New Mexico Senate

ACTION ALERT: Your testimony requested in NM Legislative committees Monday, Tuesday

Leave a Comment / Action Alert, New Mexico, Politics / By

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

ACTION ALERT: Your testimony requested in NM Legislative committees Monday, Tuesday Read More »

Legislative Update: Bills you need to know about for Feb. 19-20

3 Comments / Action Alert, New Mexico / By

This is a busy time at the New Mexico Legislature, and here are short rundowns of some bills being considered today, tomorrow, and over the weekend. Those marked with “BAD” are what Piñon Post sees as bills detrimental to the state.

Today, the New Mexico House of Representatives is expected to vote on the final passage of S.B. 10, an abortion up-to-birth and infanticide bill. New Mexico Alliance for Life is urging people to contact representatives who may be willing to change their vote, which can be found here:

Rep. Phelps Anderson: Roswell, 986 4426, phelps.anderson@nmlegis.gov | Rep. Melanie Stansbury: ABQ NE Heights, 986 4432, melanie.stansbury@nmlegis.gov | Rep. Marian Matthews: ABQ Tanoan 986 4242, marian.matthews@nmlegis.gov | Rep. Karen Bash: ABQ Westside 986 4236, karen.bash@nmlegis.gov | Rep. Joy Garratt: ABQ NE Heights 986 4249, joy.garratt@nmlegis.gov | Rep Meredith Dixon: ABQ NE Heights 986 4210, meredith.dixon@nmlegis.gov | Rep. Christine Chandler: Los Alamos, Rio Arriba, Sandoval & Santa Fe, 986 4242 christine.chancler@nmlegis.gov | Rep. Ambrose Castellano San Miguel, Torrance, 986 4236 ambrose.castellano@nmlegis.gov | Rep. Brittney Barreras: ABQ Westgate 986 4248, brittneyfornewmexico@gmail.com | Rep. Roger Montoya: Velarde, NM, 986 4464, roger.montoya@nmlegis.gov | Rep. Eliseo Alcon: Grants, NM 986 4416, eliseo.alcon@nmlegis.gov | Rep. Dayan H-Vigil: ABQ North Valley, 986 4432 dayan.hochman-vigil@nmlegis.gov | Rep. Liz Thompson: ABQ NE Heights 986 4415 liz.thomson@nmlegis.gov | Rep. Susan Herrera: Embudo, NM 505 986 4249 susan.herrera@nmlegis.gov

SENATE COMMITTEES

HEALTH AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS COMMITTEE – Senator Gerald Ortiz y Pino, Chair, convenes at 1:30 p.m.* 

*Times are subject to change depending on the Senate floor schedule. 

For spoken public comment, please follow the below Zoom link to access the meeting to testify:

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89738905182

Meeting ID: 897 3890 5182
One tap mobile
+12532158782,,89738905182# US (Tacoma)
+13462487799,,89738905182# US (Houston)

S.B. 224 – CRIME OF FAILURE TO SECURE FIREARM by Sen. Antoinette Sedillo-Lopez (D-Bernalillo) – BAD

As reported on earlier, this bill will criminalize parents who teach their children how to shoot and mandate specific gun safes and locks for firearms. This is the bill’s first committee appearance.

This bill is staunchly anti-Second Amendment and counter-productive, as it would leave children without proper firearms training to use guns properly. 

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. 

SB 230 – INSTITUTIONAL RACISM IN STATE AGENCIES by Sen. Linda Lopez (D-Bernalillo) – BAD

“SB230 directs each state agency or entity that receives state funding to annually develop and submit a plan to address institutional racism as part of its annual final budget submission. SB230 would require copies of the annual plans to be provided to the Legislature, the Legislative Finance Committee, and the Courts, Corrections, & Justice Committee,” according to the Fiscal Impact Report. 

This bill would foster racism within state agencies based upon arbitrary attributes that employees cannot control. This would further bureaucratize New Mexico state agencies and waste hard-earned taxpayer money on programs that do not directly benefit the state in any way, shape, or form. 

S.B. 274 – USE OF DEADLY FORCE REPORTINGby 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.

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. 

NOTE: This same bill, but in the House form as H.B. 254 will be heard in the HOUSE CONSUMER AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS COMMITTEE on Thursday, February 18, 2021 – 10 Minutes After the Floor Session – Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89243737297

S.B. 227 –  INSPECTION OF POLICE MISCONDUCT INVESTIGATION – Sen. Linda Lopez (D-Bernalillo) – BAD

This bill is opposed by the Bernalillo County Deputy Sheriffs Association. It adds crippling restrictions on law enforcement and adds strict reporting criteria which does nothing by penalize law enforcers for simply carrying out their duties. Included in the bill are restrictions, such as the following:

“A law enforcement officer shall not use a chokehold. J. A law enforcement officer shall not discharge tear gas or other chemical weapons. K. A law enforcement officer shall not discharge rubber pellets from a propulsion device. L. A law enforcement officer shall not direct a dog to bite a person.” This is an anti-law enforcement bill, which takes critical tools away from officers. 

