The New Mexico Legislature is in full swing, and countless pieces of radical legislation are being rammed through committee hearings, many times without significant public input. Some good bills put forth by some legislators need public support.
At the Piñon Post, we look to change that. New Mexicans must be more involved in politics in our state, which is why we are working around the clock to monitor committee hearings and bills and give you the information you need to have so you can do your part. On Monday and Tuesday, the House of Representatives and the Senate will consider many extreme bills regarding the environment, law enforcement, taxes, and business. Please participate and make your voices heard.
Committee hearings happening Monday-Tuesday:
HEALTH AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS COMMITTEE
Senator Gerald Ortiz y Pino, Chair, convenes Monday, February 22 at 1:30 p.m.*
*Times are subject to change depending on the Senate floor schedule. Join the meeting here: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89738905182
For public participation, complete the registration form by clicking the following link https://ggle.io/3pe5 .The deadline to respond is Sunday., Feb. 21 at 5:00 p.m.
S.B. 232 – EXEMPTION FROM IMMUNIZATION by Sen. Gregg Schmedes (R-Bernalillo, Sandoval, Santa Fe, and Torrance) – GOOD
According to the fiscal impact report, “Senate Bill 232 would amend Section 24-5-3 NMSA 1978 to add a fourth reason why a child should be granted an exemption from state-required immunizations for school or dare. The fourth type of exemption, “for reasons of conscience,” would be added to the three existing reasons: medical exemptions; group religious objections to vaccine(s) and individual religious objections to vaccine(s).” This bill is friendly to New Mexicans who have conscience objections to vaccinations.
S.B. 238 – ELIMINATE SEC. OF HEALTH POWERS by Sen. Gregg Schmedes (R-Bernalillo, Sandoval, Santa Fe, and Torrance) – GOOD
According to the fiscal impact report, “Senate Bill 238 eliminates the authority of the secretary of the Department of Health under the Public Health Emergency Response Act (PHERA) to isolate or quarantine a person who is unwilling or unable to undergo vaccination for reasons of health, religion or conscience. This bill contains an emergency clause and would become effective immediately upon signature by the governor.” This bill is friendly to those who have objections to being forcibly vaccinated by the Department of Health.
SENATE CONSERVATION COMMITTEE
SENATOR ELIZABETH STEFANICS, CHAIR Convenes Tuesday, February 23, 2021, 9:00 a.m. via Zoom
Please click here to register for public comment on a bill being heard by this committee: https://forms.gle/5pgx2bgxGyHEDeCS8
S.B. 312 GAME & FISH & WILDLIFE CHANGES by Sen. Jeff Steinborn (D-Doña Ana) and Rep. Nathan Small (D-Doña Ana). – BAD
S.B. 312 is a costly bill that takes power away from the people and gives it to the government, according to liberals, giving “wildlife conservation” a “modern approach to wildlife management. It directs the state to manage and conserve the public’s wildlife.” This power-grab would mean higher permit prices for many out-of-state permits, harsher restrictions on what wildlife one could hunt, and it would rename the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish to the “Department of Wildlife Conservation.”
While the Piñon Post supports conservation efforts in our state, this 241-page overhaul bill further bureaucratizes the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish and according to the bill itself, “[narrows] conditions for landowners on taking or killing animals on private land.” That means, in part, that it usurps the right for landowners to kill a wild animal on their land, for reasons of immediate threats to human life and for damage of property, including crops, it would now only allow killing the animal for the threat to human life. This would be required to be reported to the Department within 24 hours of disposal of the carcass.
These burdensome restrictions, among countless other flaws in the bill, such as a large appropriation necessary for its passage, are a detriment to taxpayers, landowners, and hunters in the state. Read the fiscal impact report on the bill for more information.
SENATE TAX, BUSINESS AND TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE
SENATOR BENNY SHENDO JR., CHAIRMAN Tuesday, February 23, 2021, 1:30 pm
*For Public Participation send an email to SCORC@nmlegis.gov with: Name, Entity Representing, Bill #, For or Against, and email address by Feb. 23, at 10 am. You will be contacted by our Zoom Operator with virtual meeting instructions.
S.B. 11 (as amended) CLEAN FUEL STANDARD ACT by Sen. Mimi Stewart (D-Bernalillo) and Nathan Small (D-Doña Ana) – BAD (This is one of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s legislative priorities).
This anti-business bill put forth by two anti-energy extremist legislators, would in the bill sponsors’ own words, “[require] fuel providers that refine, blend, make or import fuel used in New Mexico to gradually reduce the carbon intensity of the transportation fuel itself, we can reduce emissions by 4.7 million metric tons in carbon dioxide equivalent by 2040. That’s like taking 44,000 cars off the road every year for 15 years.”
