House Judiciary Committee advances medical, counseling and engineering licensure reforms and an AG investigative bill; votes at a glance

The House Judiciary Committee on May 20 advanced a package of measures addressing professional licensure, the attorney general's investigatory authority and engineering exemptions, voting to recommend passage on five items and approving a committee substitute to modernize New Mexico's accountancy law.

Committee members said the bills aim to expand access to care, streamline cross‑state licensing and clarify investigative procedures while witnesses and some members warned of potential public‑safety or oversight risks.

Representative Kristina Matthews, sponsor of House Bill 243, told the committee HB 243 would enroll New Mexico in the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact and “help relieve, provide more access to physicians for the people of the state of New Mexico.” Supporters, including the New Mexico Medical Board and health‑care groups, said the compact would streamline licensing for physicians and improve access for military families and older adults. "We stand in full support," Richard Romero testified on behalf of the New Mexico Medical Board.

Representative Linda Herndon introduced House Bill 217, the Counseling Licensure Compact. Nahali Kalfas, attorney for the Counseling Compact Commission, described it as a mutual recognition model that issues a practice privilege based on a home‑state license: "...you have a home state license in good standing, and that essentially punches your ticket to participate in the other member states so long as you meet all of the uniform criteria for entry and so long as you abide by the scope of practice in those states." Proponents said the compact would expand telehealth access to behavioral health services.

On House Bill 62, which would consolidate civil investigative‑demand (CID) authority under the attorney general’s general enforcement statute, Julie Mead, general counsel for the attorney general, said the CID is “a useful tool for the attorney general … to gather evidence prior to filing a lawsuit.” Supporters argued the bill creates a uniform, court‑reviewed process; opponents and some members raised concerns the consolidation could be broad and requested safeguards on venue and oversight. The committee retained language that would require court review before a CID issues.

House Bill 323, brought by Representative Clementa Sanchez, would narrow the recent expansion of the board of licensure’s interpretation that required professional‑engineer stamps on many utility distribution designs. Sanchez said the change would restore the prior practice for rural electric cooperatives and other utilities that rely on national Rural Utilities Service (RUS) standard drawings. The New Mexico Board of Engineers and Surveyors and several board members testified in opposition, warning HB 323 is "too broad" and could reduce public safety; rural co‑op representatives warned mandatory PE stamps would raise costs and delay routine distribution work.

Finally, the committee considered House Bill 296 and approved a judiciary committee substitute to modernize the Public Accountancy Act, updating education and experience pathways and extending the CPA exam result window. The New Mexico Society of CPAs and accounting firms supported modernization to address workforce shortages and reduce unintended burdens from earlier changes.

Votes at a glance

- HB 243 (Interstate Medical Licensure Compact): Motion for a due pass; motion made by Representative Romero, seconded by Representative Chavez. Committee reported a due pass recommendation. (Roll call recorded multiple affirmative votes; committee chair announced a due pass.)

- HB 217 (Counseling Licensure Compact): Motion for a due pass; moved by Representative Hall, seconded by Representative Romero. Committee reported a due pass recommendation. (Committee announced a due pass.)

- HB 62 (Attorney General civil investigative demands consolidation): Motion for a due pass; committee reported a due pass recommendation after discussion. The roll call recorded mixed yes/no votes; the committee chair announced a due pass on the amended bill.

- HB 323 (Engineer licensure / industrial exemption): Motion for a due pass; moved and seconded. The committee reported a due pass on HB 323 after extended public testimony and debate; recorded roll call showed several yes votes and several no votes.

- HB 296 (Public Accountancy Act modernization): The committee issued a do‑not‑pass on the original bill but approved the House Judiciary committee substitute for the House Commerce and Economic Development committee substitute (committee substitute version 0.2 was recommended for do pass). Supporters said the substitute preserves standards while adding alternate education and experience pathways and administrative updates.

What happens next

Each bill will proceed to floor calendars for consideration by the full House. For the compacts, sponsors and experts noted administrative steps remain—state medical and counseling boards must appoint commissioners and implement rules; the Counseling Compact specified the compact becomes effective when the tenth member state enacts the statute and counsel estimated an operational effective date of June 20, 2025, in states that have reached that threshold. For HB 62, the statute will create a single court‑review step before issuance of a CID and will require associated rulemaking and implementation steps identified by the Regulation and Licensing Department.

Committee deliberations included repeated requests that fiscal impacts and implementation timelines in agency fiscal impact reports be addressed in subsequent appropriations or rulemaking.