SATURDAY SENATE HEARINGS

TAX, BUSINESS AND TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE – Senator Benny Shendo Jr., Chair | Saturday, February 20, 2021 – 9:00 a.m. – Virtual Zoom Meeting

S.B. 197 – INCREASE CIGARETTE TAX sponsored by Sen. Linda Lopez (D-Bernalillo) – BAD

According to the fiscal impact report, the bill “increases the tobacco products tax for products distributed for consumption from 25 percent to 83 percent, for e-liquids from 12.5 percent to 83 percent, and for closed system cartridges from 50 cents to $3.32 per closed system cartridge” 

This would put a crippling burden on this commodity by hiking its tax by over 332%.  

For public participation send an email to SCORC@nmlegis.gov with your Name, Entity Represented, Bill #, For or Against and indicate if you wish to speak. The deadline to respond is Friday, February 19 at 5:00 p.m. You will be contacted by our Zoom Operator with the virtual meeting instructions.

See the full Senate schedule here.

HOUSE COMMITTEES

HOUSE COMMERCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE

ANTONIO “MOE” MAESTAS, CHAIR – 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

SATURDAY HOUSE HEARINGS

HOUSE HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE – DEBORAH ARMSTRONG, CHAIR

Saturday, February 20, 2021 – 9:00 a.m. – Zoom

Please click the link below to join the webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89853256841 Or iPhone one-tap : US: +13462487799,,89853256841# or +16699009128,,89853256841#

Or Telephone: Dial(for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location):

US: +1 346 248 7799 or +1 669 900 9128 or +1 253 215 8782 or +1 312 626 6799 or +1 646 558 8656 or +1 301 715 8592 Webinar ID: 898 5325 6841

H.B. 205 – PROHIBIT SALE OF FLAVORED TOBACCO PRODUCTS sponsored by Rep. Joanne Ferrary (D-Doña Ana) and Rep. Liz Thomson (D-Bernalillo) – BAD 

This bill would make it a crime “to knowingly sell, offer to sell, barter or give a flavored tobacco product to a person,” and or “purchase, possess or attempt to purchase or possess any flavored tobacco product,” which infringes on personal liberty. 

See the full House schedule here.

Hearings after Saturday:
TAX, BUSINESS AND TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE – Monday, February 22, 2021 – 1:30 p.m. – Virtual Zoom Meeting

For public participation send an email to SCORC@nmlegis.gov with your Name, Entity Represented, Bill #, For or Against and indicate if you wish to speak. The deadline to respond is Thursday, February 18 at 10:00 a.m. You will be contacted by our Zoom Operator with the virtual meeting instructions.

SB 168 – INCREASE GAS TAX by Sen. “Bobby” J. Gonzales (D-Los Alamos, Rio Arriba, Santa Fe and Taos) – BAD — rolled over

Senate Bill 168 increases the gasoline excise tax and the special fuel excise tax by five cents per gallon (from 17 cents to 22 cents and from 21 cents to 26 cents, respectively) over a five-year period, with a one-cent increase each fiscal year beginning in FY22.

In an economic crisis, the state already faces, this bill will raise taxes on gas, hurting the state and hurting people in New Mexico already suffering enough through burdensome taxation. 

This is just an overview of some of the most consequential bills going through the pipeline, but please visit NMLegis.gov to follow more bills.

Legislative Update: Bills you need to know about for Feb. 19-20 Read More »

NM Dem bill wants to let 16-year-olds vote in state and local elections

4 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

A recently filed bill in the New Mexico Senate, S.B. 336, sponsored by freshman Sen. Carrie Hamblen (D-Doña Ana), who took out former President Pro Tem Mary Kay Papen in the primary election, seeks to let 16-year-old children, who are not even legally adults, vote in local and state elections. 

This is just the latest of a slew of radical proposals from Democrats this legislative session, looking to do as much possible damage to the state in this 60-day legislative session as humanly possible.

They are currently on-track to ramming through extreme anti-gun laws, abortion up-to-birth and infanticide bills, tax hikes on the lower and middle classes, penalties for businesses, anti-law enforcement bills, and the list goes on. 

Now, amid all the problems New Mexico faces, Sen. Hamblen wants kids who have not even met the age to graduate high school yet make consequential decisions on New Mexico’s election outcomes, which would not only be costly to the state in terms of implementation, but it would open many new opportunities for voter fraud. 

Already, extremist groups, such as “Olé” have lauded the bill, claiming it would “address the age disparities in voter participation by building participation and a lifelong habit of civic engagement earlier in life.” 

