Pub. 17 2020 Issue 2

Issue 2 • 2020 7 O V E R A C E N T U R Y : B U I L D I N G B E T T E R B A N K S — H E L P I N G N E W M E X I C O R E A L I Z E D R E A M S It’s money in the bank. Y ou want your customers to grow and prosper. After all, their success adds to your bottom line. We can help them achieve their financial goals, because more money in their pockets means more money in your bank. CPAs Albuquerque: 505 843 6492 atkinsoncpa.com Henry South, CPA, CVA SB 4: Elections: The legislation revises the New Mexico Election Code, which includes provisions relating to con- ducting the general election on November 3rd, 2020, under a COVID-19 pandemic. The bill also allows independent voters to cast a ballot in primary elections by registering as a Republican, Democrat or Libertarian as late as the day of primary election. SB 5: Capital Projects-Solvency Measures: The legislation was utilized by the Legislature to provide additional funding to be used to offset the state’s budget deficit. The bill increases non-recurring revenues by $124.2 mil- lion, recurring savings of $16.7 million and authorizes $195 million in additional bonding capacity for capital projects. The non-recurring general fund savings are made up of $10.9 million in capital outlay project voids, a $2.4 million sweep of funds from the border authority, a reduction of $75 million from transportation projects authorized in 2019, and various other fund sweeps totaling $33.6 million. The bill includes authorization to increase severance tax bonding by $140 million to pay for statewide capital outlay projects and severance tax bond earmarks for water, and tribal projects already authorized, provides up to $55 million for additional public school capital outlay, and provides au- thority for the New Mexico Department of Transportation to issue $75 million in bonds. SB 8: Law Enforcement: The legislation provides that a law enforcement agency must require peace officers the agency employs and who routinely interact with the public to wear a body-worn camera while on duty. Each law enforce- ment agency must adopt policies and procedures governing the use of body-worn cameras, including: • Requiring activation of a body-worn camera when- ever a peace officer is responding to a call for service or at the initiation of any other law enforcement or investigative encounter between a peace officer and a member of the public; and • Prohibiting deactivation of a body-worn camera until the conclusion of a law enforcement or investi- gative encounter; Bills Introduced but NOT Approved HB 8: Rent Control: The legislation would have allowed political subdivisions and home rule municipalities to enact rent control for privately owned real property. HB 13: Evictions: The legislation would have provided that for the duration of the public health emergency declared by the governor and for 12 months after the elimination of the order, a landlord may not evict a residential tenant for failure to pay rent. HB 16: COVID-19 Tort Immunity: The legislation would have provided that a person who operated a business, facility or activity that is open to the public would not be liable for a breach of duty of care when damages or injury are alleged to result from exposure or potential exposure to coronavirus if the person complies with federal and state laws that provide requirements for mitigation of the spread of coronavirus. Election Matters Five of the most powerful Democrat state Senators were defeated in the June 2nd primary. Those losing their races include: • Senator John Arthur Smith, Chairman, Senate Finance Committee • Senator Mary Kay Papen, President Pro Tem • Senator Gabriel Ramos, Chairman, Senate Indian and Cultural Affairs Committee • Senator Richard Martinez, former Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee • Senator Clemente Sanchez, Chairman, Senate Corpora- tions Committee Other legislators not returning in 2021 to the Legislature include Senator Bill Payne (R-Albuquerque), Senate Minority Whip; Senator John Sapien (D-Corrales); Senator James White (R-Albuquerque); Senator Greg Fulfer (R-Jal); Representative Jim Trujillo, Chairman, House Tax Committee (D-Santa Fe); Paul Bandy (R-Aztec); Representative Abbas Akkil (D-Albu- querque); Representative Joseph Sanchez (D-Alcalde); and Representative Tomas Salazar (D-Las Vegas). There will be a number of close legislative races in the No- vember 3rd General Election-both in the Senate and House. As the Democrats hold a sizeable majority in the House-46 to 24 and in the Senate-26 to 16, it appears unlikely that there will be a shift in legislative leadership in 2020. n