2024 ROUND HOUSE REVIEW
(END OF SESSION)
...And it's over! The 2024 NM Legislative Session came to a close at noon on Thursday last week. It was a crazy 30-day rat race as usual, with the final week of the session being a whirlwind. Over the course of the session 777 pieces of legislation were introduced including bills, resolutions, and memorials. 107 pieces of legislation made it to the Governor's desk. Some of what crossed the finish line were memorials (which do not hold the weight of law). Of the 72 bills that passed most are good or clarify existing law, some are do nothing blah blah blah bills, and some are unnecessary but whatever bills. This is typical of any legislative session. It's really just the very bad bills that NMCOG is trying to prevent from making it into the law books. The Governor has until March 6th to sign legislation. After that, all unsigned measures will be pocket vetoed.
I'm happy to report that the outfitting industry escaped the session without any major blows. Our biggest industry related hit was the passage of a seven-day waiting period to purchase any firearm. The lobbyist for NRA (Tara Mica - the rockstar of protecting 2nd amendment rights in Santa Fe) was able to convince the bill sponsor to include an amendment to exempt any individual with a conceal carry permit. As always, NMCOG is grateful to our partnership with NRA to help protect the rights of NM gun owners. Thanks to hours of heavy lobbying, both the Governor's bills to increase the age of gun purchases & possession to 21yrs, as well as her bill to ban gas operated semi-automatic firearms, sank quietly into the dark oblivion of the House Floor. Of course, the failure of these bills has the Governor threatening a special session to pass gun legislation (which she has threatened every year she's been in office). Hopefully, after a few weeks of cool down she will refocus her interests elsewhere. Quick side note: Not surprisingly absent from all efforts to fight the gun bills were the usual suspects, NM Wildlife Federation and NM Chapter of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers.
Perhaps our biggest loss of this session (although it depends on whether you are talking to a democrat or republican) was the passage of the Clean Fuel Standard. This bill is amazingly hard to explain but would essentially require the Environmental Improvement Board to monitor carbon intensity of transportation fuels and charge fees. Rules will need to be promulgated to outline what specifically that looks like but it's not a far stretch of the imagination to assume the law might result in an increase in fuel prices. CA, OR, and WA all have Clean Fuel Standard laws, and their fuel prices are noticeably higher than NM's (which was the primary argument of Republicans opposing the bill). However, according to Democrats, California's high gas prices have nothing to do with the Clean Fuel Standard. And in fact, the Clean Fuel Standard should reduce the cost of gas. The bill's sponsor Rep. Ortez even went as far as to say "...I have many under privileged constituents and I would never do anything to increase the price of gas". And with that, the Republican's lost the debate and the Clean Fuel Standard is now sitting on the Governor's desk. There is almost no hope of a veto. This bill has been a priority of MLG's for several years and she has already publicly applauded its passage. But make no mistake, NMCOG will be sure to remind Representative Ortez of her promise to her constituents once this law goes into effect in 2026.
Somewhat surprisingly, the Paid Family Medical Leave Act, which was another of the Governor's priority bills, died a spectacular death on the House Floor in the final days of the session. This bill would have provided workers with up to 12 weeks of paid medical and family leave in addition to their already required paid sick leave. In a last-minute happy twist of fate, 11 democrats voted with the republicans to kill the Act on the House floor (it's last stop before the Gov.'s desk). It's speculated that Speaker of the House Martinez and Majority Whip Szczepanski didn't see it coming as it is highly uncommon for anything to be heard on the floor if it doesn't have the votes to pass. Democrats were literally crying real tears over the loss, which lends credibility to the speculation. However, it's also not out of the realm of possibility that the Speaker in fact knew where the votes were and simply chose to parade the Act out for a public killing. Either way it's good for NM employers who really did not have the capacity to absorb yet another mandated cost of doing business.
Most of the items that we monitored this session were left pending in their committees at the end of session (which we refer to as "ran out of time"). And we're more happy to kick those cans down the road for another year.
NMCOG LOBBYING LIST (2024 SESSION)
Bills not specifically mentioned in red ran out of time during the session.
