Sen. Liz Stefanics

Maddy summarySB 62 restricts pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) to charging only flat, fair-market-value service fees directly tied to their services, banning other fees or financial conflicts. It defines "bona fide service fees" as simple dollar amounts consistent with market value, prohibiting PBMs from earning extra revenue through pharmacy ownership or other arrangements that create conflicts of interest. This directly affects PBMs and pharmacies, as it limits how PBMs can charge for services and requires transparency in fee structures. The bill also classifies violations as unfair or deceptive trade practices under state law, strengthening oversight of PBM billing.

Maddy summarySB 189, titled "PUBLIC ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS ELIGIBILITY," proposed amendments to New Mexico's public assistance application and eligibility process for cash assistance and SNAP benefits. It required departments to process applications faster (e.g., expedited SNAP within 7 days), mandate resource planning sessions within 30 days, and create individual responsibility plans focused on employment goals for applicants. The bill directly affected households applying for state assistance programs, requiring them to develop work plans and comply with participation standards. However, the bill was replaced by a committee substitute and later postponed indefinitely on June 3, 2025, meaning it did not become law.

Maddy summarySB 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.

Maddy summaryHB 392, the Single-Use Plastic Bag Act, would prohibit New Mexico retail establishments from providing single-use plastic bags for carrying purchased items, with exceptions for bulk products, takeout food with leakage risk, medical items, and other specific cases like live animal transport. Retailers could offer paper bags at a minimum 10-cent fee per bag (exempting low-income customers using SNAP or similar benefits), with 7 cents of each fee funding local waste reduction education programs. Local governments would enforce the ban, imposing penalties of up to $500 for a second violation and $1,000 for third or subsequent violations.

Maddy summarySB 30 provides a two percent annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for certain retired New Mexico state employees. It directly affects normal retired members over age 65 who retired from state government before July 1, 2025, by increasing their pension payments by 2% each July 1. The bill appropriates $10 million from the general fund for fiscal year 2026 and beyond to fund this adjustment, with unspent funds not reverting to the general fund. This replaces a previous reduction in COLA rates for this specific group of retirees.

Maddy summaryNew Mexico's SB 34 updates rules to reduce light pollution by requiring most outdoor light fixtures installed after July 1, 2025, to be fully shielded (directing light downward) and limiting fixtures over four feet high emitting more than 1,000 lumens from pointing skyward. It adds exemptions for roadway safety signs on interstates, temporary construction/emergency lights, and film production lighting, while removing previous exemptions for automatic shutoff devices and certain advertising signs. The bill also eliminates a prior exemption for recreational facility lights after 11:00 p.m. (except for specific events) and repeals outdated provisions. These changes directly affect businesses, property owners, construction sites, and municipalities managing outdoor lighting. The law aims to protect night skies by standardizing shielding requirements across the state.

Maddy summarySB 191 allocates $10 million from New Mexico's general fund to the Crime Victims Reparation Commission for community-based domestic violence programs during fiscal year 2026. The funds directly support local programs that assist domestic violence survivors, with unspent balances reverting to the general fund by year-end. The bill passed committee but was postponed indefinitely on June 3, 2025, meaning it has not advanced further in the legislative process. This is a funding measure, not a procedural or commemorative resolution.

Maddy summarySB 207 would expand New Mexico's insurance rules to exempt certain medications from prior authorization requirements. It directly affects patients with autoimmune disorders, cancer, rare diseases (affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the U.S.), or substance use disorders, and insurers covering their prescriptions. The bill requires insurers to cover these medications without prior approval or step therapy (trying cheaper drugs first) when a doctor deems them medically necessary for the condition. This change applies only when no cheaper generic, biosimilar, or interchangeable biologic alternative is available.

Maddy summaryHB 465 strengthens protections for New Mexico nurses who refuse unsafe assignments or medically unreasonable orders under the "safe harbor" provision. It requires healthcare facilities to create written processes allowing nurses to formally invoke safe harbor (with supervisor notification and documented reasons), conduct post-occurrence reviews involving other nurses, and prohibits retaliation like demotions, termination, or reporting to nursing boards for good-faith requests. The bill directly affects nurses facing unsafe work conditions and their healthcare employers, mandating specific procedural safeguards. It explicitly bans facility retaliation against nurses who use safe harbor, ensuring they can raise safety concerns without professional consequences. The law focuses on concrete policy changes to protect patient safety and nurse autonomy.

Maddy summarySB 368 expands New Mexico's legal definition of "cremation" to include chemical and biological processes, not just traditional flame-based methods. This change directly affects funeral service providers, crematories, and individuals making end-of-life arrangements by adding these non-traditional methods to the state's Funeral Services Act. The bill amends key definitions in state law to clarify that "cremate" means reducing remains through "direct flame, chemical agent or biological processing," and updates related terms like "cremated remains" to reflect this broader scope. These changes ensure legal clarity for facilities using newer methods and provide clearer authorization requirements for decedents. The bill does not alter burial practices or create new requirements beyond defining the cremation process.