The New Mexico Senate Finance Committee has given its endorsement of the Voters’ Rights Bill. It now heads to the House Floor for a vote.
After some long meetings the past week the Finance Committee only focused on the budgetary aspects of the bill and passed it on mostly a party-line vote.
It now heads to the Full Senate. Sponsor and Majority Floor Leader Peter Wirth says the vote will come no earlier than Saturday so lawmakers have a chance to read the entire 45-page bill.
Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver says she’s happy the legislation is finally making it to the full Senate.
“Our Democracy, our elections, this is what underpins everything that we’re doing here in The Roundhouse, everything that we built our representative government upon and so being able to sufficiently fund them is really an election administrator’s dream,” she said.
The bill includes $20-million dollars to help pay for elections in the state. Wirth says the bill has seen more process and hearing than any other piece of legislation he’s championed in his 17 years in the legislature.
With a week remaining in the 30-day legislative session, the bill will head to the House right after the Senate vote.
