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Housing bill stalls again at end of 30-day session
It will take a “miracle” for the Legislature to pass a bill updating parts of the state’s landlord-tenant law to give tenants more time and prohibit some evictions, one of the bill’s co-sponsors said Wednesday night. House Bill 65 would update the landlord-tenant laws for the first time since the 1970s, sponsors said. Some changes […]
Attempt to boost taxes on AirBnBs and second homes hits snag near session’s end
A bill that would require second homes and short-term rentals to pay more of the property tax burden was tabled by a Senate committee on Tuesday. The Senate’s Tax, Business and Transportation Committee stalled the measure following skepticism about several aspects of the bill, which some lawmakers said did not go far enough in addressing […]
Uranium mine cleanup approved unanimously by NM House, now faces Senate in session’s last days
The New Mexico House of Representatives passed a bill on a 64-0 vote that would mobilize the state government to coordinate the cleanup of abandoned uranium mines. The bill was one of several passed unanimously without debate on the House floor in a flurry Saturday night. An identical version is awaiting action in the Senate. […]
Bill giving tenants more time to catch up faces stiff test in Senate Judiciary
Proposed changes to the state’s landlord-tenant statutes have so far been met with skepticism across the political spectrum over at least six hours of debate during the legislative session. House Bill 65 will make its way next to the powerful Senate Judiciary Committee after being considered in the Health and Public Affairs on Wednesday night. […]
Housing in rural Clovis
Is Clovis, the testing ground for a new eviction policy to take effect statewide next month, ready for the first wave of evictions?
Hundreds of abandoned uranium mines in NM could be cleaned up if lawmakers approve legislation
A bill in the Legislature would mobilize state government to finally clean up a reported 1,100 uranium mining, milling and drilling sites that are contaminating state and tribal lands and waters. The legislation would direct the New Mexico Environment Department to coordinate efforts to clean and reclaim the sites. It’s a matter complicated by overlapping […]
In a tiny NM courtroom, evictions begin again
A Clovis magistrate courtroom became a laboratory for a new eviction diversion program last week, ushering in a major change to state housing policy that aims to bring the rental market closer to normal while also staving off a wave of evictions amid a lingering pandemic. What happens in Clovis doesn’t stay there. Sometime in […]
Gallup clinic turns away patients for fear of protest. The protest’s cause? Delays in medical care
A group of about 15 protesters gathered on a snowy Wednesday afternoon near a Gallup medical clinic, frustrated with long-standing delays and headaches in getting medical care from the city’s biggest hospital system aside from the Indian Health Service. Livestream video of the protest shows the group bundled against the 30-degree temperatures and 25 mph […]
NM committee chair says she’ll post substitute bills before votes, following Source NM coverage
A New Mexico Senate committee chairwoman said Wednesday she would ensure all proposed legislation that members debate is posted online, a response to Source New Mexico coverage of a practice in the Roundhouse where lawmakers approve measures that haven’t been seen by the public. Red chile and red tape The Senate Conservation Committee on Tuesday […]
Eviction hearings resume in two NM counties after a two-year pause
The last statewide eviction ban in the nation ended quietly this week in a Portales, N.M. magistrate courtroom. After nearly two years, the state court system began allowing eviction cases for non-payment of rent to proceed, beginning in the Ninth Judicial District and eventually spreading to the rest of the state. The state Supreme Court […]
Red chile and red tape
Chile farmworkers have alleged that a contractor stole wages he got through the Chile Labor Incentive Program, a $5 million government fund that raised pay to ease the labor shortage and save the harvest of the state’s staple crop. An investigation by the state Department of Workforce Solutions concluded that the farmer did nothing wrong, […]
Protections for renters during an emergency move forward in Santa Fe
Tenants in New Mexico are a step closer to being protected from certain evictions during a national emergency, like the one we’re in now, after a state House committee hearing on Monday. The bill updating sections of state landlord-tenant law cleared the House Judiciary Committee in a 8-4 vote along party lines. Opponents said the […]