A legislative update from Piñon Post founder and editor and state Rep. John Block (R-Alamogordo). John gives a weekly update during the legislative session. If you don’t already get the update, you can get it here or by subscribing on the website JohnForNM.com.
This was one of the busiest weeks I’ve ever seen at the Roundhouse so far, and here’s what happened:
Committees
In the House Government, Elections, and Indian Affairs Committee (HGEIC) this week, we heard many bills and resolutions, such as H.J.R. 11 (to remove the anti-donation clause), which I voted against because it had absolutely no guardrails and would directly fund with our tax dollars “nonprofits” that could funnel cash into all sorts of nefarious places.
We also heard in HGEIC a bill, H.B. 228, that would mandate that municipalities do not change the rules on businesses mid-way through the project when constructing electric fences for security reasons, which I voted for. We also passed H.B. 208, of which I am a cosponsor, to allow voter registrations for hunting and fishing licenses.
In HGEIC on Friday, I voted against a bill that would push a so-called “circular economy” in the state, which had unknown benchmarks and mandates for such policies that would run through the New Mexico Environment Department. Also, that day, we passed a very good bill, which I am cosponsoring, H.B. 293, to eliminate state taxes on seniors’ social security payments.
On Tuesday in the House Consumer and Public Affairs Committee (HCPAC), I advocated and voted against H.B. 9, which would ban the county from helping detain criminal aliens in our Otero County Processing Center, which would kill over 250 jobs and make our county lose millions. That day, we also passed a good bill, which I am cosponsoring, H.B. 287, adding text message and social media message threats to existing statutes that only allow using a telephone to make threats as prosecutable.
On Thursday, in that same committee, surprisingly, we were able to kill a horrible bill, H.B. 247, on a tied 3-3 vote that would have bureaucratized health care and confused patients with insane disclosure laws for doctors who are not osteopathic doctors or medical doctors. I also voted against H.B. 339, which would have expanded the state’s “Human Rights Act” to include “discriminating” against renters who use Section 8 vouchers and other government handouts.
On Saturday in HCPAC, we had a slew of terrible bills that I voted against, including H.B. 442, which would create “rent stabilization,” also known as rent control, to socialize the housing market, as has happened in New York City and San Francisco. Another bad bill I voted against was H.B. 418, which is shoddily written and attacks landlords by forcing 24-month time frames on mobile home renters’ leases while also punishing landlords with hefty fines if they could be found in non-compliance with the narrow and restrictive language of the bill.
Floor Sessions
On the floor Monday, I debated for nearly three hours a terrible bill, H.B. 6, which forces “prevailing wages” on all industrial revenue bond-assisted projects — crushing economic development across our state, resulting in fewer jobs and fewer projects. I offered two amendments to the bill to 1) exempt small businesses and 2) exempt projects that can prove other states with the same incentives but no “prevailing wage” mandates would be better climates for such projects. Both of these amendments were tabled on party-line votes.
During Tuesday’s floor session, I heavily debated horrible bills, including one (H.B. 26) that would allow just about anyone to be arrested for “ticket scalping” — even if just selling one ticket for just $1 more than one paid for it — which would end up with countless people thrown in jail under the bill’s changes to state statute.
On Wednesday, during the floor session, I voted against legislation that would penalize businesses, including H.B. 49, forcing all establishments everywhere to mandate televisions have closed captions on at all times.
On Thursday, I heavily debated a horrible bill, S.B. 3, to give an unknown amount of money to “behavioral health” programs, which is part of a terrible package of other bills to spend around $1 billion on such programs, which could include transgender surgeries, “gun violence prevention,” “climate change,” and “free” (government-funded) houses for drug addicts.
Friday’s floor session included the companion bill to the horrible S.B. 3, S.B. 1, which myself, Rep. Stefani Lord (R-Sandia Park), and a couple of others debated. Rep. Lord has been a steadfast patriot and a champion for the people who actually does the work of reading bills and debating them heavily to ensure the public knows what is in them, as I do.
We also heard H.B. 56, relating to Medicaid reimbursements for “birthing centers,” which didn’t mention the word “woman” once, instead foregoing it for the term “pregnant people.” I voted against it.
During the floor session on Saturday, we had a concurrence vote on H.B. 8, the Democrats’ weak “crime package” that will not fight crime.
We also passed a bill I am so honored to cosponsor, H.B. 36, to improve access to care by allowing optometrists to perform minor outpatient procedures in their offices, which was a huge step toward de-bureaucratizing health care in the state.
In Summary
This was the last week to file legislation, so all my legislation for the session is filed and can be accessed here.
The week ahead will be very eventful in my committees, with lots of bad bills scheduled for the upcoming week.
To see all committee schedules for all committees, click here.
It is an honor to represent Alamogordo in the Legislature and fight with every fiber of my being to protect our Constitutional rights. You can always count on me to stand with our shared conservative American values.
God bless you,
John
Rep. John Block
NM House District 51
Republican, Otero County
Thank You! John Block for your service .
John Block for governor!