Here's a look at all the bills and proposed constitutional amendments that were introduced by Santa Fe-area legislators during the recently completed 2012 New Mexico Legislature.

Note: Some or a portion of the money in proposed appropriation bills that didn't pass might have been rolled into the general budget bill.

Sen. Nancy Rodriguez, D-Santa Fe

0 of 9 bills passed

SB 78: Would have appropriated $5 million from the general fund to the New Mexico Housing Trust Fund for the purpose of affordable housing activities.

SB 79: Would have amended state law to allow precinct board members who are also retired public employees to keep their pensions. Currently, such retired members would have their pensions suspended.

SB 163: Would have appropriated $500,000 to the Department of Health for a women's health services program in Santa Fe.

SB 165: Would have appropriated $50,000 to operate Santa Fe Teen Court.

SB 177: Would have appropriated $300,000 to support an unspecified folk art market.

SB 210: Would have created a permanent Disabilities Concerns Committee to meet each year between annual legislation sessions.

SB 236: Would have appropriated $2.5 million to the Department of Health to fund expenses related to the state's Developmental Disabilities Program.

SB 284: Would have appropriated $200,000 to New Mexico Highlands University to fund a wrestling program.

SB 285: Would have appropriated $1 million to The University of New Mexico for a hepatitis C program and the Project Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes (Project ECHO) administered by The University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center.



Sen. Peter Wirth, D-Santa Fe

2 of 7 bills passed

SB 9 passed: Would require out-of-state big-box retailers with stores 30,000 square feet or larger to file state corporate income-tax returns the same way their in-state counterparts do. It also would lower the top rate for the state's corporate income tax from 7.6 percent to 7.5 percent.

SB 10 passed: Would require written confirmation from local zoning officials that a condominium complies with local zoning density requirements. The bill sprang from long-standing practice in Santa Fe of developers creating condominiums from guesthouses that don't comply with city zoning rules.

SB 11: Would have required so-called super political action committees to notify the Secretary of State's Office within three days of spending money on election-related expenses in New Mexico.

SB 12: Would have changed the New Mexico Voter Action Act to, among other things, expand the qualifying period for minor-party and independent candidates.

SB 39: Would have appropriated $100,000 to the Department of Game and Fish to post warning signs on lakes and rivers where mercury levels may pose a risk to children or pregnant women.

SB 233: Would have capped the interest rate on certain loans, among other things.

SJR 1: Proposed amending the New Mexico Constitution to allow District Court appellate jurisdiction over lower courts to be defined by statute. That would allow the Legislature to decide in the future that certain appeals from lower courts such as Probate and Magistrate not be heard by the District Court, but move directly to a higher, appellate court, according to legislative staff.


House Speaker Ben Luján, D-Nambé

2 of 4 bills passed

House Bill 97 passed: Would revise the State Procurement Code to establish a resident veteran preference of 5 percent. This would be in addition to the existing 5 percent resident business preference.

HB 116 passed: Would offer a gross-receipts tax deduction for electricity trading operations and an exemption of certain taxes related to the conversion and transmission of electricity. The bill was introduced as an enticement to keep the planned $1.5 billion Tres Amigos Super Station in eastern New Mexico. The developers have said the state's tax structure is forcing them to look at other states.

HB 8: Would have appropriated $10 million to the Economic Development Department for a program providing classroom and in-plant training to certain new or expanding industries and businesses in the state.

HB 9: Would have provided $1 million to mitigate economic or physical harm caused by the effects of the severe wildfires.

Luciano "Lucky" Varela, D-Santa Fe

2 of 5 bills passed

HB 315 passed: Would appropriate $1 million from the Tobacco Settlement Fund to The University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center for lung cancer research. It passed both chambers unanimously.

SB 52 (co-sponsored with Sen. George Muñoz, D-Gallup) passed: Would define precinct board members who work during elections as seasonal employees. This means that those who are retired do not lose any part of their pensions for working an election.

HB 7: This 202-page bill was an alternative to House Bill 2, the main budget bill. It did not get out of the House Appropriations & Finance Committee.

HB 224: Would have made permanent the state Tax & Revenue Department's share of money distributed to local government to make up for the repeal several years ago of the gross-receipts tax on food. The department has been receiving 3.25 percent of that money in the form of an annual appropriation. Varela's bill would have made it an annual distribution that wouldn't have to go through the annual legislative process.

SB 4: (co-sponsored with Sen. Tim Keller, D-Albuquerque): This bill was a response to the controversy surrounding the politically charged selection of the race track operator at the New Mexico State Fair last year. It would have restructured the management of the fair, would have required the agency to comply with procurement code, and would have banned campaign contributions from leaseholders whose leases are greater than $1 million.


