Latest news with #SenateBill5
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
‘Bees to bison' wildlife agency overhaul ripples through State Wildlife Action Plan
An undated photo of a Peñasco least chipmunk which has been considered for listing as endangered, due to the small population. (Courtesy of Department of Game and Fish / Jim Stuart) The beloved fairy bee, the Sacramento Mountain Salamander and the jaguar share one common trait: a spot on New Mexico's 2025 blueprint for animal conservation. State wildlife officials released the New Mexico State Action Wildlife Plan earlier this month, identifying more than 500 species listed requiring need for conservation — more than double from the previous plan released in 2017. Next week marks the halfway point for the public comment period on the guidance documents, which ends June 9. The New Mexico Department of Game and Fish is required to review and revise these plans every decade and submit them to the federal government. The plan will be considered for approval by the State Game Commission later this fall. A warming climate, environmental fragmentation from development and threats like disease all pose threats for New Mexico species, even as it remains one of the most biodiverse states in the U.S., said Ginny Seamster, the assistant chief for technical guidance at the agency. 'Realistically, helping these species is an all-hands-on-deck effort,' she said. 'We need everyone who's interested to participate.' The 2025 plan doubled the number of birds and includes pollinating insects (which help plants reproduce), which had been left off the species plan in past years, 'There are some species that are only associated with a single plant, so if you remove the pollinator from the ecosystem, you're losing the plant, too,' Seamster said. 'You're multiplying the loss of biodiversity.' Public comment on the draft plan remains open until June 9, and can be submitted via email: dgf-SWAP@ 'Since this is a statewide plan, and we really want anyone who's interested in a species of greatest conservation needs to be able to see themselves in it,' Seamster said. The increase in species signals both the threats many animals in New Mexico face and the reforms underway at the wildlife agency. The State Wildlife plan dovetails with a series of changes the agency is enacting after the passage of Senate Bill 5 in the legislative session, which dramatically increased funding and expanded the scope of the department into the New Mexico Wildlife Department. As states rethink wildlife management, New Mexico offers a new model The Legislature approved a $10 million dollar three-year pilot project funding work related to species of greatest conservation need, and the department is now receiving several million dollars in interest from the Land of Enchantment Legacy Fund in addition to revenue from hunting and fishing fees. The department is currently working to hire additional biologists to carry out the work, Seamster said, noting that previously, it only assigned one biologist to non-game birds. 'There are over 500 species of birds found in the state, and nearly 150 birds are species of greatest conservation need. That is clearly too many species for one person to be able to address,' she said. 'Having more staff means we can do a lot more research, a lot more habitat work.' Advocates, who fought and succeeded in reforming the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish, say they're excited about the plan, which they hope will be the 'gold standard' for wildlife agencies. 'Across the country, agencies are going to look at what New Mexico's doing and see how we manage wildlife: from the top to the bottom, from the bumble bees to the bison,' said Jesse Deubel, executive director of the nonprofit New Mexico Wildlife Federation. 'It's all necessary for an intact ecosystem.' Deubel said federal efforts to freeze and roll back conservation work exacerbate climate change impacts such as increased wildfire and shrinking wetlands. But funding for New Mexico's wildfire agency comes from the state, he noted. That means: 'We're going to be able to continue doing unbelievable conservation and habitat work in New Mexico, despite the dysfunction that's happening at the federal level,' he said. An undated photo of a Peñasco least chipmunk which has been considered for listing as endangered, due to the small population. (Courtesy of Department of Game and Fish / Jim Stuart) SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Axios
14-05-2025
- Business
- Axios
Despite Democratic control, Colorado resembles right-to-work states
Colorado's blue-state status is tarnished by a prominent red mark: a legacy of suppressing labor unions. Why it matters: This legislative session, Democratic lawmakers and labor leaders worked in tandem to flip the dynamic with a bill that would make it easier for unions to collectively bargain. Yes, but: Democratic Gov. Jared Polis plans to veto the bill and keep Colorado aligned with conservative, right-to-work states. State of play: Colorado is unique given its requirement for a second state-run election before unions can collectively bargain and collect mandatory union fees. The second election requires a 75% supermajority of those voting or more than 50% of all eligible voters, whichever is greater. By the numbers: The extra hurdle contributes to a low union membership rate in Colorado — 8% in 2024 — putting it on par with right-to-work states like Alabama, Kansas and Mississippi, according to the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics data. The lack of a union contract leads to lower wages and benefits, as well as reduced workplace safety, researchers report. What they're saying: In a recent interview, Polis says he believes "there's a better solution for Colorado than the Labor Peace Act," but he wants a compromise between labor unions and the business community that is "sustainable." The two sides negotiated for months but reached an impasse at the end of the legislative session. The big picture: The current law took hold in 1943 as part of deal between workers' rights and business interests. Critics consider it a byproduct of the era's backlash against organizing workers and a vestige of a movement that shares roots with white supremacy campaigns. Business interests argue that removing the second vote would hurt Colorado's competitiveness in recruiting companies, citing an industry-backed study that warned about reduced job growth and a higher cost of living. Flashback: In 2007, the last time Democrats controlled the governor's office and state Legislature, the party's lawmakers passed a similar bill to eliminate the second labor election, but then-Democratic Gov. Bill Ritter vetoed the measure. The next year, voters rejected a ballot measure to make Colorado a right-to-work state. The bottom line: The union fight won't end with the governor's veto of Senate Bill 5.
