House adopts multiple committee reports, introduces sweeping set of bills Jan. 29

SANTA FE — During its Jan. 29 floor session the New Mexico House of Representatives adopted several committee reports and read a long list of newly introduced bills into the record for committee referral.

Committee reports adopted on the floor included favorable recommendations for House Bill 21 (referred to Appropriations and Finance), House Bill 41 (referred to Appropriations and Finance), House Bill 66, House Bill 67 and House Bill 68 (each forwarded to subsequent committees), and several consumer and public affairs committee reports (including House bills 4, 26 and 27). The rural development, land grants and cultural affairs committee reported an unfavorable recommendation on House Bill 24 but recommended a committee substitute; that substitute was reported as "do pass" and sent onward to the judiciary committee.

Committee chairs and committee clerks submitted the reports during the floor period and members briefly moved adoption on each report; the House chair calls for "ayes" and the clerk recorded the committee reports as adopted. Several committee reports were submitted by Representative Linda Serrato in her role as chair of the Rural Development, Land Grants and Cultural Affairs Committee and by Representative Patricia Roybal Caballero as chair of Labor, Veterans and Military Affairs; Joanne J. Ferrarri and Christina Ortez also presented consumer/public-affairs and agriculture committee reports, respectively.

Separately, the House clerk read dozens of newly introduced bills by title and referred each to the committee path specified in the reading. Notable introductions included bills on a government accountability trust (House Bill 187), magistrate-court jurisdiction expansion (House Bill 188), changes to chiropractic licensing (House Bill 189), victims' rights procedures (House Bill 190), wildfire funds (House Bill 191), communications subscriber fees (House Bill 192), education studies and bilingual program changes (House Bills 193, 200), and bills addressing taxation, environment, student loans and housing among others. Each introduced bill was printed and referred to the committees announced on the floor; text and committee assignments are available in the House clerk’s record.

The actions on committee reports were procedural adoptions that advance bills to later committee consideration or to the Appropriations and Finance Committee; no final passage of statute on those items occurred on Jan. 29. The session also included the introduction and placement on the calendar of multiple memorials and resolutions and a continuing calendar of bill introductions that the clerk read into the record for referral.

A summary of committee-report actions recorded on the floor (as announced by the clerk): - Rural Development, Land Grants and Cultural Affairs Committee: favorable report on HB21 (referred to Appropriations and Finance); unfavorable report on HB24 with committee substitute recommended (substitute reported do pass and referred to Judiciary); favorable report on HB41 (referred to Appropriations and Finance). - Labor, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee: favorable reports on HB66, HB67, HB68 (each referred onward as announced). - Consumer and Public Affairs Committee: favorable reports on HB4 (as amended), HB26, HB27 (referred as announced). - Agriculture, Water and related committees: favorable report on HB85 (referred to Government Elections and Indian Affairs).

The House then moved on to the next orders of business, including a sustained bill-introduction period in which the clerk read dozens of bills by title and the sponsor list was recorded for committee referral.