By Marty Mayfield
KRTN Multi-Media
The New Mexico Legislative session is now 1/3 of the way through or 20 days in to the 60-day session with over 470 house bills and over 460 senate bills introduced by law makers.
Several of the bills deal with tax changes including income tax increases (HB365), gross receipts tax increases and changes and tax credits while others deal with changes in education and teacher evaluations. Both the house and senate propose raising minimum teacher pay from $36,000 to $45,000 a year with the senate bill raising the pay over a five-year period. House bill 46 deals with the minimum wage which will be $7.50 until January 1, 2020. After that it will increase to $15.00 an hour.
HB 40 will require background checks at gun shows and a bill requiring background checks for sales of guns to family and friends. HB 55 calls for an agreement to elect the president of the United States by popular vote rather than the electoral college system we now have and HB 57 will restore voting rights for Felons. HB 407 is the election laws 50-year tune up which is 470 pages long. Both the house and senate also have bills on voter registration by state agencies most specifically by MVD.
HB 73 proposes to exempt New Mexico from daylight savings time while SB226 will keep New Mexico on daylight savings time all year. HB 100 calls for Columbus Day to be replaced with Indigenous Peoples day. HB 195; SB 196 calls for no resources for federal immigration law which essentially prohibits the use of state resources to enforce immigration laws essentially making New Mexico a Sanctuary state. It prohibits local law enforcement, sheriff and jailers from informing federal authorities when they arrest an illegal alien.
HB 356 is the cannabis regulation bill which is 140 pages long and is written in such a way as to address legalizing recreational use. The senate has two bills on medical cannabis gross receipts taxes and once to increase cigarette taxes.
Several bills in both the house and senate also deal with oil and gas taxes, development of energy sources and tax credits.
SB 276 creates an office of Peacebuilding. The purpose of the Office of Peacebuilding Act is to establish an office dedicated to building a culture of peace, including training that will facilitate the prevention, management and resolution of conflict without violence and the study and implementation of appropriate educational curricula at all levels and of conditions that are conducive to a culture of peace.
SB 280 is the bill that deals with capital outlay monies and who gets what. Proposals include $50,000 to renovate the Senior Center in Eagle Nest. $4,000,000 for dam rehabilitation statewide. The chart indicates 149 projects totaling $363,227,253 none of the projects that Raton wanted funded show up on the list.
Most all the bills are in committees at this time in the 2019 legislative session where house and senate bills are combined and rewritten before going on to be voted on and sent to the governor for her signature and to become law.
To view the bills go to https://nmlegis.gov/Legislation/Legislation_List?Session=57
Below is the Capital Outlay requests for municipalities and the county for Colfax County for the 2019 Legislative session.
County: Colfax
ANGEL FIRE AMBULANCE PURCHASE 200,000 Angel Fire 5708 to purchase and equip an ambulance in Angel Fire in Colfax county
ANGEL FIRE SCADA 660,000 Angel Fire
5707 to plan, design, construct, equip and install a supervisory control and data acquisition system in Angel Fire in Colfax county
ANGEL FIRE WATER RIGHTS PRCHS 3,000,000 Angel Fire 5824 to acquire water rights for Angel Fire in Colfax county
CIMARRON MUNICIPAL SPORTS FIELD COMPLEX LIGHTS 150,000 Cimarron
5727 to plan, design, construct, purchase, equip and install lights at the municipal sports complex in Cimarron in Colfax county
CIMARRON STREETS IMPROVE 100,000 Cimarron 5723 to plan, design, construct and furnish street improvements in Cimarron in Colfax county
CIMARRON VILLAGE HALL IMPROVE 175,000 Cimarron
5724 to acquire property and to plan, design and construct improvements, including accessibility, to the village hall in Cimarron in Colfax county
CIMARRON WATER & WWATER SYS IMPROVE 300,000 Cimarron
5725 to plan, design and construct water and wastewater system improvements in Cimarron in Colfax county
CIMARRONCITO DAM RENOVATE 300,000 Cimarron
5722 to plan, design, construct, repair and renovate the Cimarroncito dam in Cimarron in Colfax county
COLFAX CO ROAD MAINTENANCE EQUIP 310,000 6147 to purchase and equip road maintenance equipment for Colfax county
COLFAX CO SHERIFF’S DEPT VEHICLES PURCHASE 135,000 6010 to purchase and equip vehicles for the sheriff’s department in Colfax county
EAGLE NEST ENCHANTED EAGLE PARK EQUIP 130,000 Eagle Nest
4861 to plan, design, purchase, equip, construct and install playground equipment at Enchanted Eagle park in Eagle Nest in Colfax county