Jim Trujillo, D-Santa Fe

2 of 10 measures passed

HB 191 (capital outlay bill), passed: Would authorize about $129.8 million from severance tax bond revenue and approximately $6.9 million from other state funds for various capital-outlay projects statewide. Would authorize spending $30 million from severance tax bond revenue in fiscal years 2013 and 2012.

HB 190 passed: Would reauthorize some capital outlay projects while reverting unexpended funds from various other projects and put that money into other projects.

HB 193: Would have authorized the issuance of general obligation bonds totaling $180.8 million, including $837,393 for the cost of issuance for the bond issues. While Trujillo's bill didn't move, a general obligation bond bill sponsored by Sen. Carlos Cisneros, D-Questa, did pass and awaits the governor's signature. That $134 million bill includes $1.3 million for projects at Santa Fe Indian School, plus funding for senior citizen facility improvements, library acquisition and construction, capital expenditures for higher education facilities, a special school.

HB 70: This bill, pushed by Louisiana Energy Services, which has a uranium enrichment facility in Southern New Mexico, sought a technical correction in the state tax code, which would change the name of a product exempt from state gross-receipts tax from "enriched uranium" to "uranium hexafluoride." While Trujillo's bill died in the Senate, a similar bill sponsored by Sen. Carol Leavell, R-Jal, did pass and awaits the governor's signature.

House Joint Resolutions 1 and 2: These two proposed constitutional amendments were aimed at making permanent the rate at which the state taps money for education from interest from a state permanent fund. That rate is scheduled to go down from 5.8 percent to 5.5 percent next year for four years, then down to 5 percent thereafter.

HB 21: Would have limited the amount of international equity investments made by the Land Grant Permanent Fund to no more than 25 percent of the fund. The bill relied on the passage of the two proposed constitutional amendments proposed by Trujillo.

HB 22: Would have given a temporary tax exemption for electric cars.

HB 52: Would have exempted daycare facilities from gross receipts tax.

HB 192: Would have allowed durable medical equipment and medical supplies to be tax deductible.

Rep. Brian Egolf, D-Santa Fe

0 of 16 bills measures passed

HB 114: Would have prohibited corporations, both foreign and domestic, from trying to influence state, county or local elections.

HB 142: Would have allowed a new deduction from the gross-receipts tax for receipts from the sale of tangible personal property or services by a small business.

HB 143: Would have required a court to award reasonable attorney fees and costs to a defendant who prevails in a claim of foreclosure on a mortgage note secured by the defendant's primary residence.

HB 177: Would have allowed the owner of an eligible energy-efficient home to qualify for a refundable tax credit of $4,000, $6,000 or $8,000 based upon the home's certification under the Home Energy Rating System.

HB 187: Would have required the disclosure of the composition of hydraulic fracturing fluids used in hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking," treatments.

HB 222: Would have amended the Motor Vehicle Code to make it a second-degree felony if a person is convicted of vehicular homicide for having an alcohol content on .016 or more in the person's blood or breath within three hours of driving the vehicle, according to legislative staff. Currently, the offense is a third-degree felony.

HB 226: Would have repealed laws requiring state employees to contribute more into the state's two retirement plans. The state of New Mexico required the larger contribution rates in previous fiscal years as part of a deal to balance the state budget.

HB 287: Would have given the Taxation and Revenue Department the discretion to enter into installment agreements with taxpayers for up to 10 years. Current statute allows agreements as long as five years.

HB 288: Would have amended state law to provide that automatic release or extinguishment of a lien to occur 10 years after the date of an assessment, rather than 10 years after the date the lien was filed.

HB 300: Would have prohibited an employee who leaves the Public Regulation Commission from appearing before the PRC for two years after employment.

HB 321: Would have appropriated $50,000 from the general fund to the Department of Health to review statutory standards for nurse-to-patient ratios.

HJR 13: Proposed amending the New Mexico Constitution to place the regulation of insurance companies and others engaged in risk assumption under an elected superintendent of insurance.

HJR 14: Proposed amending the New Mexico Constitution to provide for an appointed Public Regulation Commission that is subject to a retention election.

HJR 25: Proposed amending the New Mexico Constitution to prohibit political candidates from receiving or soliciting a campaign contribution from corporations.

SB 168 (co-sponsored by Sen. Phil Griego, D-San Jose): Would have removed the $50 million cap placed on the state's film incentives program that became law in 2011.

SJR 2 (co-sponsored by Sen. Tim Keller, D-Albuquerque): Proposed amending the New Mexico Constitution to establish the terms and qualifications of an appointed Public Regulation Commission.

Contact Steve Terrell at 986-3037 or sterrell@sfnewmexican.com. Contact Trip Jennings at 986-3050 or at tjennings@sfnewmexican.com.