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Roads, school and national debt: Here’s what Eddy County representatives hope to make law

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Roads, school and national debt: Here’s what Eddy County representatives hope to make law


No more bills could be introduced into the New Mexico Legislature for the ongoing 2024 session, as the deadline passed Wednesday.

There were 641 bills, resolutions and memorials introduced in the New Mexico House and Senate, and being considered by lawmakers for adoption before potentially moving on to the desk of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham for signing into law.

Here are the bills introduced by members of the New Mexico House of Representatives from Eddy County.

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More: Funding for detention center on Eddy County priority list for 2024 legislative session

Rep. Cathrynn Brown, Republican, District 55 – Eddy, Lea

House Bill 56: HB 56 would clarify in New Mexico law that the crime of trespassing includes people who knowingly enter the lands of others without expressed permission from landowners or designated land custodians and raised the crime from a misdemeanor to a fourth-degree felony. The bill was assigned to the House Rules and Order of Business Committee.

House Bill 146: This would create a transportation trust fund to provide matching funds the State of New Mexico could use to pursue federal grants for road projects in the state. The bill also specifies several sources of funding that would be sent to the trust fund, and how it would be distributed. This bill passed the House Transportation, Public Works and Capital Improvements Committee and was sent to the House Appropriations and Finance Committee.

More: Jack Volpato taking on fellow Republican Cathryn Brown for New Mexico House seat

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House Bill 153: Brown cosponsored this bill with several other representatives from southeast New Mexico to pay for road improvements on U.S. Highway 380, which runs from Chaves County to the Texas State Line. If passed, the bill will appropriate $350 million for the work. It was being considered by the House Appropriations and Finance Committee.

House Bill 161: HB 161 would require school buses purchased after July 1, 2025 be outfitted with air conditioning and seatbelts if they are driven in areas of the state where the heat can pose a safety risk. It also required by law that drivers undergo proper training to determine the capacity of buses when children are loaded. This bill was awaiting a hearing in the House Rules and Order of Business Committee.

House Bill 208: This bill would provide $100 million to pay for stipends given to state residents attending trade schools in New Mexico and create a trade school assistance fund to carry out the funding. The bill was being considered by the House Education Committee.

More: Lujan Grisham wants to use oilfield waste to solve drought. Is it an industry ‘bail-out?’

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House Bill 231: HB 231 would make a $300 million appropriation for work on State Road 128 between State Roads 31 and 18, as 128 runs between Eddy and Lea counties. The bill was sent to the House Appropriations and Finance Committee for consideration.

House Bill 238: A $30 million appropriation would be made by this bill to allow the Department of Transportation and Eddy County enter into a joint agreement for road construction on State Road 31 between U.S. Highway 285 and State Road 128. This was being considered by the House Appropriations and Finance Committee.

House Bill 248: This would remove caps on social security exemptions previously set at incomes of $75,000 for married people, $150,000 for heads of households and $100,000 for single people. HB 248 was being considered by the House Commerce an Economic Development Committee.

More: Southeast New Mexico legislators prepare proposed fix for lost tax revenue for Carlsbad

House Bill 249: This bill would tie tax filers’ gross income when considering social security exemptions to inflation. It was also in the House Commerce and Economic Development Committee.

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Rep. Jim Townsend, Republican, District 54 – Eddy, Lea

House Bill 76: This bill was in direct opposition to a state policy that required auto dealers in New Mexico to increase the percent of electric or zero-emission vehicles in their fleets. HB 76 would block the Environmental Improvement Board from adopting the rule by amending the Air Quality Control Act. It was sent to the House Rules and Order of Business Committee.

House Bill 280: HB 280 would strip language from New Mexico’s income tax law that specified how income tax would be applied to taxpayers based on income level and marital status, leaving just a 1 percent tax for all New Mexicans. This bill was assigned to the House Commerce and Economic Development Committee.

More: Your guide to the 2024 New Mexico Legislative budget session

House Bill 281: This would remove language from state statute governing eligibility for college students to receive the lottery scholarship used to offset tuition costs, removing a definition of a “legacy student” meaning one who successfully earned three or more semesters of tuition by the end of Fiscal Year 2014.

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Legacy students were allowed to get funding for up to eight semesters, while non-legacies could only receive seven. This appeared an effort to expand eligibility of the lottery program to increase the semesters potentially earned by a non-legacy student.

House Joint Resolution 14: HRJ 14 would add a ballot question for voters to decide if a program could be established to provide state funds for private or homeschooling in New Mexico. This was being considered by the House Government, Elections and Indian Affairs Committee.

More: Republicans want to repeal New Mexico’s electric vehicle requirement

Rep. Jimmy Mason, Republican, District 66 – Eddy, Lea and Chaves

House Bill 55: This bill would establish a pilot project for oral drug tests that could be conducted during traffic stops and would spend $650,000 to do so. The project would study technologies and determine the effectiveness of such tests in preventing driving while intoxicated. It was sent to the House Rules and Order of Business Committee.

