LAS CRUCES - Legislation to remove a 1969 state law outlawing abortion that was made unconstitutional by the Supreme Court’s ruling in Roe v. Wade has completed the committee process in the Senate, and is now eligible for debate by the full Senate.
Senate Bill 10 passed the Judiciary Committee on a party-line vote. It follows House Bill 7, which had already cleared the committee process in the House. Both bills would remove the outdated law from the books.
Similar legislation in 2019 passed the House on a 40-29 vote, but fell in the Senate on a 24-18 vote against. Six of the eight Democrats who voted against the bill were defeated in primary elections last summer. Removing the old law is one of the top priorities this session for Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham.
Rainy day fund
Stealing a line from Mark Twain, Sen. Pat Woods, R- Broadview, introduced his bill to the Senate Conservation Committee on Thursday, Feb. 4, by observing, “Everybody complains about the weather, but nobody does anything about it. Well, this bill does do something about the weather.”
Senate Bill 126 would appropriate $1.2 million for a cloud-seeding program to be managed by New Mexico State University. Woods said pilot programs in Roosevelt and Lea counties proved to be effective in generating more rain.
The bill passed the Senate Conservation Committee on a 7-1 vote. Sen. Bill Soules, D-Las Cruces, cast the lone “no” vote. He said research on cloud seeding has been inconclusive. “I’m always hesitant when there isn’t scientific research behind it,” Soules said. The bill now moves to the Senate Finance Committee.
Not lovin’ it
Rep. Eliseo Lee Alcon, D-Milan, chair of the House Labor, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee, participated in Thursday’s committee meeting from a McDonald’s parking lot, explaining “this was the only place I could find.” His camera was pointed toward his car’s dashboard throughout his defense of a bill to require paid sick leave.
The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Angelica Rubio, D-Las Cruces, missed most of the debate, explaining, “My technology just suddenly all collapsed.” She made an opening statement by telephone before getting back online for the end of the meeting.
Rep. Patricia Roybal Caballero, D-Albuquerque, who chaired the meeting, explained that several people who wanted to participate in the public comment portion could not get through because they had an older version of Zoom. All debate is being conducted virtually this session because of the COVID-19 pandemic.