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Craddick sends Dementia Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (DPRIT) legislation to Abbott's desk
May 13—AUSTIN — State Rep. Tom Craddick May 12 applauded the final passage of legislation to create the Dementia Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (DPRIT), a monumental step in addressing one of the state's most urgent healthcare challenges. With the Texas Senate's concurrence with House amendments to Senate Bill 5 and Senate Joint Resolution 3, the legislation now heads to Governor Abbott for signature. "I am proud to author House Bill 5 to establish DPRIT and send it to Governor Abbott's desk to be signed," Craddick said in a news release. "Thanks to Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick's leadership and vision, this transformative institute will place Texas at the forefront of dementia and Parkinson's research and care."
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Bill to create dementia research institute approved in House, but could face $3 billion funding hurdle
The Texas House on Wednesday passed a Senate bill that would create a $3 billion Texas research fund for dementia, but another measure to activate the funding for it could face obstacles in the chamber on Monday. Senate Bill 5, by Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Houston, creating the Dementia Prevention and Research Institute of Texas, was approved by House members, 127-21. 'To me this is a dream come true,' state Rep. Senfronia Thompson, D-Houston, told members before the final vote. Thompson, who has worked on previous efforts for such a research fund for the past eight years, urged her colleagues to pass it because every lawmaker has constituents with relatives whose lives have been impacted by Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, dementia and other brain diseases. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick signaled his prioritization of such a fund last fall. On Monday, House members are scheduled to vote on Senate Joint Resolution 3, which would require voter approval. If voters approve the constitutional amendment, the initial $3 billion in state surplus revenue would be transferred to the fund and a board appointed by Patrick and Gov. Greg Abbott would be set up to approve research proposals. Going forward, the institute would receive up to $300 million annually. This funding is intended to attract physicians, researchers, and experts in the field of dementia to Texas. This institute would research all brain diseases, not just dementia. Despite the overwhelming support for the Senate bill, SJR 3, however, could fall victim to the dispute over school vouchers. House Democrats threatened early last week to kill all constitutional amendments for the rest of session unless the House votes to put school vouchers before voters in November. A constitutional amendment requires approval of at least 100 votes from the House's 150 members to pass the chamber before going before Texas voters. With 62 Democrats in the House, Republicans need at least 12 Democrats to make any constitutional amendment happen. The House passed the vouchers bill on Thursday with every present Democrat voting against it. Amid the Democrat blockade, Republicans postponed all five constitutional amendments that were up for consideration on Tuesday and on Wednesday, SJR 3 was postponed and another constitutional amendment, HJR 72, failed to reach the needed 100 votes. Even so, members across the aisle are also signaling disapproval. Some Republicans have criticized the $3 billion pricetag for running counter their tenet of downsizing government. State Rep. Brian Harrison, R-Midloathian, urged lawmakers to vote the bill down because he said it does nothing more than to expand the state's bureaucracy. The $3 billion should be returned to taxpayers, who were overcharged on their taxes, he said. 'Every Texan would love to find a cure for dementia,' Harrison said. 'But I do not know what part of stop-growing-government-and-give-people-back-their-money, that this body doesn't understand.' State Rep. Tom Oliverson, R-Cypress, who is also an anesthesiologist, countered that while he too is against expanding government, there is a danger if the public relies solely on private enterprise, namely the pharmaceutical industry, to fund all medical research. Too often, he said, the industry oversells the promise of a drug that they've developed only to double back later and insist that it wasn't as effective after all. 'The only solution to that problem is to provide an independent, non-conflicted source of funding,' Oliverson said. 