Another bill, S.B. 14 from Sen. Linda Lopez (D-Bernalillo), seeks to register people to vote without their knowledge any time they make a change to their Motor Vehicle Division records and then make them go through the burden of filling out a card saying they would not want to vote and sending it back to their local county clerk. This would allow these 16-year-olds, many of whom are eligible for licenses, to be automatically added to the voter rolls, adding more opportunity for voter fraud with each voter who is unaware they have automatically been registered to vote.

Olé is also supporting S.B. 14 by sending New Mexicans texts that read the following, “Hi [Name]! This is Frances with OLE. SB 14 is headed to its first Committee, Senate rules do you have any questions about the bill ?” Coincidence? 

S.B. 336 has been referred to the Senate Rules Committee and the Senate Judiciary Committee, with no set committee schedules as of yet. S.B. 14 has also been referred to the same committees with no scheduled committees. 

Yesterday, New Mexico hit the halfway point for the 60-day session, with plenty of time for there for Democrats to slip through these measures, if the public does not reach out to show their opposition.

You can find the names of members of the Senate Rules Committee by clicking here. What are your thoughts on letting 16-year-olds vote? Make your voice heard in the comments.

NM Dem bill wants to let 16-year-olds vote in state and local elections Read More »

Legislative Update: Bills you need to know about for Feb. 18-19

Leave a Comment / Action Alert, New Mexico, News, Politics / By

This is a busy time at the New Mexico Legislature, and here are short rundowns of some bills being considered today, tomorrow, and over the weekend. Those marked with “BAD” are what Piñon Post sees as bills detrimental to the state.

TODAY (NM SENATE): 

Senate Conservation Committee – 8:30 a.m. 2/18/2021 – Watch live here.

S.B. 296 sponsored by Sen. Brenda McKenna (D-Bernalillo & Sandoval) and Jeff Steinborn (D-Doña Ana) – BAD 

This is an anti-energy bill that would increase penalties for environmental violations from $10,000 to $20,000 in some cases and from $15,000 to $30,000 in others, which is excessively punitive to businesses. 

According to the fiscal impact report on the bill, it “increases the maximum civil penalty under the New Mexico Mining Act, implemented by the Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department (EMNRD), from $10 thousand to $20 thousand per day for each violation, including violations of a rule of the Mining.” 

The bill also “increases the Environment Department’s (NMED) penalty authority for violations of the Air Quality Control Act, the federal Clean Air Act, air quality permits, emission limits, and regulations from $15 thousand per day per violation to $30 thousand per day per violation.” 

TOMORROW (still time to RSVP to testify) 

HEALTH AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS COMMITTEE – Senator Gerald Ortiz y Pino, Chair, convenes at 1:30 p.m.* 

*Times are subject to change depending on the Senate floor schedule. 

For spoken public comment register at https://ggle.io/3pe5. If there is a high volume of requests for public comment, not everyone may be able to speak. For written comment send an email to SPAC@nmlegis.gov with your Name, Entity Represented, Bill #, and For or Against. Written comments are limited to 300 words or less. The deadline to respond is Thursday, February 18 at 5:00 p.m. You will be contacted by our Zoom Operator with the virtual meeting instructions. If you do not receive a response, check your junk email.

S.B. 224 – CRIME OF FAILURE TO SECURE FIREARM by Sen. Antoinette Sedillo-Lopez (D-Bernalillo) – BAD

As reported on earlier, this bill will criminalize parents who teach their children how to shoot and mandate specific gun safes and locks for firearms. This is the bill’s first committee appearance.

This bill is staunchly anti-Second Amendment and counter-productive, as it would leave children without proper firearms training to use guns properly. 

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. 

SB 230 – INSTITUTIONAL RACISM IN STATE AGENCIES by Sen. Linda Lopez (D-Bernalillo) – BAD

“SB230 directs each state agency or entity that receives state funding to annually develop and submit a plan to address institutional racism as part of its annual final budget submission. SB230 would require copies of the annual plans to be provided to the Legislature, the Legislative Finance Committee, and the Courts, Corrections, & Justice Committee,” according to the Fiscal Impact Report. 

This bill would foster racism within state agencies based upon arbitrary attributes that employees cannot control. This would further bureaucratize New Mexico state agencies and waste hard-earned taxpayer money on programs that do not directly benefit the state in any way, shape, or form. 

S.B. 274 – 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.

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. 

NOTE: This same bill, but in the House form as H.B. 254 will be heard in the HOUSE CONSUMER AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS COMMITTEE on Thursday, February 18, 2021 – 10 Minutes After the Floor Session – Zoom:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89243737297

S.B. 227 –  INSPECTION OF POLICE MISCONDUCT INVESTIGATION – Sen. Linda Lopez (D-Bernalillo) – BAD

This bill is opposed by the Bernalillo County Deputy Sheriffs Association. It adds crippling restrictions on law enforcement and adds strict reporting criteria which does nothing by penalize law enforcers for simply carrying out their duties. Included in the bill are restrictions, such as the following:

“A law enforcement officer shall not use a chokehold. J. A law enforcement officer shall not discharge tear gas or other chemical weapons. K. A law enforcement officer shall not discharge rubber pellets from a propulsion device. L. A law enforcement officer shall not direct a dog to bite a person.” This is an anti-law enforcement bill, which takes critical tools away from officers. 

