The First Session of the 55th Legislature

Friday, February 26, 2021
WHAT'S HAPPENING
GOV. LUJAN GRISHAM SIGNS ABORTION BILL INTO LAW

Today Gov. Lujan Grisham signed SB-10, abortion legislation that repeals a 1969 New Mexico law that outlaws the procedure. That state law criminalizing abortion was not currently enforced because the U.S. Supreme Court passed Roe v. Wade in 1973, legalizing abortion nationwide.

"This is a sad day for New Mexico," said RPNM Chairman Steve Pearce. "When Gov. Lujan Grisham penned her name to Senate Bill 10, she signed a death warrant. She, along with dozens of New Mexico Democratic lawmakers, approved the order to end the lives of thousands of unborn children. The new law is an immoral, dangerous one--a law that allows late-term abortion and offers no protections for girls, women or health professionals. It permits the murder of the unborn, endangers the health and lives of women and eliminates any conscience provision to allow a doctor to opt out if he or she opposes the procedure on moral, ethical or religious grounds."

Republican Sen. Crystal Diamond of Elephant Butte also argued that the measure weakens standards of care for women and strips conscience protections for medical professionals.

“New Mexico women and children deserve better,” she said.

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SENATE PASSES LEGISLATION TO INCREASE PENSION CONTRIBUTIONS FOR TEACHERS

The Senate has passed legislation that boosts contributions to the state’s Educational Retirement Board. The vote was 36-6. SB-42 ([link removed]) bill would increase the taxpayer-funded employer contribution rate paid into the pension fund by 1 percent per year over the next four years — taking the rate from 14.15% to 18.15% by the 2025 budget year.

While we all must admire teachers and their noble profession, this is hardly the time to be sticking the taxpayer with an increased bill. At present, New Mexicans are paying for teacher pensions and the paychecks of educators who are not even in their classrooms, while tens of thousands of struggling taxpayers are wishing they could just go to work.

The cost of this legislation is also enormous. New Mexico’s pension unfunded liability totals $12 billion. Once fully implemented over four years, the legislation would cost the state $120 million a year. This money would not only be another drain on taxpayers but lawmakers would have to sacrifice other programs to fill this massive financial gap.

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HOUSE SPEAKER SEEKS ANTI-DISCRIMINATION RULES

Democratic House Speaker Brian Egolf is pushing for new provisions to legislative ethics rules that prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, religion, national origin, gender and sexual identity. He will ask a panel of leading lawmakers to incorporate elements of New Mexico’s Human Rights Act into rules that apply to the Legislature and its staff.

This is an obvious deflection to turn attention away from questions surrounding an ethics complaint against Egolf. Egolf is confronting a complaint before the State Ethics Commission about charges he failed to inform the public about his work on civil rights reforms that might benefit his law practice. This is a conflict of interest.
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CHECK OUT WHAT'S HAPPENING ON THE NEW MEXICO SENATE AND HOUSE REPUBLICANS FACEBOOK PAGES
To go to the NM Senate Republicans Facebook page, click here. ([link removed])

To go to the NM House Republicans Facebook page, click here. ([link removed])
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DURING THE LEGISLATIVE SESSION, YOU WILL RECEIVE REGULAR UPDATES ON KEY BILLS AND OTHER HAPPENINGS AT THE ROUNDHOUSE
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LISTEN TO CHAIRMAN PEARCE'S PODCAST
Be sure to catch Inside New Mexico with Steve Pearce each week on your favorite podcast platform. You can subscribe to listen and be notified when a new episode is available.
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