'Medical research should never be like the arts, where essentially the patrons, the ones that fund it, are the ones that decide what art is.' Alzheimer's, a degenerative brain disease, is the most common form of dementia, accounting for about 80% of cases, according to the Texas Health and Human Services Commission. The Texas Department of State Health Services reports that 459,000 Texans have been diagnosed with Alzheimer's, about 12% of the state's population over the age of 65. While a 2023 study shows that the eastern and southeastern United States have the highest prevalence of Alzheimer's, Texas is one of three states that has the highest estimated number of older residents who are at risk of Alzheimer's. The symptoms — memory loss and the inability to perform simple tasks — tend to develop in the mid-to-late 60s and occur when clumps of abnormal proteins block the communication of brain cells. Symptoms can be mild at first and worsen over time. Of the nearly 7 million Americans living with Alzheimer's, nearly two-thirds are women, and dementia care costs Americans more than $300 billion a year. The cost of caring for someone with Alzheimer's is estimated to be $1 trillion by 2050, according to the Alzheimer's Association. Tickets are on sale now for the 15th annual Texas Tribune Festival, Texas' breakout ideas and politics event happening Nov. 13–15 in downtown Austin. Get tickets before May 1 and save big! TribFest 2025 is presented by JPMorganChase.
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
New Mexico entomologists excited over ‘wildlife' designation for insects
NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – During the 2025 New Mexico Legislative Session, Senate Bill 5 was passed and signed by Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham. Known as the Game Commission Reform Bill, it has modified what constitutes 'protected wildlife' by including invertebrates and changes the name of the State Game Commission to the New Mexico Wildlife Commission. Dr. David Lightfoot, Collection Manager for the Arthropod Division at the Museum of Southwestern Biology at the University of New Mexico, said this is huge. 'The main advantage or reason that that is a good thing for the insects in New Mexico is that now there will be state funding available to us from Game and Fish – or the Department of Wildlife – to do research on insects that are rare and potentially threatened with extinction,' said Lightfoot. 'That was not present before.' Now, Lightfoot said, research into insects that are less popular in the public eye can take place. 'We probably know all the species of butterflies in New Mexico,' he said. 'Simply because they've received a lot of attention, they get posted on [nature website] iNaturalist. We've got a pretty good handle on the butterflies in New Mexico.' Registration open for warm-water fishing workshop in Roswell Even though Lightfoot's focus includes grasshoppers and crickets, there's another species he wishes got the 'butterfly-level' of attention – microarthropods like mites, springtails, and termites. 'The ones that [are] scavengers, the decomposers that live in soil, on soil. They are so essential to ecosystems and ecosystem function because they break down organic material like leaf litter; when plants die, when leaves fall to the ground, when grass dies and falls to the ground…they are absolutely essential to convert all that dead biomass back into mineral nutrients that can be taken up by plants and then becomes available to herbavores, that are in turn eaten by higher level consumers,' said Lightfoot. He said that research on those species of insect is greatly needed. 'We don't have a good accounting of what all the species are or what they even do,' Lightfoot said. 'The wildlife belongs to all of us here': A look into New Mexico's wildlife law violation checkpoints Protecting endangered species of insects is another vital reason the Wilderness Department protection is important. 'We currently have about 300 species of insects in New Mexico that we're aware of, that are rare, endemic to the state, that is, they don't occur anywhere else in the world but within New Mexico, and/or threatened by human activities,' said Lightfoot. 'Most of which are habitat loss due to agricultural development, urbanization, and pesticide use.' Lightfoot said a new project aimed at addressing endangered insect species in the state, The New Mexico Rare Arthropods Resource, is a culmination of the efforts of UNM and the ABQ BioPark Society. The site is built and maintained by New Mexico Natural Heritage, along with the arthropod division and the BioPark. Funding from the Caroll Petrie Foundation is currently going to research insects and build the website. New Mexico Game and Fish has also given a grant to develop a list of 100 species of pollinator insects in New Mexico to be added to the 2025 State Wildlife Action Plan. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