This is still being updated.

TAX, BUSINESS AND TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE – Thursday, February 18, 2021 – 1:30 p.m. – Virtual Zoom Meeting

For public participation send an email to SCORC@nmlegis.gov with your Name, Entity Represented, Bill #, For or Against and indicate if you wish to speak. The deadline to respond is Thursday, February 18 at 10:00 a.m. You will be contacted by our Zoom Operator with the virtual meeting instructions.

SB 168 – INCREASE GAS TAX by Sen. “Bobby” J. Gonzales (D-Los Alamos, Rio Arriba, Santa Fe and Taos) – BAD 

Senate Bill 168 increases the gasoline excise tax and the special fuel excise tax by five cents per gallon (from 17 cents to 22 cents and from 21 cents to 26 cents, respectively) over a five-year period, with a one-cent increase each fiscal year beginning in FY22.

In an economic crisis, the state already faces, this bill will raise taxes on gas, hurting the state and hurting people in New Mexico already suffering enough through burdensome taxation. 

HOUSE LABOR, VETERANS’ AND MILITARY AFFAIRS COMMITTEE – ELISEO LEE ALCON, CHAIR Thursday, February 18, 2021 – 2:00 p.m. – Zoom
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84249828480 

H.B. 268 – CORONAVIRUS & WORKERS’ COMP by Reps. Dayan Hochman-Vigil (D-Bernalillo) and Christine Chandler (D-Los Alamos, Rio Arriba, Sandoval, and Santa Fe). 

According to the New Mexico Business Coalition, “the employee would not be required to prove that they were actually exposed to Covid-19 at work.” 

The business would be forced to go to court to dispute the claim that the essential employee contracted COVID-19 during work. The bill reads, “The presumptions created in Subsection B of this section may be rebutted by a preponderance of evidence in a court of competent jurisdiction establishing that the employee engaged in conduct or activities outside of employment that substantially violated the then existent public health orders related to the coronavirus disease 2019.” 

The New Mexico Business Coalition urges members of the public to reach out to legislators on the committee and urge them to vote “NO” on the measure “because it is unfair and injurious to businesses that have been working to keep the economy going during forced shutdowns.”

Monday, February 22, 2021

HOUSE COMMERCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE

ANTONIO “MOE” MAESTAS, CHAIR – 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 ENERGY, ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMITTEE

MATTHEW MCQUEEN,
CHAIR
Thursday, February 18, 2021 – 8:30 a.m. – Zoom

H.J.M. 3 – WAIVE OIL & GAS PERMIT BAN ON FED LANDS by Rep. James G. Townsend (R-Artesia) and Rep. Rod Montoya (R-Farmington) – GOOD

This bill requests Joe Biden waive the suspension of new oil and gas leasing and drilling permits for federal lands in New Mexico.

Legislative Update: Bills you need to know about for Feb. 18-19 Read More »

TOMORROW: Committee to hear bill criminalizing parents for teaching their child how to shoot

4 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

On Wednesday, the Senate Public Affairs Committee will meet to consider Bernalillo Democrat Sen. Antoinette Sedillo-Lopez’s S.B. 224, which will criminalize parents who teach their children how to shoot and mandate specific gun safes and locks for firearms. This is the bill’s first committee appearance.

Read more about S.B. 224 in our previous article.

The bill will be heard at 1:30 p.m. via Zoom and people who wish to testify against the bill can register through this link. 

The New Mexico Shooting Sports Association (NMSSA) writes that the bill “would tell you what you can and can’t do with a firearm in your own home by imposing government mandates on how exactly your firearms are stored.”

Also, NMSSA notes, “This bill could also make you a criminal for teaching your child how to shoot, unless your child was 12 or older and had previously undergone some type of formal class.” 

“The bill is entirely unenforceable, unless police will go door-to-door inspecting firearm storage in your home, it is impossible to know who is and who isn’t complying with the law. The bill [is] entirely unnecessary, it is already a crime to place a child in a situation that endangers their life. This bill only seeks to demonize firearm ownership and scare people away from choosing to protect their family with a gun.” 

