State of the Judiciary 2023 Regular Session Tuesday, January 24, 2023 Noon House Chamber Remarks by Chief Justice C. Shannon Bacon Welcome and Introductions: Lieutenant Governor Morales, Speaker of the House Martinez and President Stewart, Majority and Minority leaders of the House and Senate, distinguished members of the Legislature, my colleagues on the New Mexico Supreme Court and throughout the …

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The New Mexico Senate on Tuesday passed a bill that would require public schools to extend the school year to help students catch up from the loss of learning during the pandemic. The measure would stretch the next school year by 25 days for K-5 students and 10 days for most 6-12 schools by requiring …

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A bill capping interest rates at 36% annually for low-dollar loans cleared the New Mexico Senate on Tuesday. Supporters argue that current law allows short-term loans to take advantage of the poor and send borrowers into a debt spiral. “Access to up to two triple-digit interest rate credit is like giving a starving person poisoned …

ALBUQUERQUE (AP) — Two Democratic state senators are seeking to strengthen protections for the environment and natural resources through a joint resolution that seeks to amend the state constitution and bring New Mexico in line with numerous other states that already guarantee residents rights to clean air and water. Environmentalists are calling it New Mexico’s “Green Amendment.” It is among …

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is recommending a 3.3% increase in state general fund spending in the coming fiscal year to devote more to public education and health and workplace safety programs, as authorities grapple with the economic hardships and mounting death toll of the pandemic. The budget proposal presented Monday to the Legislature would …

It is now with virtual certainty that a special legislative session will be called to order sometime next month. This session is necessary because of the dramatic reduction in State revenues as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic coupled with the dramatic decline in prices and activity in the oil and gas industry. Estimates range from a shortfall of some …

By Robert Nott, The New Mexican Despite the freezing cold, Stefani Lord wore a T-shirt that read “Pro-Gun Women” as she waited in line to speak against passage of gun-control legislation known as a “red flag” bill. “Rural people feel differently from those who live in urban cities,” said Lord, who lives in a rural part of Bernalillo County. “We feel disenfranchised …

By Jens Gould, The New Mexican The House Taxation and Revenue Committee tabled two bills Friday that proposed to eliminate or reduce the state’s tax on Social Security income. Key legislators had previously voiced support for House Bills 29 and 77, and the majority of public attendees who spoke favored it at Friday’s committee hearing. Yet Democratic and Republican legislators alike …

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — State government income is expected to outpace spending obligations by nearly $800 million for the coming fiscal year as New Mexico lawmakers contemplate bigger budgets for public schools, health care and anti-crime initiatives. Economists from three state agencies and the Legislature’s budget office delivered a twice-annual forecast of state revenues to a panel of lawmakers …

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — State government income is expected to outpace spending obligations by nearly $800 million for the coming fiscal year as New Mexico lawmakers contemplate bigger budgets for public schools, health care and anti-crime initiatives. Economists from three state agencies and the Legislature’s budget office delivered a twice-annual forecast of state revenues to a panel of lawmakers …