New Mexico Bills

passed both · New Mexico · Senate Jun 3, 2025

SB 305: QUALITY FOSTER PARENT TASK FORCE

SB 305 creates a 13-member task force to address challenges in New Mexico's foster care system, specifically focusing on recruiting and retaining foster parents. The task force includes appointed officials, foster family representatives, youth, tribal members with lived experience under the Indian Child Welfare Act, and other stakeholders like service providers and juvenile justice experts. It must study successful models from other states (citing Utah's 1998 bill as an example), conduct research with a university, and submit a final report by July 2026. The bill appropriates $100,000 from the general fund for fiscal year 2026 to support this work.

passed · New Mexico · House Jun 3, 2025

HB 145: ADDITIONAL HIGHWAY PROJECT BONDING

HB 145 increases New Mexico's bonding authority for highway projects, authorizing up to $1.124 billion in additional bonds. It sets specific limits: $624 million for major infrastructure projects (including those with federal financing history), $100 million for roads tied to the waste isolation pilot project, and $400 million for other highway work. Proceeds would come from state road fund taxes and federal highway reimbursement money, with annual caps on new bond issuance. This directly affects the State Transportation Commission's ability to finance road projects and impacts taxpayers through future bond obligations.

Topics ✓ Transportation

in committee · New Mexico · House Jun 3, 2025

HB 259: OIL & GAS ACT VIOLATION PENALTIES

HB 259 increases fines and fees for oil and gas companies violating New Mexico's regulations. It raises daily penalty limits from $2,500 to $10,000 for standard violations (up to $25,000 daily if health/safety risks exist) and sets a new maximum total penalty of $3.65 million for division/commission actions. The bill also hikes application fees (e.g., drilling permits from $500 to $1,500) and requires annual inflation adjustments starting in 2027. These changes directly affect oil and gas operators, permit applicants, and companies subject to the Oil and Gas Act.

Topics ✓ Environment

in committee · New Mexico · House Jun 3, 2025

HB 96: PERA MEMBER TEMPORARY PAYMENT

HB 96 provides a temporary 2% annual payment on top of regular pension benefits for eligible retired members of New Mexico's Public Employees Retirement Act (PERA) during fiscal years 2026 and 2027. This non-compounding payment applies to retirees who have met specific eligibility criteria, such as having retired for at least two full years prior to the adjustment date. The bill appropriates $66 million from the general fund to cover these payments, which are calculated as 2% of each retiree's current pension amount (including prior adjustments). It does not affect current cost-of-living adjustments but adds this temporary benefit for qualifying retirees during the specified two-year period.

Topics ✓ Budget & Taxes

in committee · New Mexico · Senate Jun 3, 2025

SM 6: JOINT CONSENT TO MENTAL HEALTH TREATMENT

Senate Memorial 6 requests the New Mexico Department of Health to study whether revising the Children's Code to allow joint parental and minor consent (for youth aged 14-17) for mental health treatment - instead of the current rule permitting minors to refuse treatment - could improve outcomes. The study will compare New Mexico's youth mental health data with states having similar "joint consent" laws, focusing on whether such policies reduce residential treatment use, juvenile justice involvement, or mental health emergencies. It does not change current law but seeks data to inform future policy decisions. The Department of Health must report findings to the legislative health committee by November 1, 2025.

Topics ✓ Healthcare

in committee · New Mexico · Senate Jun 3, 2025

SB 156: LOW-INCOME UTILITY USERS

SB 156 adds a definition for "low-income customer" to New Mexico's Public Utility Act and exempts these customers from additional fees ("rate riders") imposed when new customers connect to utility systems. It directly affects low-income households using electricity, gas, or water services who qualify under the new definition. The bill's key mechanism is creating a formal definition for "low-income customer" and mandating that utilities exclude these households from certain cost-sharing fees. This change aims to reduce financial burdens on eligible low-income utility users by preventing them from paying extra costs tied to new infrastructure connections.