EAGLE NEST ENCHANTED EAGLE PARK IMPROVE 130,000 Eagle Nest
4860 to plan, design and construct improvements, including sidewalk soil restoration, to Enchanted Eagle park in Eagle Nest in Colfax county
EAGLE NEST SENIOR CENTER – RENOVATE 50,000 Eagle Nest
4766 to plan, design, construct, purchase and install an emergency generator at the Eagle Nest senior center in Eagle Nest in Colfax county
EAGLE NEST SENIOR CTR CEILING 26,000 Eagle Nest
4853 to plan, design, purchase and construct improvements, including a drop ceiling, at Eagle Nest senior center in Eagle Nest in Colfax county
EAGLE NEST SENIOR CTR KITCHEN IMPROVE 250,000 Eagle Nest
4854 to plan, design and construct improvements, including the expansion and remodeling of a kitchen, to the Eagle Nest senior center in Eagle Nest in Colfax county
EAGLE NEST SENIOR CTR PARKING LOT IMPROVE
Total Project Cost 115,000 Eagle Nest
4855 to plan, design and construct improvements, including paving, to the parking lot at the Eagle Nest senior center in Eagle Nest in Colfax county
EAGLE NEST WATER SYSTEMS IMPROVE 2,456,000 Eagle Nest
4856 to plan, design and construct water system improvements, including installation of fire hydrants, gate valves, water meters, a booster pump station and extensions of waterlines, in Eagle Nest in Colfax county
EAGLE NEST WATER TANK CONSTRUCT 1,400,000 Eagle Nest
4858 to plan, design and construct water system improvements, including a well house, waterlines and construction of a water tank, in Eagle Nest in Colfax county
EAGLE NEST WWATER SYSTEMS PLAN 100,000 Eagle Nest
4859 to plan and design wastewater system improvements, including preparation of a preliminary engineering report, for Eagle Nest in Colfax county
GARDNER ROAD BRIDGE CONSTRUCT COLFAX CO 285,000 Raton 6011 to plan, design, construct and demolish a bridge on Gardner road in Colfax county
HIGH PLAINS REC SECURITY SYSTEM RATON 85,000 Raton
5622 to plan, design, purchase, equip and install a security system in the High Plains regional education cooperative building in Raton in Colfax county
MAXWELL MSD BUS PURCHASE 194,000 Maxwell MSD 5641 to purchase and a equip a bus for the Maxwell municipal school district in Colfax county
MAXWELL MSD GYMNASIUM IMPROVE 200,000 Maxwell MSD
5643 to plan, design, construct, purchase, furnish, equip and install improvements, including seating, to the gymnasium at the Maxwell municipal school district in Colfax county
MAXWELL PUBLIC WORKS DEPT EQUIP 125,000 Maxwell
5735 to purchase and equip public works department equipment, including a backhoe, loader and dump truck, in Maxwell in Colfax county
MAXWELL SEWER LINES REPLACE 150,000 Maxwell 5736 to plan, design, construct, equip and replace sewer lines in Maxwell in Colfax county
MAXWELL STORAGE TANK CONSTRUCT 550,000 Maxwell
5732 to plan, design, construct, replace, purchase and install a water storage tank in Maxwell in Colfax county
MAXWELL STREETS IMPROVE 60,000 Maxwell 5731 to plan, design, construct and equip improvements to streets in Maxwell in Colfax county
MAXWELL WATER SYS IMPROVE 125,000 Maxwell 5734 to plan, design and construct water system improvements in Maxwell in Colfax county
RATON MUNICIPAL AIRPORT HANGAR CONSTRUCT 250,000 Raton
5709 to plan, design and construct a hangar at Raton municipal airport in Raton in Colfax county
RATON POLICE DEPT VEHICLES PURCHASE & EQUIP 200,000 Raton
5713 to purchase and equip vehicles, including information technology and surveillance systems, for the police department in Raton in Colfax county
RATON PUBLIC WORKS EQUIP 200,000 Raton
5715 to purchase and equip public works equipment, including a backhoe, dump truck, mowers, ice control spreaders and an asphalt hotbox, in Raton in Colfax county
RATON STORM DRAIN IMPROVE 300,000 Raton
5714 to plan, design and construct improvements, including curb and gutter and replacement of pipes and manholes, to storm drain systems in Raton in Colfax county
RATON STREETS IMPROVE 500,000 Raton
5711 to plan, design and construct improvements to municipal streets in Raton in Colfax county
SPRINGER AMBULANCE BUILDING CONSTRUCT 125,000 Springer 4898 to plan, design, install and construct an ambulance building in Springer in Colfax county
SPRINGER MUNI BLDGS IMPROVE Total Project Cost City 350,000 Springer
4896 to plan, design, furnish and construct improvements, including emergency repairs and roofing replacements, at municipal buildings in Springer in Colfax county
SPRINGER MUNICIPAL WATER PLANT FILTER 160,000 Springer
4893 to plan, design, purchase, install, construct and replace the filter media and ventilation system at the Springer municipal water plant in Springer in Colfax county
SPRINGER STREETS IMPROVE 95,000 Springer 4894 to plan, design and construct streets in Springer in Colfax county
SPRINGER WWATER PLANT IMPROVE 550,000 Springer
4899 to plan, design and construct improvements to a wastewater plant in Springer in Colfax county
