Session ends in flurry

SANTA FE — A proposal to require paid sick leave in New Mexico beat the deadline Saturday and passed the Legislature with less than an hour to spare.

But the noon adjournment extinguished any chance of a last-minute deal on cannabis legalization — a proposal that could resurface in a special session.

The last 24 hours at the Capitol included a burst of activity as New Mexico lawmakers signed off on proposals to establish an independent redistricting committee, extend public financing to District Court judicial candidates and shine more light on the state's secretive capital outlay process.

Much of the quick action came on the final night of the session after Democratic and Republican members of the House agreed on a final agenda of bills with bipartisan support, following a day of gridlock in the chamber.

"It was a reminder that, for the most part, we agree much more than we disagree," House Speaker Brian Egolf, D-Santa Fe, said as the session closed.

The final lengthy debate of the 2021 session centered on paid sick leave. The House granted final approval to the measure 41-26 on Saturday, sending it to the governor.

The proposal, House Bill 20, would require private employers to offer paid sick leave to their employees, starting in July next year. The bill allows broader paid-time-off policies to count as compliance with the sick leave requirement and sets a $500 minimum for damages if an employee is illegally denied sick pay.

The Senate amended the bill earlier this week, and the House approved the Senate amendments about 11:20 a.m. Saturday.

"This has probably been one of the most difficult lifts of the session," Rep. Susan Herrera, D-Embudo, said as House members spent three hours debating the Senate version of the bill.

House Minority Leader James Townsend, R-Artesia, said he believes the Legislature "missed the mark on a few issues."

"I think we have burdened the middle class with some taxes and regulatory burdens in a time that many of them are stressed," Townsend said as the session wrapped up.

Any legislation pending at noon died upon adjournment of the Legislature, an end date set by the state Constitution.

Lawmakers, however, may return to the Roundhouse for a special session to settle on a plan to legalize, tax and regulate marijuana sales in New Mexico. A revised proposal was circulating in the final days of the regular session but not called up for a vote in the Senate.

It also would have required House approval of any Senate changes to the bill, which was passed by the House last month.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, who has made cannabis legalization a priority, has announced her intention to call a special session around March 31.

Lawmakers had two special sessions last year, dedicated largely to budget adjustments and economic relief legislation.

A special session to draw new legislative and congressional districts is already expected in December, but the Lujan Grisham administration said a special session on cannabis could be called "sooner rather than later."

Before the session's final day, lawmakers had already signed off on high-profile bills to repeal a long-dormant state abortion ban, overhaul New Mexico's liquor laws and provide financial relief to businesses and workers on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic.

But cannabis legalization was not the only proposal that fell short of the finish line, as measures dealing with the governor's emergency powers and lowering the state's small-loan interest rate cap were among the various proposals that died upon adjournment.