Jan. 9—As state legislators from around New Mexico gear up to travel to Santa Fe for a 60-day session starting Jan. 21, they’re also beginning to file bills they’d like to see become law.
Business bills filed so far would affect public works industries, employee tips, ticket scalping and health care policies.
Here’s a preview of some of the business-related bills policymakers have so far introduced.
Workforce
Two bills are looking to change some rules for public works industries.
Introduced by Sen. Michael Padilla, D-Albuquerque, one bill would add off-site fabricators to the Public Works Minimum Wage Act and the other would require employers to financially contribute to training programs.
An off-site fabricator is someone who earns a wage to fabricate heating, cooling, ventilation or exhaust duct systems as part of a public works project, according to the prefiled legislation. The bill would ensure off-site fabricators working on state or political subdivision projects are paid minimum wage and get benefits set by the director of the labor relations division of the Department of Workforce Solutions.
The other bill would require all public works construction project employers to contribute to either approved apprentice and training programs in New Mexico or the state’s public works apprentice and training fund.
Currently, contracted projects for streets, highways, bridges, roads, utilities or maintenance don’t have to contribute.
Another piece of prefiled legislation, from Rep. Art de la Cruz, D-Albuquerque, has to do with minimum wages for employees who receive tips. It would require full tipping amounts paid by credit card to go to the employee, without deductions by the credit card company or employer.
Economy
New Mexico could join about half a dozen other states that have laws aiming to prevent ticket scalping.
Ticket scalping is selling, offering for sale or attempting to sell any ticket, privilege, license, admission or pass to events at a price greater than what’s charged at the place of admission or printed on the ticket, according to new legislation filed by Rep. Kathleen Cates, D-Corrales.
Her bill would prevent ticket scalping at any event presented by the state, a political subdivision of the state or a nonprofit formally recognized as tax-exempt. That would be in addition to college athletic events that already prohibit ticket scalping.
Anyone who commits ticket scalping would be guilty of a misdemeanor and face a fine of up to $500 or imprisonment of less than one year, or both, under the legislation.
The bill wouldn’t prohibit charging fees for services connected with the sale of a ticket or pass, if the fee is allowed under a contract between the ticket seller and the event sponsor or promoter.
Health care
Cates also has a two-sentence-long House bill that would appropriate $6.3 million from the general fund to the state’s health care authority to provide rate increases in fiscal year 2026 to service providers that receive reimbursement from certain Medicaid waiver programs.
If it garners support, it’s likely the bill in the session could be scrapped and instead included directly in the budget.
Voters could also have the opportunity in a future election to amend the state constitution to specify how public employees’ retiree health care funds are used and managed, if the Legislature passes a resolution introduced by Sen. Bobby Gonzales, D-Ranchos de Taos.
The resolution would only allow expenditures from a retiree health care trust fund for the benefit of its beneficiaries and for expenses of administering the public employees retiree health care system.
“The trust fund shall never be used, diverted, loaned, assigned, pledged, invested, encumbered or appropriated for any other purpose,” the prefiled legislation states.
The retiree health care trust fund itself would be comprised of funds, assets, proceeds, income, contributions, gifts and payments from any source paid into or held by a public employees’ retiree health care system.
What policies or laws do you want to see written about in Business Outlook? Send an email to mgleason@abqjournal.com.