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As communities struggle to recover from 2022 fire season, Gov says to prepare for this year
Warmer days and windy breezes are greeting people outside again, and spring is rolling through New Mexico. It’s also a notification that fire season could kick up anytime soon. During New Mexico’s Wildfire Awareness Week, state leaders gathered at the Rio Grande Nature Center State Park in Albuquerque on Wednesday to discuss how to prevent […]
Northern NM watershed group receives multi-million dollar federal grant for wildfire prevention
Trying to protect a northern New Mexico watershed from disasters, a small nonprofit in Colfax County recently got a nearly $10 million grant from the federal government for thinning projects that’ll help reduce the risk of wildfires. The Inflation Reduction Act provided the dollars necessary to make the Community Wildfire Defense Grant Program possible. With […]
FEMA sent Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon Fire victims to wrong number (then fixed it)
The Federal Emergency Management Agency launched a hotline Monday morning to help northern New Mexico disaster victims learn more about an office tasked with paying them nearly $4 billion in compensation. Calls to the newly created Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon Claims Office helpline that morning didn’t go through, however, because the federal agency put out the […]
NM legislators fail to pass ethical conduct bill as lobbyists fear unsafe working conditions
An effort to update and standardize professional conduct standards for public employees, including lawmakers, failed to get through the 2023 legislative session. As a result, lobbyists say people who work and visit the Roundhouse will still need to assign their own measures to feel safe in Santa Fe. House Bill 5, Conduct of Current and […]
Albuquerque Starbucks workers partake in national strike for union rights
At an Albuquerque Starbucks normally packed with customers looking for a morning jolt, one single car crept through the drive-through. Another woman who drove up to get her coffee decided to go somewhere else. Why? Starbucks workers and supporters picketed in front of the Old Town location off Interstate 40 and Rio Grande Blvd. on […]
After 60 days, New Mexico lawmakers send more than 200 bills to governor
By the end of the 2023 session on Saturday, the New Mexico Legislature had passed 241 bills. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has until April 7 to sign or veto legislation. After that date, any bills she leaves untouched will be “pocket vetoed.” Lujan Grisham had signed 25 bills by noon on Saturday, which are marked […]
Despite GOP pushback, bill protecting reproductive, gender-affirming health care passes Roundhouse
Republican men took over an hour and a half on the second-to-last day of the 60-day New Mexico legislative session in an effort to block or change protective reproductive health care legislation. Rep. Rod Montoya (R-Farmington) took part in a 110-minute debate, which eventually failed to amend Senate Bill 13, in an effort to stall […]
Bill at gov’s desk would lift ‘gag order’ for people filing legislative harassment complaints
If someone is accused of harassment in the Legislature, they can speak up about it. The person who files a complaint about it can’t. Legislation that would change that is now awaiting action from Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. Senators night passed House Bill 169, Disclosure of Legislative Ethics Complaints, by a 34-2 vote on Thursday […]
Few disaster relief measures are scattered throughout historic budget funding bills
While New Mexicans recovering from last year’s disasters try to keep up their livelihoods, afford food for dinner or get running water, it’s up to the governor now to determine how much recovery funds should be sent to victims and struggling communities. Lawmakers approved two budget bills on Wednesday, sending both over to Gov. Michelle […]
Bill at governor’s desk to require more expertise and diversity for state stream commissioners
Future New Mexicans who want to become commissioners at the Interstate Stream Commission will have to meet much more advanced and specific qualifications, if Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signs legislation that’s waiting on her desk. The House of Representatives quickly passed Senate Bill 58 with almost no discussion by a 63-6 vote on Tuesday. Six […]
Legislation to give low-income New Mexicans cheaper utility rates passes Senate
People with low incomes could have cheaper utility bills if legislation that senators approved on Tuesday can make it through the Roundhouse in four days. After discussions on Monday and Tuesday, the Senate passed the Low-Income Solar Act, Senate Bill 432, by a vote of 25-11. All the votes against the legislation were from Republican […]
A move to ban prescribed burns amid risky weather conditions is almost through the Roundhouse
Amid rapid-fire passage of bills through the House of Representatives on Tuesday, lawmakers passed legislation that would put a halt on prescribed burns whenever the National Weather Service puts out alerts about severe weather conditions. The House of Representatives unanimously passed Senate Bill 21 on Tuesday. Next, the Senate has to agree with amendments made […]