New Mexico Bills | MyRepTracker

signed · New Mexico · House Apr 8, 2025

HB 101: FIREARM AT POLLING PLACE FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT

HB 101 clarifies that commissioned law enforcement officers performing official duties are exempt from New Mexico's general rule prohibiting firearms at polling places. The bill directly affects law enforcement officers who may be present at polling locations during elections. It amends the existing law to explicitly state that officers acting within their official capacity are not considered to be unlawfully possessing a firearm in these areas. This change provides clear legal protection for officers conducting election security, without altering restrictions for other individuals. The bill does not change the penalty for non-officers who violate the firearm prohibition at polling places.

signed · New Mexico · House Apr 8, 2025

HM 37: MOUNT TAYLOR AS CULTURAL PROPERTY

This non-binding House Memorial (HM 37) affirms New Mexico's commitment to protecting Mount Taylor as a sacred cultural site for Indigenous nations, particularly the Pueblos of Acoma and Laguna. It opposes uranium mining projects that threaten the mountain's cultural integrity and water sources, citing risks of aquifer contamination and environmental damage. The memorial urges state and federal agencies to deny mining permits within the designated cultural property area and calls for federal reform of the 1872 Mining Act to prioritize tribal consultation.

Topics ✓ Environment

signed · New Mexico · House Apr 8, 2025

HB 357: MI VIA WAIVER PGM. PROVIDER GROSS RECEIPTS

HB 357 prevents New Mexico's Medicaid home- and community-based services waiver program (MI VIA) from including healthcare providers' gross receipts taxes when calculating individual participant budgets. The bill requires the health care authority to create rules ensuring these taxes are billed and reimbursed separately as an additional cost, not deducted from a participant's approved annual budget. This directly affects MI VIA program participants (typically individuals receiving home care services through Medicaid) and healthcare providers who serve them. The law, signed on April 8, 2025, changes how provider tax costs are handled within the waiver program's funding structure.

Topics ✓ Budget & Taxes ✓ Healthcare

signed · New Mexico · House Apr 8, 2025

HB 402: HEALTH INSURANCE PROVIDER INFO LOADING

HB 402 requires health insurance carriers in New Mexico to add new providers to their payment systems within 30 days of receiving a complete credentialing application. If carriers miss this deadline, they must reimburse providers for covered services rendered after the 30-day mark. The law also sets standards for the credentialing process, limiting required application forms to two and requiring carriers to send written requests for missing documentation within 10 days. This directly affects health insurance companies and healthcare providers (including dentists), ensuring timely access to payment systems and reducing reimbursement delays.

Topics ✓ Healthcare

signed · New Mexico · Senate Apr 8, 2025

SB 41: TURQUOISE ALERT SYSTEM

SB 41 creates a "Turquoise Alert System" to rapidly share information about missing enrolled members or eligible members of federally recognized American Indian tribes, pueblos, or nations in New Mexico. The bill requires the Department of Public Safety to develop a plan for issuing these alerts, including notifying law enforcement, media, and cellular providers through existing emergency alert systems. It mandates specific record-keeping for each alert, tracking details like the person's age, gender, and recovery date. This system directly affects tribal communities and law enforcement agencies responsible for implementing the alerts, while distinguishing this category from existing "Silver" (elderly/dementia) or "Brittany" (developmental disability) alerts.

signed · New Mexico · Senate Apr 8, 2025

SB 8: VETERINARY MEDICAL LOAN REPAYMENT PGM

This bill (SB 8) has a misleading title ("VETERINARY MEDICAL LOAN REPAYMENT PGM") that does not match its actual content. The bill text focuses on medical malpractice litigation, not veterinary medicine or loan repayment. It would limit venue for medical malpractice lawsuits to the county where the patient received treatment, create a "Patient Safety Improvement Fund," require payments from the Patient's Compensation Fund as expenses occur (instead of as a lump sum), and limit attorney fees in malpractice claims. The bill directly affects patients, healthcare providers, and the state's Patient's Compensation Fund, changing how medical malpractice cases are processed and funded. The title appears to be an error, as the bill text contains no provisions related to veterinary medicine or loan repayment programs.

