an addiction psychiatrist who has been involved in multiple studies and pilot programs using psilocybin, told her researchers have yet to develop a model for safe medical use. "He worries that if we do this as a state, and it does not have kind of the level of oversight that these projects have now with the federal government, that there's going to be some negative results ... that will set this whole movement back significantly," she said. Despite her words of caution, SB 219 cleared its second committee hearing with a number of amendments and is headed to the Senate floor. Its trip through the Roundhouse doesn't end there, though. If the bill makes it out of the Senate, it still has to go through the House and its committees. Advocates told lawmakers during Wednesday's hearing psilocybin mushrooms are not only life-changing but lifesaving. Crystal C. Romero, a retired master sergeant who served in the New Mexico Army National Guard, said she served with honor, knowing the risks and sacrifices she'd have to make. "But nothing prepared me for the battle within my head," she said, adding she was medically discharged from the military for post-traumatic stress disorder and then attempted suicide. "Had I succeeded, my three daughters would have been handed more than just a folded flag," she said. "They would have inherited my pain." Romero said she "tried everything the VA has had to offer" but still battled relentless suicidal ideation. "It wasn't until I worked with psilocybin under guided care that I found healing," she said. David Glass, an emergency room doctor and active-duty veteran who served multiple tours in Afghanistan and Iraq, said he's witnessed "the devastating impact of mental health crisis" both in the ER room and among his fellow veterans. "I can count on two hands the number of service members I know personally that died in combat. I can count on two hands the number of veterans I know that have committed suicide since taking off the uniform and leaving service," he said. "But now, I can tell you honestly and truthfully that I can now count on more than two hands the number of special operators whose lives have been saved by taking psilocybin through guided therapy in Mexico." Sen. Jeff Steinborn, D-Las Cruces, who is among the sponsors of the bill, said the measure starts with four qualifying conditions: major depressive disorder, substance use disorder, PTSD and end-of-life anxiety. Under the bill, the program would not start until Dec. 31, 2027. "The Department of Health would establish and make rules for everything, from who the qualifying license providers to producers to dosage to medical setting," he said. "Unlike cannabis, this would only be administered in a medical setting. … This would not be like cannabis. There is no car. There is no taking this at home. Very different in that respect." The bill also creates an advisory board and would allow the state's health secretary to add additional qualifying medical conditions "as there's data to support that," Steinborn said. Another sponsor, Sen. Martin Hickey, D-Albuquerque, a retired physician, said the benefits of psilocybin mushrooms would be far-reaching. "This is as important to society as the other fungus that blew in off of a windowsill onto a petri dish with pneumococcal bacteria and we got penicillin," he said. "This is a fungus that in mental health is going to have as dramatic an impact."
Yahoo
26-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Cash rehash: Legislators again consider payment acceptance requirement for schools
Sen. Greg Blanc, R-Rapid City, speaks on the floor of the South Dakota Senate on Feb. 10, 2025, in Pierre. (John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight) It was deja vu in the South Dakota House Education Committee on Wednesday at the Capitol in Pierre. Earlier in the legislative session, the committee passed a bill that would require public and accredited private schools to accept cash at events. But the House of Representatives later rejected it. Sen. Greg Blanc, R-Rapid City, then filed his own, similar bill in the Senate, where it was approved last week. Lawmakers advance bill to mandate cash acceptance at school events Blanc's legislation was assigned to the House Education Committee, which rehashed its discussion of the idea Wednesday. Supporters of the bill shared similar stories to those told earlier this session about parents not being able to attend high school activities in some parts of the state, especially in the Sioux Falls area, because some schools exclusively use smartphone app-based, cashless ticketing. Opponents of the bill included the South Dakota High School Activities Association, organizations representing private businesses, and some activities directors at Sioux Falls high schools. They worried that Senate Bill 219 would force separate entities to accept cash if they host school-affiliated games. The South Dakota state basketball tournaments, for example, are hosted at city- and state-owned facilities. If the venue decides not to comply, then schools or state tournaments would lose a venue, said Dan Swartos, executive director of the activities association. Rep. Amber Arlint, R-Sioux Falls, told lawmakers the legislation isn't needed because it already spotlighted a problem and has encouraged school districts and organizations to reevaluate their cashless policies and make cash accommodations on their own. But a majority of lawmakers on the committee decided a state statute is needed. The bill heads to the House next. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Senate Education committee passes different bill requiring schools take cash for events