House Bill 153: Mason also cosponsored HB 153 with Brown to pay $350 million for road improvements on U.S. Highway 380, which runs from Chaves County to the Texas State Line.

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House Bill 238: Mason was listed as a cosponsor on HB 238 to make a $30 million appropriation to allow the Department of Transportation and Eddy County enter into a joint agreement for road construction on State Road 31 between U.S. Highway 285 and State Road 128.

House Joint Resolution 12: This resolution would ask Congress to call a Constitution Convention where fiscal restraints could be imposed on the federal government. The resolution as proposed argued the federal government continue to “accrue unsustainable increases in national debt” adding burden to New Mexico’s taxpayers.

Adrian Hedden can be reached at 575-628-5516, achedden@currentargus.com or @AdrianHedden on the social media platform X.





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Event spreads holiday cheer and aims to stop spread of viruses

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Event spreads holiday cheer and aims to stop spread of viruses


An event allowed families and their kids to spread holiday cheer and prevent the spread of viruses and illnesses this season.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — One could say that holiday cheer is usually infectious as you see pure joy on kids faces as they line up to see Santa Claus or light the menorah.

Unfortunately, this time of the year, that’s not the only thing that is infectious. Flu season is now in full swing but local organizations recently came together to spread the good and try to prevent the bad.

“We want to make sure that we’re there for the community as a destination point, not just for culture and celebration, but also for everyday needs, like health care,” Zackary Quintero, executive director of the National Hispanic Cultural Center.

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Families came to the National Hispanic Cultural Center on Sunday to meet Pancho Claus – or Santa Claus – and get their holiday fun on but many also came to get protected.

“The main goal is for all New Mexicans to be proactive in the prevention and not just when they have to go to the emergency room. We want them to be proactive in seeking medical care regardless of if they have insurance,” said Monica Toquinto, coordinator for Ventanilla de Salud.

Being proactive includes getting flu shots or glucose testing. These are services the Mexican Consulate’s Ventanilla de Salud (Window of Health) offers for free.

“In the day-to-day, the community may not go, because of work or other things, to the Consulate. We try to bring all these services we do along with our partners to the communities,” Head Consul Patricia Pinzón said.

According to Pinzón, people are coming to the Consulate in Albuquerque not just for the Ventanilla but because they’re scared as they see more and more immigration raids nationwide and locally.

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“It’s an opportunity to inform the community to let them know that they are not alone, that we are here,” Pinzón said.

The Mexican Consulate partners with University of New Mexico Health Science Services on Ventanilla de Salud. They see how the the fear of deportation or arrest is keeping people at home during a time when vaccine hesitancy is already high.

“In this particular administration, there’s even more fear among Latino populations for their relatives that are immigrants. That plays into interfacing with anywhere in the public. People have come to be afraid of what vaccines do and don’t do and we want to overcome that,” said Cosette Wheeler, executive director of Ventanilla de Salud.

Ventanilla de Salud is open Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the Consulate. They offer other services, like legal help, every weekday.

To learn more about services at the Consulate of Mexico in Albuquerque, click here. For information about the Ventanilla de Salud, click here.

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New Mexico children, who died by abuse and neglect, honored with Angel Tree

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New Mexico children, who died by abuse and neglect, honored with Angel Tree


The Guardians of the Children has put together the Angel Tree event for the past 10 years.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The holidays are filled with events and light displays, including the lighting of a tree in Albuquerque Civic Plaza that has a deeper meaning behind it.

People gathered Saturday to light an Angel Tree to honor New Mexico children who have been lost to abuse and neglect. Each of the tree’s ornaments contains the name and a photo of a New Mexico child who lost their life because of abuse and neglect.

“We want people to understand we’re never going to forget them. We’re going to be mentioning their name. I’m of a firm believer that the minute we stop speaking their name, that’s when they’re gone,” said Frank Montano, of the Guardians of the Children Rio Grande chapter.

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Guardians of the Children motorcycle club has put on this Angel Tree event for the past 10 years.

“My prayer is that we don’t need to add anymore,” Montano said. “No child deserves to live in fear.”

Throughout the rest of the year, the guardians will work with the Bernalillo County District Attorney’s Office and the court system to help other kids who have become victims. That could mean escorting the child to court or school and providing protection and comfort to them.

“Most importantly, empower them to not be afraid. Because of all that, our conviction rates are extremely high,” Montano said.

Despite any stereotypes about bikers, Montano says this work is their most important.

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“We use that word ‘adopt’ in our motorcycle family and we give them a road name. They wear a vest, they wear a patch very similar to ours, so they become one of us,” Montano said.



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Ice hasn’t stopped trout in northern New Mexico – Alamogordo Daily News

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Ice hasn’t stopped trout in northern New Mexico – Alamogordo Daily News


Information and photos provided by the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish Eli Rodarte caught a 24-inch rainbow trout using worms in the bait…



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