Legislative Session

2022 Special Session

On  April 5, 2022, the legislature held a special session to provide economic assistance to New Mexico residents. The only other item on the agenda was to revive the junior spending bill, SB 48 that was vetoed in the regular session. SB 48 contained funding for local governments, the courts, and community projects. The Governor's veto message included concerns over the amount of money being distributed and suggested that it circumvented the budget and capital outlay process. SB 48 was modified and presented as SB 1 in the special session.

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SB 1 passed is awaiting the Governor's signature. It includes a transparency measure. The projects funded by each legislator will be published approximately one month after the bill is signed.

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HB 2 will provide "tax rebates" to all tax filers. The payments will be sent out in two allotments. The first checks will go out in June, the second round will go out in August 2022. For people who do not file taxes, there will be an application process managed by the Human Services Department. This is in addition to the $250 payment approved during the regular session.

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2022 Regular Session

The 2022 Regular Session is over. Even though it was a thirty-day session, with the main focus is the budget, 641 bills were introduced. Only 17 bills were passed and sent to the Governor to sign.

 

Legislators passed the largest budget so far for New Mexico: $8.5 billion. The remaining state American Rescue Plan Act funds were allocated as part of the overall budget.

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There were three nonprofit related bills that were introduced, but did not pass.

• HB 149 Disclosure Act: requires public officers to disclose a variety of financial information and affiliations, including board membership with nonprofit organizations.

• SB 55 Audit Requirements for Tax Exempts: raises the audit threshold for nonprofits from $250,000 to $750,000.

• SJR 7: would amend the anti-donation clause in New Mexico's constitution to make it more workable. It contains three new exemptions. The first exemption was also contained in HJR 1, which did pass and it will allow the state to invest in infrastructure to provide essential household services (electricity, broadband, water, and wastewater). The second exemption would allow the state to use funds for disaster relief. The third would allow the state to invest in community well-being through investments with 501(c)(3) nonprofits and 501(c)(12) cooperatives. See additional information on SJR 7.

 

These bills will almost certainly be introduced again in the 2023 legislative session in modified form.

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See "What passed, what failed in the 2022 legislative session," by Robert Nott and Daniel Chacon, Santa Fe New Mexican, Feb. 17, 2022.

 

Why the interim is as important as the session:

Bills are introduced, debated and passed or defeated during the legislative session. Since New Mexico's legislature meets for thirty days during even number years and sixty days during odd number years, much of the work happens during the interim between sessions. The interim is the time to develop bills and build support. Presenting the proposed bills to interim committees helps to refine the bills and saves time during the session.

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Whether or not your organization wants to influence legislation, you can build relationships with legislators in service of community:

• Follow the legislative committee that pertains to your mission

• Provide information to the committee members on the work of your organization as it pertains to the issues they are discussing

 

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Social Media

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Follow @NMThrives on Twitter for the latest updates.