You can reach out to Senate Health and Public Affairs Committee members about this bill with their contact information below: 

Senator Gerald Ortiz y Pino – (D)  (505) 397-8839 jortizyp@msn.com

Senator Bill Tallman – (D) (505) 397-8854 bill.tallman@nmlegis.gov

Senator Gregg Schmedes – (R) (505) 986-4395gregg.schmedes@nmlegis.gov

Senator David M. Gallegos – (R) (505) 986-4278 david.rsi@hotmail.com

Senator Stuart Ingle – (R)  (505) 986-4702 stuart.ingle@nmlegis.gov

Senator Brenda G. McKenna – (D)  (505) 397-8834 brenda.mckenna@nmlegis.gov

Senator Antoinette Sedillo Lopez – (D) (505) 397-8847 a.sedillolopez@nmlegis.gov

Senator Elizabeth “Liz” Stefanics – (D) (505) 397-8851 lstefanics@msn.com
Remember, if you wish to testify, you must register via this link 24 hours in advance.

TOMORROW: Committee to hear bill criminalizing parents for teaching their child how to shoot Read More »

Report: Every NM legislator bankrolled by the abortion lobby in 2020

4 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

The votes on abortion up-to-birth and infanticide bills H.B. 7 and S.B. 10 are slated for today or Friday in the New Mexico House and Senate, respectively. A lot of speculation has gone into who will vote for or against these abortion up-to-birth bills and who is being bankrolled by the abortion lobby.

We went through every donation the abortion lobbyists gave to members during the 2020 election from the New Mexico Secretary of State’s website, and all the recipients are below. The abortion groups that gave during this cycle included Planned Parenthood (abortionists) and EMILY’s List (sexist pro-abortion advocates who only give money to pro-abortion women).

Sen. Carrie Hamblen (D-Doña Ana): $5,567.36 total ($4,567.36 from Planned Parenthood, $1,000.00 from EMILY’s List).

Sen. Leo Jaramillo (D-Los Alamos, Rio Arriba, Sandoval, and Santa Fe): $3,944.86 total (all from Planned Parenthood).

Sen. Mimi Stewart (D-Bernalillo): $4,567.35 total (all from Planned Parenthood).

Sen. Siah Correa-Hemphill (D-Catron, Grant, and Socorro): $9,567.36 total ($4,567.36 from Planned Parenthood, $5,000 from EMILY’s List). 

Sen. Brenda McKenna (D-Bernalillo & Sandoval): $4,567.36 total (all from Planned Parenthood). 

Sen. Katy Duhigg (D-Bernalillo & Sandoval): $4,567.36 (all from Planned Parenthood). 

Rep. Miguel P. Garcia (D-Bernalillo): $2,032.22 total (all from Planned Parenthood). 

Rep. Raymundo Lara (D-Doña Ana): $4,567.36 total (all from Planned Parenthood).

Rep. Linda Serrato (D-Santa Fe): $4,567.36 total (all from Planned Parenthood).

Patricia Roybal Caballero (D-Bernalillo): $2,516.23 total ($2,016.23 from Planned Parenthood, $500 from EMILY’s List). 

Rep. Roger Montoya (Colfax, Mora, Rio Arriba, and San Miguel): $3,944.86 total (all from Planned Parenthood). 

Rep. Kristina Ortez (D-Taos): $4,567.36 (all from Planned Parenthood).

Rep. Meredith Dixon (D-Bernalillo): $1,220.69 (all from Planned Parenthood).

Rep. Matthew McQueen (D-Bernalillo, Santa Fe, Torrance, and Valencia): $4,567.36 (all from Planned Parenthood). 

Rep. Marian Matthews (D-Bernalillo): $5,067.36 total ($4,567.36 from Planned Parenthood, $500 from EMILY’s List Federal Fund). 

Rep. Joy Garratt (D-Bernalillo): $70 total (all from EMILY’s List). 

Rep. Elizabeth Thomson (D-Bernalillo): $70 total (all from EMILY’s List). 

Rep. Dayan Hochman-Vigil (D-Bernalillo): $70 total (all from EMILY’s List). 

Rep. Natalie Figueroa (D-Bernalillo): $70 total (all from EMILY’s List). 

Rep. Debra Sarinana (D-Bernalillo): $70 total (all from EMILY’s List). 

The Piñon Post will keep you up to date on the floor votes for H.B. 7 and S.B. 10. Planned Parenthood has been lobbying in favor of these bills with well-funded misinformation campaigns, one even claiming not being able to get an abortion is similar to not being able to own a credit card.

If you haven’t already, you can find your legislators to contact by clicking here. 

Report: Every NM legislator bankrolled by the abortion lobby in 2020 Read More »

Ungrateful NM legislators complain about ‘not getting paid’ despite per diem, pensions

3 Comments / Editorial / By

For years, New Mexico lawmakers have complained incessantly about being the only “citizen legislature” that does not receive an annual salary. Legislators from the Democrat Party and the extreme “moderate” wing of the Republican Party have repeatedly whined about it.

However, these elected leaders knew full-well when running for their place in the House or Senate that their positions were intended as a mostly voluntary position, one of service to the community and one meant not for self-enrichment, but for representation to one’s community.