Topics ✗ Healthcare

signed · New Mexico · Senate Apr 8, 2025

SB 83: INNOVATION IN STATE GOVERNMENT FUND

SB 83 creates a dedicated $10 million "Innovation in State Government Fund" (transferred from the General Fund) to help New Mexico state agencies advance climate and sustainability goals. The fund directly supports seven agencies - including the Environment Department, Energy Department, and Transportation Department - with specific allocations to develop climate action plans, achieve net-zero emissions, and implement sustainable economic policies that diversify revenue beyond natural resource extraction. Agencies must submit annual reports detailing fund use, and unspent balances after fiscal year 2027 revert to the fund. This law, signed into effect in April 2025, provides concrete financial mechanisms for agencies to address climate policy implementation without altering existing tax structures.

Topics ✓ Budget & Taxes ✓ Energy ✓ Environment

signed · New Mexico · Senate Apr 8, 2025

SB 7: STORM WATER SERVICE AS MUNICIPAL UTILITY

I notice a discrepancy between the bill title "STORM WATER SERVICE AS MUNICIPAL UTILITY" and the actual content provided, which is about juvenile delinquency reform. This bill (SB 7) amends New Mexico's Delinquency Act to change how youth offenders are handled in the justice system. It removes requirements for detention risk assessments before placing children in detention, allows 14+ year olds to waive amenability hearings, and gives courts discretion to extend judgments until age 25. The bill also modifies standards of proof in probation revocation proceedings and allows reference to sealed juvenile records for certain hearings. These changes primarily affect youth aged 14-18 who commit delinquent acts, altering their processing through the juvenile justice system.

Topics ✓ Criminal Justice

signed · New Mexico · Senate Apr 8, 2025

SB 33: WILDFIRE PREPARED ACT

SB 33, the Wildfire Prepared Act, creates a state program to help New Mexico homeowners make their primary residences safer from wildfires. It establishes the Wildfire Prepared Program within the energy department, which would provide technical assistance, assessments, and grants to eligible property owners (those living in high-risk wildfire areas) to harden their homes and property using noncombustible materials and defensible space. The bill also creates a Fire Planning Task Force to develop wildfire preparedness standards, identify high-risk areas, and recommend building code changes, while creating a dedicated Wildfire Prepared Fund for program funding. If passed, it would replace outdated wildfire planning laws and directly affect homeowners in wildfire-prone regions seeking to reduce fire risks to their properties.

Topics ✓ Environment

signed · New Mexico · House Apr 8, 2025

HM 15: PEOPLE EXPOSED TO RADIATION

This House Memorial (HM 15) urges the U.S. Congress to support expanded federal compensation for people exposed to radiation through nuclear weapons testing or uranium mining. It specifically calls for backing Senate Bill 243, which aims to extend the deadline for claims and broaden eligibility under the existing Federal Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA). The memorial highlights that current RECA rules exclude many affected individuals, including those working in uranium mining after 1972 or living downwind outside designated areas like Arizona and Utah. It directly concerns communities in New Mexico, the Navajo Nation, and other Western states impacted by historical nuclear activities.

Topics ✓ Healthcare

signed · New Mexico · House Apr 8, 2025

HB 439: PUBLIC SAFETY TELECOMMUNICATOR CPR TRAINING

HB 439 requires telecommunicators who answer emergency calls for police, fire, or medical services (such as 911 operators) to receive training in instructing bystanders on cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) during cardiac emergencies. The bill mandates that all telecommunicator training programs include "high-quality telecommunicator cardiopulmonary resuscitation" using current nationally recognized emergency cardiovascular care guidelines, specifically covering compression-only CPR and out-of-hospital cardiac arrest protocols. This affects public safety agencies across New Mexico, including local police, fire departments, and emergency medical services. The law updates existing training requirements to ensure telecommunicators can effectively guide non-medical personnel in life-saving actions while awaiting professional help.

Topics ✓ Healthcare

signed · New Mexico · House Apr 8, 2025

HM 27: ANTI-DONATION CLAUSE INTERIM COMMITTEE WORK

This memorial requests the New Mexico Legislative Council to form an interim committee to study how to implement a 2022 voter-approved constitutional exception allowing state funds for essential utility services (like internet, electricity, water, and wastewater). The committee will examine structural questions - such as whether to create a single entity or separate entities for different services, funding criteria, and oversight mechanisms - to develop concrete proposals for the 2026 legislative session. It directly affects communities lacking access to essential utilities due to infrastructure costs, but does not create new law or funding itself. The bill is procedural, focusing solely on planning for future legislation.

Topics ✓ Technology