This bill would harm critical industries in New Mexico with expensive and punitive new regulations on the transportation of the fuels New Mexicans rely on to keep them driving and doing business. This bill has an appropriation of $1,210,000 for the 2022 fiscal year alone, with it gradually increasing annually.
House of Representatives
HOUSE COMMERCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE
ANTONIO “MOE” MAESTAS, CHAIR Convenes Monday, February 22, 2021 – 1:30 p.m. – Zoom
H.B. 110 – PHASED MINIMUM WAGE INCREASE by Rep. Patricia Roybal Caballero (D-Bernalillo) – She is running for Congress in CD-1. – BAD
“Starting January 1, 2022, the minimum wage would rise to $12.00 per hour Starting January 1, 2024, the minimum wage would rise to $15.00 per hour,” according to the fiscal impact report.
This bill hurts small businesses and causes fewer people employed because of the mandates from this anti-business, anti-worker bill.
You are invited to a Zoom webinar. Feb 22, 2021, 01:30 PM When: Feb 22, 2021, 01:30 PM Mountain Time (US and Canada) Topic: HOUSE COMMERCE & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE Please click the link below to join the webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83846715600
HOUSE STATE GOVERNMENT, ELECTIONS AND INDIAN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE
GEORGENE LOUIS, CHAIR, Convenes Monday, February 22, 2021 – 8:00 a.m. – Zoom
H.B. 9 CLIMATE SOLUTIONS ACT by Reps. Melanie A. Stansbury (D-Bernalillo), Brian Egolf (D-Santa Fe), Angelica Rubio (D-Doña Ana, Nathan P. Small (D-Doña Ana), and Sen. Mimi Stewart (D-Bernalillo). – BAD (This is one of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s legislative priorities).
H.B. 9 is a costly and corrosive piece of legislation that not only would cost millions to the state annually, but it would also create even harsher standards than those that were passed in the “Energy Transition Act” to completely and totally annihilate the oil and gas industry.
According to the fiscal impact report (FIR) on the bill, it “establishes a climate leadership council, deadlines for the state to achieve specific reductions in greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE), requirements for state agencies to achieve GHGE reductions, and a number of definitions related to climate, economic development, and socioeconomic equity.”
The FIR also states that the bill “[r]equires New Mexico to reduce statewide GHGE by least 50 percent below 2005 levels by 2030 and achieve net-zero emissions by 2050” and “[m]andates a 60 percent reduction, relative to 2005 levels, in emissions of methane, carbon dioxide, and volatile organic compounds from the oil and gas sector by 2030.” Note, the “net-zero” emission standard mirrors U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s “Green New Deal,” the most radical and costly proposal in U.S. history to decimate the energy industry.
The FIR further states how the bill is likely to significantly impact “New Mexico’s oil and gas sector and, consequently, state revenues.” Extremist anti-energy dark money groups including “OLÉ,” “Power4NM,” and “NM Voices” have been lobbying on behalf of this destructive legislation, and your voices are needed to cancel out their radical cries for socialism and supposed “environmental justice.”
Please click the link below to join the webinar:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89283197941
Or iPhone one-tap :
US: +16699009128,,89283197941# or +12532158782,,89283197941#
Or Telephone:
Dial(for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location):
US: +1 669 900 9128 or +1 253 215 8782 or +1 346 248 7799 or +1 646 558 8656 or
+1 301 715 8592 or +1 312 626 6799
Webinar ID: 892 8319 7941
HOUSE CONSUMER AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS COMMITTEE
ELIZABETH “LIZ” THOMSON, CHAIR, Convenes Tuesday, February 23, 2021 – 1:30 p.m. – Zoom
H.B. 254 – USE OF DEADLY FORCE REPORTING by Sen. Antoinette Sedillo-Lopez (D-Bernalillo) and Rep. Patricia Roybal Caballero (D-Bernalillo) – BAD
Note: both of these women are running for Congress in CD-1. This is the House version of the Senate’s S.B. 274.
According to the bill, “Within twenty-four hours of a person suffering great bodily harm or death as a result of a peace officer’s actions, the sheriff or the chief of police of the jurisdiction in which the great bodily harm or death occurred shall report the great bodily harm or death in writing to the district attorney of the judicial district in which the great bodily harm or death occurred. The sheriff or chief of police shall report all instances of suspected great bodily harm to the appropriate district attorney, even if a more thorough assessment of great bodily harm will be undertaken at a later date,”
The bill would put undue suspicion of wrongdoing on the part of the law enforcement officer, overburdening local sheriffs and district attorneys, while not trusting police officers to carry forth their duties.
Please click the link below to join the webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89243737297 Or iPhone one-tap : US: +16699009128,,89243737297# or +12532158782,,89243737297# Or Telephone: Dial(for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location): US: +1 669 900 9128 or +1 253 215 8782 or +1 346 248 7799 or +1 646 558 8656 or +1 301 715 8592 or +1 312 626 6799 Webinar ID: 892 4373 7297