New Mexico
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.
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
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.
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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.
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.
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.
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.
LAS CRUCES, N.M (KFOX14/CBS4) — A gun-tracking program that uses shell casings to connect shootings is already helping investigators link crimes in Doña Ana County, according to new numbers released by the New Mexico Department of Justice.
The effort is part of New Mexico’s Crime Gun Intelligence Center, which uses ballistic evidence such as shell casings to track guns believed to be used in multiple crimes. The program relies on the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network, or NIBIN, a national database that compares ballistic evidence to determine whether shell casings may have come from the same weapon.
In April, New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez described how the technology can connect cases across jurisdictions.
“There may be a shooting that occurs in Deming that’s actually connected to a crime gun that’s recovered in Las Cruces. We may find shell casings in Silver City that are connected to something that happened in T or C,” Torrez said.
Four months into the program, the Department of Justice said 210 bullet casings have been analyzed in Doña Ana County. Those casings helped link 32 incidents to 13 guns.
Jordan Salas reports on New Mexico DOJ data: Shell-casing tracking links shootings in Doña Ana County (Credit: KFOX14)
Statewide, more than 700 casings have been entered into the system, connecting 74 shootings to 31 guns.
One person reacting to the numbers said, “That’s crazy. Honestly, all those shootings all coming from that little amount of weapons is crazy.”
New Mexico officials say the system is designed to help law enforcement share information faster and build cases more efficiently.
Also in April, Doña Ana County Sheriff Kim Stewart pointed to a local case she said the technology helped resolve quickly.
“We resolved a homicide with a suspect arrest in four days. We know that those casings may lead to another 1 or 2 incidents in another city,” Stewart said.
Some residents said the technology alone will not solve gun violence, but they see it as a step forward. One person said, “I mean, growing up, like hearing gunshots in the distance. That wasn’t something crazy. I have stories of, like, friends who’ve gone to parties that had guns go off there. So, yeah, I would say guns are a problem there.”
Another person said, “I would think that it’s a good thing. I’m personally like, just anything to help the gun crimes, you know?”
KFOX14/CBS4 contacted Las Cruces police and the Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Office to ask how the leads are being used in local investigations, but we are awaiting a response.
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- Who: New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez brought a lawsuit against Meta Platforms Inc.
- Why: The state claims Meta misrepresented harms to minors and created a public nuisance through its social media platforms.
- Where: The lawsuit is pending in New Mexico state court.
- How to get help: Has social media impacted the mental health of you or your child? You may qualify to join a social media lawsuit against the platform.
New Mexico’s attorney general is asking a state court to order Meta to pay approximately $3.7 billion to address what the state describes as a “public nuisance” caused by the company’s social media platforms.
The request comes after a jury previously found Meta misrepresented the risks its platforms — including Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp — pose to underage users. The jury also imposed a $375 million penalty in the first phase of the trial.
The case has now moved into a second phase, where the court will determine what additional remedies, if any, Meta must provide.
According to the state, the proposed $3.712 billion abatement plan would fund a 15-year effort to address the alleged harms caused by Meta’s platforms. The plan includes funding for public education, school resources, law enforcement support and mental health services for children affected by issues, such as online bullying and sexual exploitation.
“This request recognizes the scope of the public nuisance that Meta has caused,” counsel for the state argued in court.
The lawsuit alleges Meta concealed or downplayed the extent of harmful activity on its platforms while publicly portraying them as safe for younger users.
Meta disputes liability, challenges proposed abatement plan
Meta denies the allegations and argues there is no legal basis for the sweeping relief requested by the state.
Attorneys for the company contend the proposed abatement plan does not directly address or stop the alleged harmful conduct and instead seeks compensation for downstream effects.
“What no court has ever allowed … is payment for the downstream effects,” Meta’s counsel argued, describing the request as “damages masquerading as something else.”
The court is expected to hear additional testimony during the second phase of the trial before determining whether to approve any form of injunctive relief or financial remedies.
In March, a California jury found Meta and Google liable for mental health harms suffered by plaintiff Kaley G.M., who became addicted to Instagram and YouTube as a child, awarding $6 million in damages, including $3 million in compensatory damages and $3 million in punitive damages.
What do you think about the claims against Meta in this case? Let us know in the comments.
The state is represented by Raul Torrez of the New Mexico Office of the Attorney General and Donald Migliori, Linda Singer, Michael Pendell and David Ackerman of Motley Rice LLC.
The Meta lawsuit is New Mexico v. Meta Platforms Inc., et al., Case No. D-101-CV-2023-02838, in the First Judicial District Court of New Mexico.
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