HOUSE BILL 178 – REFORM STATE GAME COMMISSION
(Sponsor Matthew McQueen)
NMCOG Stance - Strong Oppose
HOUSE BILL 127 – AGE 21 FOR FIREARM PURCHASE
(Sponsor Reena Szczepanski)
NMCOG Stance – Neutral (bill was amended to exclude outfitting industry)
HOUSE BILL 137 – GAS-OPERATED SEMIAUTO FIREARMS EXCLUSION
(Sponsor Andrea Romero)
NMCOG Stance – Strong Oppose
HOUSE BILL 164/SENATE BILL 26 – LIVESTOCK WOLF COMPENSATION PROGRAM
(Sponsor Gail Armstrong & Crystal Brantley)
NMCOG Stance - Support
IN THE BUDGET
HOUSE BILL 2 – GENERAL APPROPRIATION ACT OF 2024
PASSED
HOUSE BILL 6/SENATE BILL 3 – PAID FAMILY & MEDICAL LEAVE ACT
(Sponsor Christine Chandler)
DEAD
HOUSE BILL 11 – PAID FAMILY & MEDICAL LEAVE INS. ACT
(Sponsor Marian Matthews)
DEAD
HOUSE BILL 41 – CLEAN TRANSPORTATION FUEL STANDARD
(Sponsor Kristina Ortez)
PASSED
HOUSE BILL 81 – GUN STORAGE TAX CREDIT
(Sponsor Andrea Reeb)
HOUSE BILL 104 – STATEWIDE CLIMATE & PUBLIC HEALTH PROGRAM
(Sponsor Szczepanski)
HOUSE BILL 114 – FIREARM INDUSTRY ACCOUNTABILITY ACT
(Sponsor Christine Chandler)
HOUSE BILL 129 – 7-DAY SALE WAITING PERIOD
(Sponsor Andrea Romero)
PASSED
HOUSE BILL 144 – OFFICE OF GUN VIOLENCE PREVENTION
(Sponsor Dayan Hochman-Vigil)
HOUSE BILL 173 – RANGELAND PEST MITIGATION PROGRAM
(Sponsor Joseph Sanchez)
HOUSE BILL 183 – NEGLIGENT USE OF A DEADLY WEAPON
(Sponsor Charlotte Little)
HJR 4/SJR 8 – ENVIRONMENTAL RIGHTS
(Constitutional Amendment)
DEAD
SENATE BILL 6 – CONSERVATION LEGACY FUND
(Sponsor Steven Neville)
IN THE BUDGET
SENATE BILL 37 – MEAT INSPECTION ACT
(Sponsor Elizabeth Stefanics)
PASSED
SENATE BILL 111 – PROTECT STATE WATERS
(Sponsor Siah Correa Hemphill)
SENATE BILL 204 – FIREARMS ON PLAYGROUNDS
(Senator Daniel Ivey-Soto)
SJR 8/HJR 4 – ENVIRONMENTAL RIGHTS
(Constitutional Amendment)
DEAD
SJR 15 – CONSERVATION LEGACY FUND
(Constitutional Amendment)
I'm happy to report that the outfitting industry escaped the session without any major blows. Our biggest industry related hit was the passage of a seven-day waiting period to purchase any firearm. The lobbyist for NRA (Tara Mica - the rockstar of protecting 2nd amendment rights in Santa Fe) was able to convince the bill sponsor to include an amendment to exempt any individual with a conceal carry permit. As always, NMCOG is grateful to our partnership with NRA to help protect the rights of NM gun owners. Thanks to hours of heavy lobbying, both the Governor's bills to increase the age of gun purchases & possession to 21yrs, as well as her bill to ban gas operated semi-automatic firearms, sank quietly into the dark oblivion of the House Floor. Of course, the failure of these bills has the Governor threatening a special session to pass gun legislation (which she has threatened every year she's been in office). Hopefully, after a few weeks of cool down she will refocus her interests elsewhere. Quick side note: Not surprisingly absent from all efforts to fight the gun bills were the usual suspects, NM Wildlife Federation and NM Chapter of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers.
Perhaps our biggest loss of this session (although it depends on whether you are talking to a democrat or republican) was the passage of the Clean Fuel Standard. This bill is amazingly hard to explain but would essentially require the Environmental Improvement Board to monitor carbon intensity of transportation fuels and charge fees. Rules will need to be promulgated to outline what specifically that looks like but it's not a far stretch of the imagination to assume the law might result in an increase in fuel prices. CA, OR, and WA all have Clean Fuel Standard laws, and their fuel prices are noticeably higher than NM's (which was the primary argument of Republicans opposing the bill). However, according to Democrats, California's high gas prices have nothing to do with the Clean Fuel Standard. And in fact, the Clean Fuel Standard should reduce the cost of gas. The bill's sponsor Rep. Ortez even went as far as to say "...I have many under privileged constituents and I would never do anything to increase the price of gas". And with that, the Republican's lost the debate and the Clean Fuel Standard is now sitting on the Governor's desk. There is almost no hope of a veto. This bill has been a priority of MLG's for several years and she has already publicly applauded its passage. But make no mistake, NMCOG will be sure to remind Representative Ortez of her promise to her constituents once this law goes into effect in 2026.
