Lawmakers meet, await upcoming special session

SANTA FE — Policymakers are scattered around the state in their hometowns as they await a special session next month and the 60-day legislative session next year.

But that doesn’t mean work isn’t being done.

The lawmakers still meet on a regular basis during the interim, when a full legislative session isn’t ongoing. On Monday, legislative staff briefed the Legislative Council on what interim committee meetings have on their agendas.

Staff quickly zipped through reports on 18 committees, touching on everything from public safety priorities to environmental issues to health care accessibility.

Legislators approved all the plans, with few questions.

Below are a few highlights. The full list of committee meetings and agendas can be found online at http://www.nmlegis.gov .

Public safety

The Courts, Corrections and Justice Committee is preparing for a busy month on top of regular meetings. As the Legislature prepares for a special session on crime, the committee will be meeting later this week and in early July to discuss topics that could become legislative priorities.

Nancy Martinez, the presenter for the committee, said it would be discussing mental illness and addiction, panhandling and competency. The governor has previously said she will push for changes to criminal and civil competency in the special session.

During the regularly scheduled interim committee meetings, Martinez said, other topics may come up, including housing and landlord/tenant relations.

Energy and environment

Legislative staffer Sara Wiedmaier said the Water and Natural Resources Committee will hear usual updates during the interim from relevant agencies and get updates on natural resource- and water-related litigation.

Notably, the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday rejected a settlement between Texas and New Mexico over Rio Grande rights with concerns about New Mexico’s water use.

The Water and Natural Resources Committee plans to focus each interim meeting on one topic, Wiedmaier said.

She said the first meeting in July, which is set in Ruidoso and has an alternative location considering the ongoing wildfires, will be focused on energy.

Energy will also be a topic for the Revenue Stabilization and Tax Policy Committee. Committee presenter Martin Fischer said the committee will hold five meetings in the interim to discuss long-term revenue stabilization, especially considering the state’s heavy reliance on revenue from the oil and gas industry.

He said the committee will also discuss the liquor excise tax, state tax policy, property taxes and the tax implications of a workplace industry evolving with technology such as artificial intelligence that could lead to fewer jobs.

Legislative staffer Mark Edwards said the Science, Technology and Communications Committee will consider energy and energy storage during the interim, among its other focuses on AI and cybersecurity.

What the Radioactive and Hazardous Materials Committee will discuss mostly falls under statute, staffer Paul Estok said, though he noted per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, would be a specific focus this interim.