The Senate Education committee voted 4-3 to pass a bill Thursday morning to require schools accept cash for school-affiliated events. Rapid City Republican Sen. Greg Blanc's Senate Bill 219 is very similar to Valley Springs Republican Rep. John Sjaarda's House Bill 1017, which failed in the House two weeks earlier. SB 219 will be heard in the Senate next week. The bills came as a reaction to the Sioux Falls School District and other local school districts switching to a new system for cashless ticketing with Iowa-based company Bound. More: Sioux Falls School District faces opposition to cashless ticketing system The district said at the time it made the change for 'convenience, enhanced safety, efficiency and environmental impact,' and noted contactless payment has 'become the norm around the country.' Blanc said he brought SB 219 to 'represent all people, especially those who are legitimately being disenfranchised.' He was supported by multiple people who said they were turned away from school events because they wanted to pay with cash, not a credit card. Brandon resident Susan Luschas, and her daughter Soraya Luschas, who open enrolls to attend Lincoln High School, said since the cashless ticketing policy has taken effect, sometimes they're let into events for free, sometimes their cash is taken and they're let in, or sometimes they're turned away from events. Sioux Falls resident Michele Klimek said she tried to work with the Sioux Falls School District office to pay in cash for a ticket for her daughter to attend a high school theater production but said the Instructional Planning Center was unable to provide it and redirected her to the school where the production would take place. Klimek said she spoke with that high school's athletic director, who wrote down her name and the names of people who would join her at the play, and her entry fee was waived. She said she hasn't attended a local school event since because it was a 'hassle for all involved.' Board speaks on cash bill: Superintendent contract, legislation and more: 6 things to know from Monday's school board meetings Fellow Sioux Falls resident Nikki McCormick said she and her husband were recently denied access to Howard Wood Field to watch their son, a junior in the Lincoln High School marching band, march on the field, because they wanted to pay in cash. Spearfish resident Jennifer Baron said she didn't feel comfortable agreeing to the 'privacy and tracking policies' of an out-of-state company like Bound. She said it's an issue when she travels to Sioux Falls for school events, and worried it may affect Rapid City school events in the future. Sam Nelson, lobbyist for the Sioux Falls School District, said one of the proponents who described their experiences with non-admission to an event was actually offered admission free of charge and they refused it. He didn't specify which of the proponents did this. Nelson said SB 219 is an 'attempt to create an issue, and make something bigger than what it really was.' He added it is Sioux Falls' right not to change their policy, and said proponents have made no official request for the board to change its policy. South Dakota High School Activities Association director Dan Swartos told the committee the SDHSAA accepts cash at all its events, like tournaments and championships at the end of each sports season, or for all-state band, jazz band and show choir events. But he said the SDHSAA has considered going cashless because some events have $10,000 to $20,000 in starting cash in the cash box, and cashless systems have fewer opportunities for fraud, he added. HB 1017 failed: South Dakota House fails to pass bill requiring cash for school events. But it could come back He noted the SDHSAA has no control over what kind of ticketing systems larger venues like the Mitchell Corn Palace or Sanford Pentagon use for events, and said SDHSAA events already face competition for those spaces with bigger events. He said he was concerned the bill could lead to the SDHSAA losing out on those venues in the future. Lobbyists with the Greater Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce and South Dakota Retailers Association said much the same, and questioned on the day of school events at these larger venues, who would be responsible for taking the cash payments. They called it an imposition on private businesses. Heath Larson with Associated School Boards of South Dakota said he opposed the bill from a 'local control perspective,' and asked that the committee let local school boards work through the process and work out any 'bugs' at the local level. This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Committee passes new bill requiring schools take cash for events