But some legislators have fallen out-of-touch with the idea of the citizen legislature, such as Rep. Angelica Rubio (D-Doña Ana) who claimed in 2019 while sponsoring a bill to pay legislators a salary, that the current system has people “being left out of the system.”   

Recently, Sen. Bill Soules (D-Doña Ana), who has been in the New Mexico Senate since 2013, tweeted a picture of a dollar bill, writing, “#nmleg. ‘Another day another ………’. Oh wait.  That’s right.  The New Mexico Legislature is unpaid.  The only unpaid legislature in the country.” 

First-term Sen. Antoinette Sedillo Lopez (D-Bernalillo), who is already looking for a promotion to a higher office (U.S. House of Representatives), is already complaining about the Legislature not paying members a traditional salary, chiming in on Soules’ conversation, writing, “Being unpaid and part-time makes this branch of government weak.” 

“Moderate” Rep. Alonzo Baldonado (R-Valencia), while defending Rep. Kelly Fajardo’s (R-Valencia) vote in favor of Democrat Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s “mini” Green New Deal, wrote, “For all of you out there that think making votes and not getting paid to do it is easy….I say you go do it.” In 2022, many conservative Republicans will do it, and hopefully, strong patriots who do not cower will run against Reps. Fajardo and Baldonado to bring true representation to the Legislature—actual servants of the people who will not complain about the job they knew full-well they were getting into. 

Multiple other “moderate” Republicans and leftist Democrats have complained about the pay strucutre of New Mexico legislators.

But despite all the misinformation from ungrateful supposed “public servants,” legislators in New Mexico do get reimbursed through a daily per diem for their work, which is $184 a day and 58 cents a mile. They also get a hefty pension for their service. After ten years, it amounts to $10,824.00. 

The point of New Mexico’s legislature is for it to work for New Mexicans—not the other way around. Just remember, senators and representatives in the U.S. Congress get paid hundreds of thousands of dollars per year for not doing much at all. Having regular citizens who work jobs in the time they are not in the New Mexico Legislature (usually 10-11 months each year) serving as our representatives, brings them closer to the people they are supposed to represent, and makes them more accountable to their constituents.

Let us never forget that public servants are supposed to represent us. Those who are quick to complain about the trust we have placed in them or are putting their own well-being above that of New Mexicans should not be rewarded by getting another term in any elected office, much less a seat in the New Mexico House or Senate.

Ungrateful NM legislators complain about ‘not getting paid’ despite per diem, pensions Read More »

NM Senate committee approves abortion up-to-birth bill in 5-3 vote

10 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

On Monday, the New Mexico Senate Health & Public Affairs Committee held a hearing on SB-10, the abortion up-to-birth and infanticide bill proposed by Sens. Linda Lopez (D-Bernalillo) and Peter Wirth (D-Santa Fe). 

The Committee resumed its business shortly after 3:00 p.m. following a slew of technical issues where some senators could not log onto the virtual meeting, the audio wasn’t working at one point for the chairman, Sen. Gerald Ortiz y Pino, who said “I can’t hear a damn thing,” and an influx of New Mexicans tuning in caused the system to lapse. 

However, once the technical issues were finally resolved, the Committee began its proceedings, introducing the bicameral bill and its sponsors. Sen. Lopez said of her bill, which would strip away all protections for women, doctors, and babies, that “We must respect and support those who support such a decision and must take politics and the law out of” abortion despite her own sponsorship of the bill seems to put politics into the conversation.

Sen. Wirth noted how he was “honored” to support the anti-life bill. He read off a few canned talking points, claiming the current law, dormant due to Roe v. Wade, is “archaic” and that he “respects” the decisions of New Mexico women to kill their children in the womb.

Rep. Micaela Cadena, a co-sponsor of the abortion bill in the House, said during the committee that she understands “pregnancy is sacred, and as such, we must trust a woman, a pregnant person” to make the decision to abort. 

During the proceedings, New Mexicans on each side of the issue were allowed to speak in support or in opposition to the bill for increments of 30 minutes on each side, during which doctors, midwives, nurses, post-abortive women, and mothers spoke on the pro-life side. Multiple activists and “social justice” lawyers spoke in favor of the bill on the pro-abortion side.

Sen. Gregg Schmedes (R-Bernalillo, Sandoval, Santa Fe) repeatedly asked the bill sponsors why the bill had stripped away conscience protections away from the bill, despite the previous 2019 version of the bill adding an amendment to explicitly protect health care professionals from being forced to abort children. Sen. Wirth could not answer that question, claiming as a lawyer the bill did not need that explicit conscientious objection clause. Wirth also admitted that the bill would not only allow non-physicians to perform abortions but that the dangerous practice is already happening in New Mexico. 

