Sen. Leo Jaramillo

Maddy summarySB 61 allocates $5 million from New Mexico's general fund to support rural library operations through fiscal years 2027 and 2028, with a maximum of $2.5 million spent each year. The funding is directed to the Cultural Affairs Department to help sustain library services in rural communities. Any unspent funds by the end of 2028 will return to the state general fund. This is a straightforward funding measure with no additional policy provisions or eligibility criteria specified.

Maddy summarySB 172 extends New Mexico's Technology Readiness Gross Receipts Tax Credit, allowing national laboratories operating in the state to claim tax credits for costs incurred while helping registered New Mexico businesses mature technologies developed at those labs. The credit covers qualified expenses like lab staff salaries, travel, and supplies, up to $150,000 per business annually and with annual limits per laboratory (starting at $2 million in 2026-2027 and rising to $5 million by 2029). To qualify, businesses must be registered in New Mexico and have licensed technology from the lab or participate in a cooperative research agreement with it. National laboratories must submit annual reports detailing program activities, business progress, and economic impact studies to the state tax department.

Maddy summaryThis bill increases the annual transfer of funds from the New Mexico Irrigation Works Construction Fund to the Acequia and Community Ditch Infrastructure Fund from $2.5 million to $5 million. It directly affects acequia (traditional community irrigation systems) and local ditch infrastructure projects by providing them with doubled annual funding. The key mechanism is an amendment to existing state statute governing fund allocations, while maintaining a separate $1 million annual transfer to the Forest Land Protection Revolving Fund. The change takes effect on July 1, 2026, and represents a concrete policy shift in water infrastructure funding priorities.

Maddy summarySB 43 changes New Mexico's parole process for inmates sentenced to life imprisonment. It requires the parole board to prioritize an inmate's risk level, participation in rehabilitation programs, and readiness to rejoin society when considering release, while also weighing offense details and victim impact. The bill sets a minimum five-year parole period for life sentences (unless reduced for public safety) and mandates a written parole plan and signed conditions of release before an inmate can be freed. Additionally, it updates compensation rules for parole board members and hearing scheduling procedures.

Maddy summarySenate Memorial 20 (SM 20) requests the New Mexico Department of Health to convene a statewide youth violence summit focused on developing a comprehensive strategy to address youth violence. The bill directs the department to form a planning group including health, education, justice, and community stakeholders to organize the summit, which will gather research, share best practices, and identify gaps in current prevention efforts. The summit aims to produce a final report with recommendations for scaling community-based violence intervention programs, improving data collection, and proposing potential future legislation. This non-binding memorial directly affects state agencies and community organizations working on youth violence, with the goal of creating a unified statewide approach to improve youth safety outcomes.

Maddy summarySenate Memorial 16 (SM 16) requests New Mexico's Higher Education Department to convene a task force to study data collection on parenting students in the state's colleges and universities. The task force, including student representatives, tribal college staff, and education experts, must develop a standard definition of "parenting student" (a student with primary caregiving responsibilities for a dependent child) and recommend consistent data collection methods across institutions. It will assess current practices and propose specific, actionable strategies - like gathering parenting status data each academic term - to better identify barriers these students face. The task force must submit its report with recommendations to the legislature by November 2026.

Maddy summarySB 351 allocates $13.5 million from the state general fund to the North Central New Mexico Economic Development District for a correctional reentry workforce program. The bill directly provides funding to create job training and employment support services for formerly incarcerated individuals in North Central New Mexico. Key provisions include requiring the program to operate during fiscal year 2026, with any unspent funds reverting to the state treasury by year-end. This legislation establishes a concrete funding mechanism to support reentry workforce development, focusing on practical job placement assistance for this specific population.

Maddy summaryThis bill (SJR 9) proposes amending New Mexico's constitution to create an independent commission that would redraw state legislative district boundaries after each federal census. The commission would consist of nine members: three each from the two largest political parties and three unaffiliated members reflecting New Mexico's demographics. It would be required to follow non-dilution rules for minority voting rights and explicitly cannot consider incumbents' addresses or party voting history when drawing districts. If approved by voters, this commission would replace the legislature in creating redistricting plans, aiming to reduce partisan influence in the process.

Maddy summarySB 215 clarifies when insurance policies must cover damage caused by a mix of covered and excluded risks. It requires policies to cover losses if the covered risk was the "efficient proximate cause" (the main cause) of the damage, but not if it was only a minor or remote factor. This directly affects homeowners and auto insurance policyholders in New Mexico by standardizing how insurers handle such claims. The bill amends Section 59A-18-17 of New Mexico's Insurance Code to implement this standard. The measure was referred to committees but was postponed indefinitely on June 3, 2025.

Maddy summarySB 498 proposes adding "lowrider" to New Mexico's list of official state symbols under Section 12-3-4 of state law, designating it as the state vehicle. The bill directly affects how New Mexico represents itself symbolically, joining existing symbols like the state flower (yucca) and state nickname ("The Land of Enchantment"). It does not create new regulations, funding, or impact residents' daily lives - it is purely a symbolic designation. The bill was referred to committees, received "DO PASS" recommendations, but was postponed indefinitely on June 3, 2025, meaning it did not become law.