Somewhat surprisingly, the Paid Family Medical Leave Act, which was another of the Governor's priority bills, died a spectacular death on the House Floor in the final days of the session. This bill would have provided workers with up to 12 weeks of paid medical and family leave in addition to their already required paid sick leave. In a last-minute happy twist of fate, 11 democrats voted with the republicans to kill the Act on the House floor (it's last stop before the Gov.'s desk). It's speculated that Speaker of the House Martinez and Majority Whip Szczepanski didn't see it coming as it is highly uncommon for anything to be heard on the floor if it doesn't have the votes to pass. Democrats were literally crying real tears over the loss, which lends credibility to the speculation. However, it's also not out of the realm of possibility that the Speaker in fact knew where the votes were and simply chose to parade the Act out for a public killing. Either way it's good for NM employers who really did not have the capacity to absorb yet another mandated cost of doing business.
Most of the items that we monitored this session were left pending in their committees at the end of session (which we refer to as "ran out of time"). And we're more happy to kick those cans down the road for another year.
NMCOG LOBBYING LIST (2024 SESSION)
Bills not specifically mentioned in red ran out of time during the session.
HOUSE BILL 178 – REFORM STATE GAME COMMISSION
(Sponsor Matthew McQueen)
NMCOG Stance - Strong Oppose
HOUSE BILL 127 – AGE 21 FOR FIREARM PURCHASE
(Sponsor Reena Szczepanski)
NMCOG Stance – Neutral (bill was amended to exclude outfitting industry)
HOUSE BILL 137 – GAS-OPERATED SEMIAUTO FIREARMS EXCLUSION
(Sponsor Andrea Romero)
NMCOG Stance – Strong Oppose
HOUSE BILL 164/SENATE BILL 26 – LIVESTOCK WOLF COMPENSATION PROGRAM
(Sponsor Gail Armstrong & Crystal Brantley)
NMCOG Stance - Support
IN THE BUDGET
HOUSE BILL 2 – GENERAL APPROPRIATION ACT OF 2024
PASSED
HOUSE BILL 6/SENATE BILL 3 – PAID FAMILY & MEDICAL LEAVE ACT
(Sponsor Christine Chandler)
DEAD
HOUSE BILL 11 – PAID FAMILY & MEDICAL LEAVE INS. ACT
(Sponsor Marian Matthews)
DEAD
HOUSE BILL 41 – CLEAN TRANSPORTATION FUEL STANDARD
(Sponsor Kristina Ortez)
PASSED
HOUSE BILL 81 – GUN STORAGE TAX CREDIT
(Sponsor Andrea Reeb)
HOUSE BILL 104 – STATEWIDE CLIMATE & PUBLIC HEALTH PROGRAM
(Sponsor Szczepanski)
HOUSE BILL 114 – FIREARM INDUSTRY ACCOUNTABILITY ACT
(Sponsor Christine Chandler)
HOUSE BILL 129 – 7-DAY SALE WAITING PERIOD
(Sponsor Andrea Romero)
PASSED
HOUSE BILL 144 – OFFICE OF GUN VIOLENCE PREVENTION
(Sponsor Dayan Hochman-Vigil)
HOUSE BILL 173 – RANGELAND PEST MITIGATION PROGRAM
(Sponsor Joseph Sanchez)
HOUSE BILL 183 – NEGLIGENT USE OF A DEADLY WEAPON
(Sponsor Charlotte Little)
HJR 4/SJR 8 – ENVIRONMENTAL RIGHTS
(Constitutional Amendment)
DEAD
SENATE BILL 6 – CONSERVATION LEGACY FUND
(Sponsor Steven Neville)
IN THE BUDGET
SENATE BILL 37 – MEAT INSPECTION ACT
(Sponsor Elizabeth Stefanics)
PASSED
SENATE BILL 111 – PROTECT STATE WATERS
(Sponsor Siah Correa Hemphill)
SENATE BILL 204 – FIREARMS ON PLAYGROUNDS
(Senator Daniel Ivey-Soto)
SJR 8/HJR 4 – ENVIRONMENTAL RIGHTS
(Constitutional Amendment)
DEAD
SJR 15 – CONSERVATION LEGACY FUND
(Constitutional Amendment)