| 2005 LEGISLATIVE SCORECARD | |||||
| Senator (Party) (District) | Parental Notification Act (SB126) | Marriage Defined (SB597) | Environmental Civil Penalties Limits (SB 221) | Game Commission Habitat Management and Fees (HB78) | Health Security (SB 636) |
| Mary Jane Garcia (D) (36) | No | No | No | Yes | Yes[1] |
| Leonard Lee Rawson (R)(37) | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | -- |
| Mary Kay Papen (D)(38) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No[2] |
| Cynthia Nava (D)(31) | Excused | Excused | No | Yes | -- |
| House (Party) (District) | Domestic Partner Benefits (HB86) | Local Government Use of Impact Fees (HB805) | Game Commission Habitat Management and Fees (HB78) | ||
| Joni Marie Gutierrez (D) (33) | Yes | No | Yes | ||
| Mary Helen Garcia (D) (34) | Yes | Absent | Yes | ||
| Antonio Lujan (D) (35) | Yes | Excused | |||
| Andy Nunez (D) (36) | No | No | No | ||
| William “Ed” Boykin (R) (37) | No | Yes | No | ||
| Joseph Cervantes (D) (52) | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
[1]The only Senators to consider the Health Security Act are those who sit on the Senate Public Affairs Committee. [2]The only Senators to consider the Health Security Act are those who sit on the Senate Public Affairs Committee. |
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SB 221 Environmental Civil Penalties Limits: Passed the Senate 28 to 11. Assigned to House Committee on Consumer and Public Affairs; no hearing was calendared.
Senate Bill 221 would have restricted the Environment Department’s authority to enforce New Mexico’s environmental air, water, radiation, hazardous waste and solid waste standards. Fines for breaking New Mexico’s environmental laws would be capped a $250,000 even for the most egregious offenders. The time limit to bring a complaint was shortened to 2 years from the date of the violation, regardless of when the incident at issue was discovered.
HB 78 Game Commission Habitat Management and Fees: Passed the House 40 to 27 and the Senate 34 to 3. Signed by the Governor.
House Bill 78 imposes an annual license fee of $3 dollars for hunters and anglers for purposes of funding restoration, protection and maintenance of fish and wildlife habitat in New Mexico. The fee is waived for persons under the age of 18.SB 636/HB 746 Health Security: Introduced in the Senate and killed in Senate Committee on Public Affairs. Introduced in the House and killed in the House Committee on Business and Industry.
Senate Bill 636 is a complete reform of New Mexico’s health care system. It establishes a commission to implement a plan to provide health care coverage for all New Mexicans. One of the primary benefits of establishing a “real” health care system would be to control health care costs. The plan would be a premium (not tax) based, which would be collected on a sliding fee scale. Currently, over 400,000 New Mexicans or, one out of four, have no health care coverage.
Several patchwork bills were passed but at best will provide health insurance coverage for several thousand more people. They are: • SB 269/HB 335 Mandates coverage of unmarried dependents up to age 25 by private health care coverage policies. • SB 271/HB 523 and HB 289 mandate that small employers and part-time employees can purchase health care insurance policies at market rates from the state health care insurance pool.
SB 126 Parental Notification Act: Passed the Senate 29 to 10. Assigned to the House Consumer and Public Affairs Committee; no hearing was calendared.
Senate Bill 126 imposed a 48-hour waiting period, for females under 16 years of age or for whom a guardian has been appointed, before an abortion could be performed. The bill would also require written parental notification except in the event the abortion would prevent death. The bill was amended on the Senate Floor to waive parental notification when the abortion would protect the female’s health. Senators Garcia and Papen voted in favor of the amendment. Sen. Rawson voted against the amendment. Sen. Nava was excused. This amendment was later struck from the bill, and returned to the original language that only in the event of death would the requirement of parental notification be waived.
“[O]ut of 112 state legislators, only 32 are women. Of those 32, 19 are Democrats. Of the 19 Democratic women legislators, only 7 vote pro-choice.” Source: Las Adelitas, a New Mexican organization dedicated to electing pro-choice, democratic women legislators.
HB 86 Domestic Partner Benefits: Passed the House 35 to 31. Received a Do Pass from the Senate Public Affairs Committee with Committee members Senators Garcia and Papen voting yes at the committee hearing.
House Bill 86 would extend health care and life insurance coverage to domestic partners, regardless of marital status or gender, and the children of domestic partners.
SB 597 Marriage Defined: Passed the Senate 25 to 12. Assigned to the House Consumer and Public Affairs Committee; no hearing was calendared. Senate Bill 597 provides that marriage is a civil contract between a man and a woman. It would preclude same sex marriages.HB 805 Local Government Use of Impact Fees: Passed the House 48 to 14. Obtained a Do Pass from Senate Committee on Public Affairs with Committee members Sen. Papen voting yes and Sen. Garcia excused.
House Bill 805 would have restricted the ability of local government to use impact fees[3] as a growth management tool or as a penalty or incentive for development in a particular area. It also mandated that impact fees reflect the average cost to pay for a proportionate share of the cost of system improvements, not marginal or incremental cost calculations. Finally it required municipalities and counties to credit developers for improvements not listed on the municipalities capital improvement plan.H
[3] Impact fees are tools that local governments use to ensure that developers pay their way and don’t shift the costs associated with new developments—roads, police and fire protection, parks, flood control—onto existing residents and taxpayers.