New Mexico

New Mexico revives paid family and medical leave debate with improved proposal

Published

2 years ago

January 9, 2024

Press Room

New Mexico revives paid family and medical leave debate with improved proposal

The debate over paid family and medical leave will return to the Roundhouse this year.

SANTA FE, N.M. — The debate over paid family and medical leave will return to the Roundhouse this year.

Just like the original, the new proposal aims to give all New Mexico workers the ability to take up to 12 weeks of paid time off when they need it most – that includes after the birth of a new child, a family emergency, or a medical crisis.

Employees and their employers would be required to consistently pay a small amount of money based on their wages into a state fund, which would end up paying workers on leave. Employers would not be paying those worker’s wages.

“The bill is better, stronger, more oriented towards business in certain ways,” said Democratic state Sen. Mimi Stewart.

Stewart says they’re taking extra steps to make sure New Mexico’s business community is happy with her new paid family and medical leave proposal.

“We’ve counted 16 concessions that we’ve put in because of businesses to make it work easier for them,” Stewart said.

It’s not clear yet exactly what’s different about the new bill, but Stewart says her team spent time studying similar programs in Colorado and Tennessee. They also are working with the Department of Workforce Solutions o craft a more structurally sound program.

“I think partly this is because so many of us now understand this better,” Stewart said.

The new version still requires employees to pay $5 for every thousand in wages. Employers only have to $4 per employee, but only if they have five or more workers.

Many opponents last year criticized that mechanism as an added business tax, and noted legislative reports predicted the state fund would run out of money.

“We’ve got a really good mechanism, the funding is adequate, the fees on employees and employers are is minimal,” Stewart said.

Advocates with the Southwest Women’s Law Center say many businesses want this kind of program.

“There was a recent poll done with small business owners that show that there’s overwhelming support, I want to say 85% support for this idea,” said Tracy McDaniel, policy advocate with the Southwest Women’s Law Center.

McDaniel suggests that’s all because of the potential benefits.

“It allows those employees to have the security and also allows those employers to compete for employees with those large businesses and corporations in the state of New Mexico that offer paid parental leave, so it really levels the playing field,” McDaniel said.

Advocates say similar programs in other states have allowed more women to enter the workforce.

If approved by lawmakers, Stewart says the program would not go into effect until 2027 at the earliest.

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New Mexico

Mountain West Reacts Results: Winning Week 14 Games

Published

8 hours ago

November 29, 2025

Press Room

Mountain West Reacts Results: Winning Week 14 Games

This post is brought to you by FanDuel, proud partner of SBNation.

Lobos most likely to join the Aztecs in MW Championship.

The voters picked Boise State over Utah State by the slimmest of margins… and that’s exactly what happened in the game on Friday, with the Broncos securing a one-point victory over the Aggies. With the win, they keep their conference championship hopes alive.

Utah State going bowling?

Fans went 2 for 2 this week predicting games. They picked New Mexico to beat San Diego State at home and that’s exactly what happened. Will it be enough for the Lobos to find a place in the MW Championship?

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New Mexico

2 killed in New Mexico plane crash, investigation ongoing

Published

1 day ago

November 28, 2025

Press Room

2 killed in New Mexico plane crash, investigation ongoing

A private plane that was last known to be near the Alamogordo White Sands Regional Airport, roughly 60 miles northeast of Las Cruces, crashed sometime after takeoff around 11:30 a.m. Nov. 26.
The plane was found burned with two bodies inside near Cloudcroft, New Mexico, on Nov. 27.
The crash follows high-profile aviation incidents around the country in 2025, including a commercial plane crash that killed 67 in January and a UPS cargo plane crash that killed 14 in November.

Two people were killed in a private plane crash in southern New Mexico ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday.

The plane took off around 11:30 a.m. Nov. 26 and was scheduled to return to its “airport of origin” an hour later, according to New Mexico State Police.

Officials didn’t specify what airport that was, though they said the plane was last known to be near the Alamogordo White Sands Regional Airport, around 60 miles northeast of Las Cruces, New Mexico.

A family member of one of the passengers reported the plane missing after the person didn’t return from the flight, according to KOAT-TV in Albuquerque.

Search and rescue personnel found the plane on the morning of Nov. 27 near Cloudcroft, New Mexico, a small community within the Lincoln National Forest that’s just over a dozen miles away from the Alamogordo White Sands Regional Airport.

New Mexico State Police, the Alamogordo police and fire departments and New Mexico Search and Rescue were among the agencies involved in the effort.

The plane was found burned with two bodies inside. The names of the deceased were not immediately made public.

The incident was listed as an accidental crash on the National Transportation Safety Board’s incident database as of Nov. 28. An investigation is ongoing.

Incident follows other plane crashes in 2025

The New Mexico crash comes toward the end of a tumultuous year for aviation.

A mid-air collision between a commercial passenger jet and a military helicopter over the Potomac River in Washington, D.C., killed 67 people in January. It marked the first high-profile commercial aviation crash since 2009, when a commercial plane crashed near Buffalo, New York, killing 50 people.

Two more people were killed several weeks after the Potomac River crash when two fixed-wing, single-engine planes crashed mid-air near Marana, Arizona.

Earlier in November, a UPS cargo plane burst into flames and crashed shortly after takeoff in Louisville, Kentucky, killing 14 people.

Amid flight and airport chaos stemming from the historic government shutdown, President Donald Trump pledged on Nov. 10 that the United States would soon be “getting the finest air traffic control system anywhere in the world.”

Trump did not provide many details but said companies including IBM and Raytheon were bidding to build the new national infrastructure.

“…We’re going to pick the best one, and it’ll get built relatively quickly, and we’re going to have the greatest air traffic control system anywhere in the world,” he said.

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New Mexico

Thanksgiving evening forecast

Published

2 days ago

November 27, 2025

Press Room

Details affecting local, regional and national news events of the day are provided by the Eyewitness News 4 Team, as well as updates on weather and traffic.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The weather is expected to be quiet Friday with mostly sunny skies and temperatures a little warmer than usual.

A backdoor cold front will bring low temperatures into the teens and 20s overnight Saturday.

Some slick and icy roads are expected from snow across the northern and west central high terrain from Sunday night into Monday morning.

Early next week, colder weather will bring high temperatures slightly below average in western and central New Mexico.

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