After a contentious Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Tuesday morning, the Senate passed House Bill 99, The New Mexico Medical Malpractice Act last night. The Senate stripped amendments that the committee added to the bill before approving it in a 40-2 vote. Two lawyers who try medical malpractice cases sit on the Senate Judiciary Committee- Senator Joseph Cervantes of Las Cruces and Katy Duhigg of Albuquerque. Both are Democrats.
Duhigg spoke for several minutes after the bill passed the committee saying that the legislature is, “lying to our healthcare providers and we are lying to the public,” in regard to the chances of HB 99 lowering medical malpractice insurance rates.
The committee proposed 11 amendments but only three of those made it out of the hearing—including changes to how medical costs are calculated and a provision that would have allowed lawyers to potentially bring multiple lawsuits over a single malpractice incident. Those amendments were stripped on the Senate floor. HB 99 heads to the Governor’s desk.
Senate Bill 40, the Driver Privacy and Safety Act, has passed the House and awaits the governor's signature. This legislation establishes New Mexico’s first statewide regulations for Automatic License Plate Reader data. The bill prohibits location information from being used against residents for seeking legal healthcare, exercising constitutional rights, or for federal immigration enforcement. The bill allows New Mexico law enforcement to continue utilizing ALPR technology for local public safety purposes.
House Bill 4 passed the Senate Finance Committee and moves to the Senate floor. If HB 4 becomes law, it will put more money from health insurance surcharges into the state’s Health Care Affordability Fund. Advocates say this move could protect small businesses, workers and rural health care providers from rising healthcare costs.
House Joint Resolution 5 passed the Senate yesterday by a vote of 23-19. The resolution will put a constitutional amendment on the ballot, asking voters to decide whether to pay legislators a salary. Advocates say this would make public service more accessible, allowing our legislature to become more representative of the population it serves. The proposed salary would rise and fall with the median income of New Mexico, which currently sits around $68,000.
Yesterday, the House of Representatives passed an amended version of Senate Bill 241, the Childcare Assistance Program Act, which codifies New Mexico’s universal childcare program into law. The amended version passed the House by a vote of 37-19.
A statement from House Democrats said the bill includes key amendments made by the House Appropriations and Finance Committee. These include changes to ensure the sustainability of the program, support the state’s childcare workforce, and include tribal communities in the program and decision making process.
Senate Bill 17, which would ban certain assault rifles in the state, is unlikely to pass during this year's session. The delay came after Miranda Viscoli, executive director of New Mexicans to Prevent Gun Violence, had warned the legislation was “legally vulnerable and likely to backfire.” She warned that enacting the bill might cause a surge in last-minute firearm sales.
Today is the final full day of the session which ends at noon tomorrow.
