The New Mexico Senate and House worked through Valentine's weekend as the final days of this legislative session draw near. The session closes at noon on Thursday.
On Saturday, the New Mexico House of Representatives passed House Bill 99. If the bill passes through the Senate, it will reform the state’ s medical malpractice laws. Members of both parties hailed the overhaul as a compromise resulting from months of negotiations, Source New Mexico reported. The bill passed by a vote of 66-3, with every Republican and all but three Democrats advancing the measure after a little more than 15 minutes of debate.
Political think tank Think New Mexico said in a statement that it expects the Senate Judiciary Committee to propose amendments that would weaken the bill. Think New Mexico supports the bill as it is currently written. The group sites a recent poll that found that two thirds of New Mexico doctors say that they are considering leaving the state, and 83 percent of those who may leave say the main reason is the state's medical malpractice law. Think New Mexico called medical malpractice a "root cause" of New Mexico's doctor shortage.
The Senate Rules Committee met on Sunday and approved House Bill 124. The bill would create the Office of New Americans within the State Department of Workforce Solutions. The office was established in 2024, but HB 124 would formalize its existence. If passed, the bill would, among other things, help immigrants find jobs in New Mexico. Proponents of the bill say it would help alleviate worker shortages. But Republican Sen. Jay Block of Rio Rancho said the fact that the bill doesn't exclude people who enter the U.S. illegally is unfair to those immigrants who, "did it right and who really are Americans."
Senate Bill 264 passed on a party-line vote Sunday. That bill would make it harder for the federal government to deploy soldiers or Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents at polling places. The legislation comes as President Donald Trump and others repeat false claims of widespread voter fraud in the U.S. and reference vague plans of deploying ICE agents to polling places during November's midterm elections. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said last week that the President hasn't discussed any formal plan to deploy ICE outside of polling places. But Leavitt said that she, "can't guarantee that an ICE agent won't be around a polling location in November."
The Senate also passed Senate Bill 235, the Microgrid Oversight Act on Sunday. That bill would give state regulators greater oversight of onsite power grids. The bill attempts to close a perceived loophole that data centers could use to bypass the Energy Transition Act.
Senate Bills 264 and 235 now head to the House of Representatives.