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) legal expert that Democrats brought in to testify in support of the bill, Ellie Rushforth, could not answer basic questions from Sen. David Gallegos (R-Eddy and Lea) regarding if a healthy mother could abort a healthy baby in the State of New Mexico. The witness dodged the questions, saying, “These are very complex medical decisions.” that they could not answer. 

The Bill ultimately passed the Committee on a party-line vote of 5-3, with Democrat Sens. Gerald Ortiz y Pino, Bill Tallman, Brenda McKenna, Antoinette Sedillo Lopez, and Liz Stefanics voting for the abortion up-to-birth measure. Republican Sens. Gregg Schmedes, David Gallegos, and Stuart Ingle voted against it. 

The bill now moves to consideration before the entire New Mexico Senate, where Democrats believe they have the votes to ram it through. New Mexicans are advised to contact their state senators to vote against the bill when it is brought up to the Senate floor. The name of your senator and their contact information can be found here.

The whole committee hearing can be viewed here. 

NM Senate committee approves abortion up-to-birth bill in 5-3 vote Read More »

TODAY: NM Senate committee to hear abortion up-to-birth and infanticide bill

Leave a Comment / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

On Monday, the New Mexico Senate Public Affairs committee will convene at 1:00 p.m. MT to consider the passage of SB-10, an abortion up-to-birth and infanticide bill.

In 2019, New Mexicans successfully defeated a radical abortion up-to-birth bill, HB-51, which would have stripped away protections for women and their children in the womb and removed “conscientious objection” protections for physicians and medical professionals. 

The bill is back in the form of SB-10, the same cookie-cutter legislation proposed in 2019, but this time it is being proposed in the New Mexico Senate, the same chamber where HB-51 was defeated. State Sen. Linda Lopez and Majority Leader Peter Wirth are co-sponsoring the bill, which is a single page (and seven lines in length), flatly stripping the statute off the books–and thus harming countless New Mexicans.

The Democrats believe they may have the votes to ram through the bill, due to the deaths of pro-life Democrat senators and the election defeats of pro-life Democrats by radical anti-life extremists. The newly grasped pro-abortion advantage by Democrats is why it is such a top-priority for anti-life extremists and Democrats in the Legislature.

Planned Parenthood abortion business has already been lobbying New Mexico legislators with misleading and false statements to support an abortion up-to-birth and infanticide bill, as reported on previously. 

According to the Santa Fe New Mexican, “Public comment will be limited. At each hearing, groups on opposing sides of the issue will get only 30 minutes or up to 10 speakers to argue their case.” The link to watch the hearing live can be found here once it is available.

It is critical for Piñon Post readers to reach out to the legislators in the committee and demand they vote “NO” on SB-10, the abortion up-to-birth bill. Please email the committee members below:

EMAIL SENATORS ON THE COMMITTEE TODAY

NOTE: if the link does not work for you, please copy/paste the below emails into the BCC line of your note to these senators and the below body text into the body of your email: 

Senator emails to copy into your BCC line: 

jortizyp@msn.com, bill.tallman@nmlegis.gov, gregg.schmedes@nmlegis.gov, david.rsi@hotmail.com, stuart.ingle@nmlegis.gov, brenda.mckenna@nmlegis.gov, a.sedillolopez@nmlegis.gov, lstefanics@msn.com 

Draft email language to copy into your email:

Dear Senator, 

My name is [YOUR NAME], and I am asking you to vote against SB-10, the abortion up-to-birth and infanticide bill proposed by Sens. Linda Lopez and Peter Wirth.  

This ill-conceived and hastily drafted piece of legislation (which is only seven lines in length) would flatly strip out a life-saving New Mexico state statute that protects women, children, and health care professionals, of which we all should be mindful.

An essential part of the current law that these senators look to rip out protects health care workers who have conscientious objections to performing an abortion. Without these protections, our health care heroes will be at risk.SB-10 puts doctors at risk of losing their medical licenses and face criminal prosecution or other sanctions.

Also, stripping the statute would remove physicians’ requirements to perform abortion procedures, leaving women exposed to sub-par care. 

SB-10 allows sex traffickers and child abusers to take a pregnant minor in for an abortion without any parental knowledge or involvement–not to mention without any reporting criteria. 

With this bill, a pregnant mother would be allowed to have an abortion at any pregnancy stage. It is a medical fact that the risk of death or serious injury to women increases to 76.6% in abortions after five months. 

This bill is ill-conceived and leaves gaping holes in state law for women to be maimed or potentially killed during an abortion, and I urge you to please vote against SB-10 for the children, the women, and the health care heroes we must protect. 

Thank you so much for listening to my concerns and for voting against this bill.

