Medical bill passes House on party-line vote

Curry and Roosevelt County members of the New Mexico House of Representatives, all Republicans, voted Tuesday against a bill requiring appropriate medical professionals to provide reproductive services, including abortions and gender-affirming care when asked.

The bill passed the House on Tuesday on a party-line vote with the Democratic majority prevailing, and now faces action in the state Senate.

On Wednesday, the bill went to the Senate, where it was assigned to the Senate Health and Public Affairs Committee.

Opponents to the House bill included Rep. Jackie Chatfield, whose House District 67 includes parts of Curry, Quay, Colfax,Harding, San Miguel and Union counties; Rep. Martin Zamora, whose House District 63 includes parts of Curry, Roosevelt, DeBaca, Guadalupe and San Miguel counties; and Rep. Andrea Reeb, whose House District 64 includes Curry, Roosevelt and Chaves counties.

Reeb wrote in an email that she voted against the bill, “because I believe parents should be notified if their child is seeking an abortion or gender information.”

She added, “ I also believe that local government should be able to set their own ordinances as they are in the best position to know what their constituents want . We are just bringing more government into our family with this bill.”

Neither Chatfield nor Zamora responded to requests for comment.

As the bill moves to the Senate, Sen. Pat Woods, whose Seventh Senate District includes parts of Curry, Quay and Union counties, observed in an email, “The last election was about the subject line of this bill. I won’t vote for this bill but the Democrats are in a box. If they don’t vote for it they become hypocrites.”

The House on Feb. 16 approved and sent to the Senate New Mexico’s fiscal year 2024 budget of $9.4 billion, 11.9% greater than last year’s and potentially the largest in state history, according to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s office.

The state senators who represent Curry and Roosevelt counties were studying the budget closely, they reported.

Sen. Pat Woods, wrote in an email, “I am going through the budget word by word, line by line.”

“It’s a big undertaking,” he added. “We have agencies that have (returned) large amounts of money (back to the general fund) and are requesting an increase of their budget. It’s a process the senate goes through to amend (the budget bills).”

State Sen. Stuart Ingle was also studying the budget, a staff member said.

Ingle did not respond to requests for comment.

Curry and Roosevelt House of Representatives legislators split their votes on the budget. Chatfield voted to approve the budget, Zamora abstained, and Reeb abstained.

Reeb abstained from voting, she wrote in an email, because she is serving as a special prosecutor in the “Rust” movie set case and a portion of the budget passed in the House sets aside funding for the case.

Curry and Roosevelt County legislators were also asked about a bill that would have reduced gross receipts taxes (GRT). The bill died in committee last week.

Woods observed that Lujan Grisham had promised to reduce GRT, along with rebates.

“That bill that was killed may not be the vessel she wanted,” Woods stated, predicting, “The rebate check will be quite a bit smaller” and “Infrastructure projects will be expanded.”

Woods also offered observations on several education bills before the legislature, including bills that would:

· Reinstate a state school board: Woods asid, “State school boards will go to voters.”

· Provide for a longer school year. Woods stated the longer school year will be approved.

· Authorize the Legislative Education Study Committee to conduct a comprehensive study of the state’s education system. Woods stated this is what the committee should be doing anyway.

· Increase allowances for at-risk students, fine arts and responsibility factors for school principals. Woods stated, “I think they are forcing principals to take responsibility for poor-performing schools.”

· Ensure free, healthy school meals for public school students. Woods stated that free and reduced-price meals would no longer be “a marker of poor performing schools.” Further, he stated, “I would ask each parent to go to school and eat with their kid. You might see how much food is thrown away.”

· Provide outdoor education from K-12. “There is lots to learn outdoors,” Woods stated, including, “cleaning school yard, preparing ground to plant gardens and studying nature.”

· Science, Technology, Engineering and Math education center of excellence at NMSU. “Teaching teachers to teach or refreshing their skills should be a good idea,” Woods stated.