New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver testified Tuesday in front of the U.S. Senate Committee on Rules and Administration about elections.

The committee heard from Toulouse Oliver and other election officials during a hearing about state and local administration.

“The health of our democracy depends on informed discussions like this about the challenges and opportunities faced by election administrators across our country,” Toulouse Oliver said.

The New Mexico Supreme Court heard oral arguments Tuesday in the Public Service Company of New Mexico’s appeal of the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission’s rejection of an application to transfer the utility’s share of the Four Corners Power Plant to Navajo Transitional Energy Company. 

The PRC rejected the utility’s request to transfer its ownership shares in the Four Corners Power Plant in 2021, going against the recommendation of the hearing examiner to approve the application.

An oil and gas company that allegedly released significant amounts of volatile organic compounds in the Permian Basin agreed to pay a $6.2 million settlement with the New Mexico Environment Department and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The EPA discovered the emissions during flyovers in 2019 at six of Matador Production Company’s well pads.

These emissions occurred when vapor control systems failed to route all of the vapors from storage vessels to control devices or processes.

All New Mexico public school students will receive free meals after Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed the bill into law on Monday. This makes New Mexico just the fourth state to guarantee free meals to all public school students.

“Today, New Mexico is leading the nation by not only providing free healthy school meals to every student in our state, but we’re also making sure those meals are nutritious foods that kids want to eat,” Lujan Grisham said in a statement.

 

Guv signed two LGBTQ bills into law Friday
By Susan Dunlap, Mar 28, 2023 12:01 am

Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham signed two LGBTQ bills into law on Friday.

HB 207 extends the scope of the New Mexico Human Rights Act to include protections for LGBTQ individuals. Now, a public body cannot discriminate against an individual based on the person’s gender identity or sexual orientation. HB 31 eliminates an antiquated statute requiring publication of a name change.

The New Mexico Human Rights Act, which was written into statute in 1969 and updated in 2003 banned a public school district from discriminating against a potential employee because the person identifies as LGBTQ but did not address whether a teacher could discriminate against a student.

Proposed tax credits related to climate change and the environment were included in the final tax package this legislative session.

The hard-fought compromise between the House of Representatives and the Senate came down to the final morning of the session. The Senate approved the revised tax package, after it took several meetings from a conference committee to come to an agreement, shortly after midnight on Saturday.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed into law on Thursday a bill to fund conservation programs and another bill aimed at reducing the number of animals hit by vehicles.

SB 9 sets up two funds. One of the funds, the Conservation Legacy Permanent Fund, is a permanent fund that will generate interest that will be used by the other fund, the Land of Enchantment Legacy Fund.