Sincerely, 

[YOUR NAME] [ADDRESS] [EMAIL] [PHONE NUMBER]

————————————————————— 

Thank you for emailing these senators and for your urgent action to protect human life in New Mexico. If you would like to call these senators, their numbers are below:

Chairman Ortiz y Pino (505) 243-1509

Senator Bill Tallman (505) 397-8854

Senator Brenda McKenna  (505) 397-8834

Senator Antoinette Lopez (505) 397-8847

Senator Liz Stefanics (505) 397-8851

Senator Gregory Baca  (505) 397-8815

Senator Gregg Schmedes, M.D. (505) 397-8846

Senator Stuart Ingle (505) 397-8829

Senator David Gallegos (505) 397-8824

TODAY: NM Senate committee to hear abortion up-to-birth and infanticide bill Read More »

ACTION ALERT: NM Senate to hear MLG’s abortion up-to-birth and infanticide bill on Monday

6 Comments / Action Alert / By

In 2019, New Mexicans successfully defeated a radical abortion up-to-birth bill, HB-51, which would have stripped away protections for women and their children in the womb and removed “conscientious objection” protections for physicians and medical professionals. 

The bill is back in the form of SB-10, the same cookie-cutter legislation proposed in 2019, but this time it is being proposed in the New Mexico Senate, the same chamber where HB-51 was defeated. State Sen. Linda Lopez and Majority Leader Peter Wirth are co-sponsoring the bill, which is a single page (and seven lines in length), flatly stripping the statute off the books–and thus harming countless New Mexicans.

The Democrats believe they may have the votes to ram through the bill, due to the deaths of pro-life Democrat senators and the election defeats of pro-life Democrats by radical anti-life extremists. The newly grasped pro-abortion advantage by Democrats is why it is such a top-priority for anti-life extremists and Democrats in the Legislature.

Planned Parenthood abortion business has already been lobbying New Mexico legislators with misleading and false statements to support an abortion up-to-birth and infanticide bill, as reported on previously. 

According to two legislators, SB-10 will be heard on Monday in the Senate Health & Public Affairs Committee, and it is critical for Piñon Post readers to reach out to the legislators in the committee and demand they vote “NO” on SB-10, the abortion up-to-birth bill. Please email the committee members below:

EMAIL SENATORS ON THE COMMITTEE TODAY

NOTE: if the link does not work for you, please copy/paste the below emails into the BCC line of your note to these senators and the below body text into the body of your email: 

Senator emails to copy into your BCC line: 

jortizyp@msn.com, bill.tallman@nmlegis.gov, gregg.schmedes@nmlegis.gov, david.rsi@hotmail.com, stuart.ingle@nmlegis.gov, brenda.mckenna@nmlegis.gov, a.sedillolopez@nmlegis.gov, lstefanics@msn.com 

Draft email language to copy into your email:

Dear Senator, 

My name is [YOUR NAME], and I am asking you to vote against SB-10, the abortion up-to-birth and infanticide bill proposed by Sens. Linda Lopez and Peter Wirth.  

This ill-conceived and hastily drafted piece of legislation (which is only seven lines in length) would flatly strip out a life-saving New Mexico state statute that protects women, children, and health care professionals, of which we all should be mindful.

An essential part of the current law that these senators look to rip out protects health care workers who have conscientious objections to performing an abortion. Without these protections, our health care heroes will be at risk.SB-10 puts doctors at risk of losing their medical licenses and face criminal prosecution or other sanctions.

Also, stripping the statute would remove physicians’ requirements to perform abortion procedures, leaving women exposed to sub-par care. 

SB-10 allows sex traffickers and child abusers to take a pregnant minor in for an abortion without any parental knowledge or involvement–not to mention without any reporting criteria. 

With this bill, a pregnant mother would be allowed to have an abortion at any pregnancy stage. It is a medical fact that the risk of death or serious injury to women increases to 76.6% in abortions after five months. 

This bill is ill-conceived and leaves gaping holes in state law for women to be maimed or potentially killed during an abortion, and I urge you to please vote against SB-10 for the children, the women, and the health care heroes we must protect. 

Thank you so much for listening to my concerns and for voting against this bill.

Sincerely, 

[YOUR NAME] [ADDRESS] [EMAIL] [PHONE NUMBER]

————————————————————— 

Thank you for emailing these senators and for your urgent action to protect human life in New Mexico. If you would like to call these senators, their numbers are below:

Chairman Ortiz y Pino (505) 243-1509

Senator Bill Tallman (505) 397-8854

Senator Brenda McKenna  (505) 397-8834

Senator Antoinette Lopez (505) 397-8847

Senator Liz Stefanics (505) 397-8851

Senator Gregory Baca  (505) 397-8815

Senator Gregg Schmedes, M.D. (505) 397-8846

Senator Stuart Ingle (505) 397-8829

Senator David Gallegos (505) 397-8824

ACTION ALERT: NM Senate to hear MLG’s abortion up-to-birth and infanticide bill on Monday Read More »

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