[LWVNM Action] Governor 3 major LWVNM bills & one other supported

[Richard Mason]

*https://www.abqjournal.com/2377439/governor-signs-bills-dealing-with-tax-breaks-redistricting.html
<https://www.abqjournal.com/2377439/governor-signs-bills-dealing-with-tax-breaks-redistricting.html>*



*Governor signs a number of LWVNM Priorities - see bold*

ABQ Journal - SANTA FE — With a bill signing deadline nearing, Gov.
Michelle Lujan Grisham on Tuesday signed measures expanding two tax breaks
for low-income New Mexico workers and overhauling the once-per-decade task
of redistricting.

The two bills were among 48 bills signed into law by the governor, who has
until Friday to act on the remaining 42 bills approved by lawmakers during
the 60-day legislative session that ended March 20.

Specifically, Lujan Grisham hailed the significance of the tax policy
changes in a state with one of the nation’s highest poverty rates.

“We know these programs are among the most effective anti-poverty efforts
we have,” the governor said in a statement. “Expanding them means we can
lift more families out of poverty and strengthen the safety net for the
most vulnerable people in our community.”

Under the just-signed legi*slation, House Bill 291*, the maximum rebate for
one of the two tax breaks will now rise to $730 per year, depending on
family size and income levels, up from $450 under current law.

In all, roughly 550,000 New Mexico taxpayers will be impacted by the
changes to the Low Income Comprehensive Tax Rebate and the Working Families
Tax Credit — or about 55% of the total number of state personal income tax
filers.

Some of those who benefit will get larger tax breaks, while others will
become eligible to claim them for the first time under changes approved by
the Legislature.

That includes about 42,000 New Mexicans between the age of 18 to 24 who
were previously not eligible for the Working Families Tax Credit, along
with roughly 10,000 immigrant workers who are not U.S. citizens.

Taxation and Revenue Secretary Stephanie Schardin Clarke said the expanded
tax credits could reduce the strain on social service programs and lead to
more money going back into New Mexico’s economy.

“This money is really well-targeted to help people put food on their tables
and pay rent,” she told the Journal, adding the changes would take effect
this year but will not show up until New Mexicans file their income tax
returns in April 2022.

However, the more generous tax credits are projected cost the state an
estimated $100 million annually by the 2024 fiscal year, according to a
fiscal analysis of the bill.

That’s because tax changes that would have generated more money for the
state’s coffers — including a new, top personal income tax bracket for the
state’s highest-earning individuals — were stripped out of the bill by a
Senate committee.

*New districts*

The redistricting legislation, *Senate Bill 304*, will establish a
seven-member committee to propose three maps for New Mexico’s congressional
and legislative districts. The group will also produce written evaluations
of each of the proposals, outlining how they preserve communities of
interest and meet other criteria.

Lawmakers, however, will retain power to pick one of the maps or amend them
as they see fit — authority granted by the state Constitution for any
legislative proposal.

The seven-member Citizen Redistricting Committee, nevertheless, is designed
to limit the political influence over the crafting of the maps that
lawmakers start with.

No more than three members of the committee can be from the same political
party, and at least two must be independent, Libertarian or members of a
minor political party. A retired appeals court judge or Supreme Court
justice would lead the committee.

The group cannot rely on partisan or party-registration data as it carries
out its work. It can consider the addresses of incumbents only to avoid
pairing them in one district while weighing other criteria, too.

Dede Feldman, a retired Democratic state senator who participated in two
rounds of redistricting, described the final legislation as a compromise.

“I think this is a real good move — a solid move in the right direction,”
she said Tuesday.

The nonpartisan nature of the committee, Feldman said, will give it strong
standing among the public and the courts, if litigation arises. But the
group should ultimately be judged, she said, by the quality of the maps it
produces — whether they reduce gerrymandering, keep communities of interest
together and protect the strength of minority voters.
------------------------------

*Other bills signed Tuesday included*:

   - House Bill 68 — Expanding the Space Flight Informed Consent Act.
   - House Bill 76 — Allowing denial of air-quality permits to companies
   convicted of environmental crimes in other states.
   - House Bill 128 — Imposing new reporting requirements for misconduct by
   school personnel.
   - *House Bill 231 — Protecting polling locations on Native American
   land.*
   - House Bill 270 — Permitting the testing of self-driving vehicles on
   New Mexico roads.
   - *Senate Bill 219 — Removing citizenship or legal residency
   requirements for certain occupational licenses.*
   - Senate Bill 223 — Authorizing $22 million in cigarette tax revenue
   bonds to expand the Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of New
   Mexico.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman.swcp.com/pipermail/action/attachments/20210406/a24a576a/attachment.htm>