New Mexico Votes

Amends New Mexico law to expand eligibility for law-enforcement-officer appointments to noncitizens. The bill allows illegal aliens to serve as law-enforcement officers in New Mexico.

Designates the fourth Tuesday of January of each odd-numbered year as "Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Expansive Day" in New Mexico.

Enacts the Geologic Carbon Dioxide Storage Stewardship Act, which authorizes the transfer of carbon-capture sequestration facilities, and long-term storage responsibilities to the state, and creates a long-term storage fund.

Amends the Affordable Housing Act to establish a program providing grants to cover unpaid rent and damages to rented residential properties, land, buildings, or infrastructure to support affordable housing.

Amends the Extreme Risk Firearm Protection Order Act to allow law-enforcement officers to file petitions for firearm protection orders, requiring respondents to surrender all firearms immediately.

Enacts a new section of the Public Assistance Act requiring the New Mexico Health Care Authority to develop annual state outreach plans, and seek maximum matching funds from the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

Proposed creating a state-run Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) program, offering up to 12 weeks of paid leave for workers.

Creates a Medicaid-funded program to direct $1.3 billion toward financially struggling hospitals, prioritizing rural facilities while imposing federal quality and spending requirements.

Increases the annual transfer to the Early Childhood Education and Care Program Fund from $150 million to $250 million.

Establishes a Clean Transportation Fuel Standard to reduce the "carbon intensity" of transportation fuels used in the state.

Establishes a mandatory seven-day waiting period for all firearm purchases.

Enacts the state's General Appropriation Act for fiscal year 2025, allocating funding across multiple sectors.

Expands "free" meals to all public, charter, and private school students attending schools that participate in the national school breakfast and lunch programs.

Allows illegal aliens under 21 years of age to apply for "Special Immigrant Juvenile (SIJ)" classification in children's court and seek "lawful permanent residence" in the U.S. if it is in their "best interests" due to "abuse, neglect, abandonment, or similar circumstances."

Makes it a crime for a person to purchase or transfer any firearm "for, on behalf of or at the request or demand of" another person who is a "felon" or "intends to use, carry, possess, sell, or otherwise transfer" a firearm "in furtherance of a felony or misdemeanor."

Requires a study of the "Medicaid Forward" plan, which would open Medicaid coverage to every resident, regardless of income.

Provides that state or local entities "shall not deny, restrict, or interfere" with a person's ability to access "reproductive health care," such as "abortion," or "gender-affirming health care."

Commemorates the "founding of equality" in New Mexico for "lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer individuals," the validation of "same-sex marriages," and the "defeat" of "anti-transgender bills."

Increases the minimum starting pay of the state's public school teachers by $10,000.

Offers tax incentives to fuel producers to encourage lower-carbon fuel production and requires fuel producers to meet certain requirements and emission caps intended to reduce air pollution from the transportation sector.

Makes college tuition-free for most New Mexicans and establishes the most wide-reaching tuition-free scholarship program in the United States.

Appropriates funds to the drinking water state revolving loan fund, the wastewater facility construction loan fund, and the cultural affairs facilities infrastructure fund.

Increases the affordability of energy utilities to low-income communities by creating a program to increase energy efficiency in low-income homes.

Makes recurring general fund appropriations for fiscal year 2023 of $8.48 billion, up 13.9 percent from 2022.