Hi everyone:
This year’s thirty-day legislative session had some great accomplishments. Here are a few of the highlights:
- Expanding free college for most New Mexicans;
- Capping payday lending rates at 36%;
- Passing a comprehensive and balanced crime package;
- Increasing teacher salaries with starting pay now at $50,000;
- Dedicating a recurring revenue stream for affordable housing;
- Eliminating the tax on social security for most seniors, and
- Passing a transformative 8.4 billion-dollar budget.
There were some disappointments, the biggest being the failure of the Voting Rights Act which I sponsored. We had a real chance to send a message to the rest of the country that voter access continues to be a priority in New Mexico. Yet, a last-minute Republican filibuster on the Senate floor killed the bill. We will be back in the 2023 session to get this legislation across the finish line. Our democracy depends on it.
Here is a list of the “bricks and mortar” projects I funded with the 2.7 million dollars of capital outlay allocated to Senate District 25. [View capital outlay list]
The district also had a $600,000 allocation of “Junior” money. These are recurring and non-recurring programmatic dollars which were included in a $50 million dollar appropriation bill. While this Junior bill was vetoed, there is a good chance it will come back in a future session. Here are the funding priorities for Senate District 25 in the Junior bill. [View junior list]
This pandemic has presented incredible challenges for all of us. Working collaboratively with Governor Lujan Grisham, the state legislature stepped up again to provide New Mexicans essential services and support.
It is a great honor to serve as your state Senator. Thank you for giving me this opportunity.
Peter