Topics ✓ Energy ✓ Housing

in committee · New Mexico · House Jun 3, 2025

HJR 10: ALLOW VOTING WITH FELONY CONVICTION, CA

This bill proposes amending New Mexico's constitution to remove felony convictions as a barrier to voting. It would allow individuals with felony convictions to vote again once they've completed their sentences, provided they meet other standard voter requirements like residency and registration. The amendment would change the constitution's language to eliminate the current restriction on voting rights for people convicted of felonies. If approved by voters, this change would directly affect thousands of New Mexicans who are otherwise eligible to vote but were previously barred due to past felony convictions. The resolution must be approved by voters at the next general election to take effect.

Topics ✓ Criminal Justice

passed · New Mexico · House Jun 3, 2025

HB 253: SEALING OF CERTAIN COURT RECORDS

HB 253 requires that court records for eviction cases be sealed (made inaccessible to the public) from the start of the case. The records remain sealed until 15 days after a court orders the landlord to take possession, unless the tenant appeals or the parties agree to keep them sealed. After that period, records become public but must be resealed after three years or if a tenant petitions for resealing based on "interests of justice." The bill also prohibits courts from publishing tenant or landlord names online and exempts tenants from disclosing evictions to third parties.

Topics ✓ Housing

in committee · New Mexico · Senate Jun 3, 2025

SB 205: STATE OFFICE OF HOUSING PLANNING & PRODUCTION

SB 205 creates a new Office of Housing Planning and Production within New Mexico's Department of Finance and Administration to coordinate statewide housing efforts. The office will develop a strategy to reduce housing costs and increase availability - including for low-income and homeless households - by analyzing zoning rules, building codes, construction costs, and promoting innovative housing solutions like modular homes. It requires annual data collection on housing needs, market conditions, and program impacts to track progress toward state goals and identify geographic gaps. The office will provide technical assistance to local governments, tribes, and regional entities to improve housing regulations and grow local housing capacity. The bill declares an emergency to allow immediate implementation.

Topics ✓ Housing

in committee · New Mexico · Senate Jun 3, 2025

SB 28: CORPORATE INCOME TAX TO STATE ROAD FUND

SB 28 redirects all revenue from New Mexico's corporate income tax to the state road fund instead of the general fund. This bill directly affects businesses paying corporate income tax and changes how that revenue is allocated, shifting it from general state funding to road maintenance and construction. The key provision, effective July 1, 2026, mandates that "net receipts attributable to the corporate income tax" be distributed to the state road fund per Section 7-1-6.1 of the Tax Administration Act. This is a concrete policy change in revenue allocation with no tax rate adjustments.

Topics ✓ Budget & Taxes ✓ Transportation

passed · New Mexico · House Jun 3, 2025

HB 26: TICKET RESALE AT STATE AND NONPROFIT EVENTS

This bill expands New Mexico's ticket scalping law to cover events hosted by state agencies, local governments (like cities or counties), and tax-exempt nonprofit organizations. It prohibits reselling tickets for these events at a price higher than the original ticket cost or the venue's admission price. Sellers may still charge a service fee if permitted by a contract with the event organizer. Violating this law is a misdemeanor punishable by fines up to $500, up to one year in jail, or both.

in committee · New Mexico · House Jun 3, 2025

HB 462: NONPAYMENT OF RENT NOTICE PERIOD

HB 462 increases the notice period landlords must provide to tenants for nonpayment of rent from three days to ten days. If rent is unpaid, landlords must give written notice specifying the unpaid amount and stating the lease will terminate ten days after the notice is delivered, rather than three. This directly affects renters facing eviction for missed payments and landlords seeking to end leases due to nonpayment. The bill amends New Mexico’s Uniform Owner-Resident Relations Act to extend the notice period, aiming to give tenants more time to pay rent before eviction proceedings begin. The change applies specifically to nonpayment cases, not other lease violations.

Topics ✓ Housing

Bill results