New Mexico House Democrats

2023 Legislative Accomplishments

 

Reproductive and Gender-Affirming Healthcare Protections

We all know that reproductive and gender-affirming healthcare is essential, life-saving care. House Democrats passed comprehensive legislation in the 2023 session to ensure that New Mexico remains a welcoming place for people to make these important decisions.

Ensuring access to abortion and gender-affirming care

  • New Mexico House Democrats helped safeguard the healthcare decisions of all New Mexicans with House Bill 7, by protecting access to reproductive and gender-affirming healthcare across New Mexico. This bill, signed by the Governor, prohibits local governments and other public bodies from denying, restricting, or discriminating against an individual’s right to reproductive or gender-affirming healthcare.

Protection from out-of-state threats

  • Senate Bill 13 ensures patients and providers can make essential healthcare decisions without fear of prosecution, and that New Mexico will remain a state where we put people, their families, and their personal health decisions first. Inside the borders of our home state, New Mexicans and folks coming here are now safe from out-of-state threats when seeking this life-saving care.

Protection queer and trans New Mexicans

  • House Bill 207 extends the scope of the New Mexico Human Rights Act, which helps ensure that everyone in our state is protected from discrimination, to include up-to-date protections for queer and trans New Mexicans.

Gun Safety

In the summer of 2021, NM State Rep Pamelya Herndon (D-28, Albuquerque) was devastated to learn that Bennie Hargrove, a sixth-grade student, had been shot and killed because another student, a minor, had access to an unsecured gun. Rep. Herndon immediately began to work with the Hargrove family to draft "Bennie's Bill" (House Bill 9), which mandates the safe, secure storage of firearms so minors cannot access them.

New Mexico House Democrats also supported bipartisan legislation, House Bill 306, co-sponsored by Democratic Caucus Chair Ray Lara, to crack down on illegal gun trafficking by making straw firearm purchases a fourth-degree felony, punishable by 18 months in prison.

Voting Rights

With the passage of House Bill 4 (HB 4), New Mexico is leading a national model for voter participation, election fairness, and ballot access.This bill, signed by the governor:

  • Enacts the Native American Voting Rights Act, making New Mexico the first state to provide state-level protections and improved access for Native American voters;

  • Restores voting rights to formerly-incarcerated individuals, immediately impacting voting access for roughly 11,000 New Mexicans;

  • Allows for secure automatic voter registration when interacting with the Motor Vehicle Division or other state agencies;

  • Creates a permanent absentee ballot list, allowing eligible voters to opt-in to automatically receive mail-in ballots, while also expanding drop box access to improve voting convenience.

Education

During this legislative session, your NM House Dems were proud to develop and support bills that will help bring transformational funding to our public schools:

  • With HB 127, we’re supporting educators by increasing the minimum salary requirements for education assistants.

  • Our budget (HB 2) contained an 8% funding increase for public schools, fully funds the Opportunity Scholarship, and gives educators a pay raise.

  • HB 130 allows students expanded learning time opportunities through the K-12 Plus Program.

Tax Equity

For too many families in our state, making ends meet is a constant challenge. With smart tax policies, we can help make it easier for hard-working parents to keep up with day-to-day expenses and start getting ahead.

Your NM House Dems helped pass a tax package that reflects our priorities and our values as New Mexicans by putting more money back into the pockets of working families.

We fought for changes to create a more progressive tax bracket structure, implement environmental incentives for things like EV purchases and geothermal energy storage, provided tax credits for teachers who paid for classroom supplies out of pocket, and so much more. All of these were disappointingly line-item vetoed by the Governor.

Regardless of these decisions, we are proud of our work to:

  • Provide tax rebates to all New Mexicans who paid state income tax in 2021, with $500 for single filers and $1,000 for joint filers.

  • Increase the Child Income Tax Credit by $600.

  • Expand tax credits for healthcare workers and covers more professions like pharmacists, nurses, social workers, counselors, midwives, and therapists.

A Historic Budget

A budget is more than the spreadsheet that keeps our government running for another year; it is a framework to act on the values we carry as New Mexicans. With our annual budget (HB 2), your NM House Dems are making historic investments to help working families today and create opportunities for our kids tomorrow; in a clean energy future, strong schools, better health care, and so much more.

By investing in the heart and soul of New Mexico, we can unleash the enormous economic potential of our state and bring needed diversification to our economy.

Some highlights of this historic budget include:

  • $4.2 billion invested in New Mexico’s public schools, students, and teachers.

  • $124 million to support the Office of Broadband Access and Expansion to implement the statewide broadband plan.

  • $50 million to establish the Land of Enchantment Legacy Fund, a new permanent fund for land and water conservation, and $50 million for immediate use for land and water conservation projects.

  • $90.6 million to increase the state Medicaid program for improved access to quality care and physician retention.

  • $146 million to fully fund the Opportunity Scholarship program, which makes our universities free for all New Mexicans.

  • $100 million dedicated to public safety efforts and law enforcement for recruitment, retention, and development of robust criminal apprehension programs.

While we were able to make these historic investments, we were also able to give our state the capacity to weather another economic downturn by maintaining a robust reserve fund.

We could not have built this historic budget without our victories in the 2022 election. Our supporters are the backbone of the success of our caucus, and we are so thankful for their support!