Mega Tax-Reform Package Heads to House

Mega-tax reform package heads to House

The House Taxation and Revenue Committee yesterday passed House Bill 547, an omnibus tax reform package, on a 9-5 vote that sends it next to the House floor for consideration. The package includes: increases to the Child Income Tax Credit; restructuring of Personal Income Tax rates; reduction of the Capital Gains Tax break; and “flattening” of the Corporate Income Tax to 5.9%. In addition, the package includes refundable tax credits for New Mexicans who purchase electric vehicles, with larger credits for families with lower incomes, and tax credits for energy storage systems. “This tax package is a responsible way we can use our capacity now to effect generational change,” state Rep. Derrick Lente, D-Sandia Pueblo, chairman of the House Taxation and Revenue Committee and the bill’s lead sponsor, said in a statement. “Like our state budget, our tax policy should reflect our New Mexican values. HB 547 puts money into the pockets of working parents, retirees, and veterans, while bolstering small businesses and supporting climate goals.” The bill also includes $300 rebates—$600 to married couples who file their taxes jointly—which is less than half of the $750/$1,500 rebates Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham proposed in advance of the session. The Albuquerque Journal reports lawmakers reduced the size of the rebates during negotiations, with Lente saying the governor’s proposal “would have completely extinguished our ability to do anything tax-wise for the state.” The governor’s office, however, says the current plan is insufficient. “The governor has made it clear to leadership that hard-working New Mexico families deserve more than $300,” Maddy Hayden, the governor’s director of communication, tells the Journal. “She will continue to fight to get more dollars in the pockets of New Mexicans, and fully expects the Legislature to boost that number up to at least $500 for single filers.”

DA defends Rust prosecutor

First Judicial District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies yesterday fought off efforts to remove prosecutor Andrea Reeb from the Rust prosecution. Carmack-Altwies appointed Reeb, a Republican legislator from Clovis, last August as a special prosecutor on the case. The DA’s office has charged Rust actor/producer Alec Baldwin and armorer Hannah Gutierrez with involuntary manslaughter, and has a pending plea deal for negligent use of a firearm with Assistant Director Dave Halls for the Oct. 21, 2021 shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. On Feb. 7 of this year, Baldwin’s lawyers filed a motion requesting Reeb be disqualified and removed from the case, saying the state constitution bars her from the role because she is an elected official. In a new court filing yesterday, Carmack-Altwies described that argument as “novel theory that has no support in new Mexico statutes or case law.” Moreover, any attempt by Reeb in her role as legislator to influence the case’s outcome would be “completely ineffective,” she writes.

Health care professionals lobby for action on climate bill

Increases in smoke-related hospitalizations and deaths. More childhood asthma. Upticks in pest-related diseases like West Nile Virus. These are just a few of the many public health threats posed by climate change. Now, a consortium of New Mexico doctors and other health care professionals have joined together as the New Mexico Health Professionals for Climate Action to urge the Legislature to pass and the governor to sign a bill that would create a dedicated Public Health and Climate Resiliency Program through the state health department. In a March 5 letter to the governor, the organization notes “the adverse effects of climate change on individual and population health are already being felt” in New Mexico. “These deleterious impacts on our quality of life will likely increase significantly in the coming years, posing serious challenges to the health and well-being of communities across the state.” House Bill 42 and Senate Bill 5 both create the new program at DOH and appropriate $1.1 million from the general fund to DOH to establish the program and an additional $5 million to create a public health and climate resiliency fund, which would be disbursed during the years 2024 to 2028 to help communities respond to climate-change public health emergencies. According to a fact-sheet from New Mexico Voices for Children, which also supports the bill along with numerous other organizations, New Mexico now has an average of 50 more days of extreme wildfire risk conditions than in 1970; had an 18% increase in respiratory emergency room visits during the wildfire season; and saw visits for heat-related illness more than double between 2009 and 2019. Death rates from heat and cold also have risen. In a presentation for an earlier hearing on the bill, advocates noted that “New Mexico is particularly vulnerable to climate change due to the large number of people living in poverty, with mental illness, and chronic diseases. This high rate of vulnerability combined with worsening climate impacts threatens the health, wellbeing, and economic future of New Mexico.” Any New Mexican who works in health (including students, retirees, trainees) is welcome to join the new advocacy group by signing up here.

La Fonda enters short-term rental market

The Santa Fe New Mexican reports the 100-year-old La Fonda Hotel is now in the short-term rental business. Santuario by La Fonda offers a variety of so-called “luxury” rentals—26 downtown properties owned by AdobeStar Properties—whose owners recently approached La Fonda about taking over management, the New Mexican reports. Doing so fit in with La Fonda’s quest for expansion; last year, it purchased Old Santa Fe Inn at Montezuma Avenue and Galisteo Street/Cerrillos Road to accommodate larger groups at a lower price point than La Fonda. Hotels with vacation rentals are “the wave of the future,” La Fonda Vice President and General Manager Rik Blyth told the paper. As for the Old Santa Fe Inn, its purchase also included the former Albuquerque Journal North offices, which La Fonda is converting into four rooms with kitchenettes.

COVID-19 by the numbers

Reported March 6: New cases: 412 (includes the weekend); 670,301 total cases. Deaths: six; Santa Fe County has had 399 total deaths; 9,054 total fatalities statewide. Statewide hospitalizations: 83. Patients on ventilators: seven

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s most recent Feb. 23 “community levels” map shows one county, McKinley, has turned yellow, indicating medium levels; the rest of the state has green—low levels. Corresponding recommendations for each level can be found here.

Resources: Receive four free at-home COVID-19 tests per household via COVIDTests.gov; Check availability for additional free COVID-19 tests through Project ACT; CDC interactive booster eligibility tool; NM DOH vaccine & booster registration; CDC isolation and exposure interactive tool; COVID-19 treatment info; NMDOH immunocompromised tool kit. People seeking treatment who do not have a medical provider can call NMDOH’s COVID-19 hotline at 1-855-600-3453. DOH encourages residents to download the NM Notify app and to report positive COVID-19 home tests on the app.

You can read all of SFR’s COVID-19 coverage here.

Listen up

On the most recent episode of New Mexico in Focus, host Gene Grant and The Line opinion panel discuss the recent criticism surrounding Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s nominee for Secretary of Indian Affairs, James Mountain, and the opprobrium levied at Secretary of Cultural Affairs Debra Garcia y Griego. The panel also talks about state initiatives to improve literacy and expand Medicaid. Guests include: political psychologist and author Martha Burk; Edmund Perea, lawyer and public safety analyst; and Garrity Group Public Relations President Tom Garrity. In additional segments, correspondent Gwyneth Doland interviews health professionals about bills seeking to improve health care in New Mexico; and correspondent Laura Paskus talks with Upper Colorado River Compact Commissioner Estevan López about the Colorado River crisis.

Winning words

The Western Writers of America announced the winners of its annual Spur Awards over the weekend, with several New Mexico titles/authors receiving recognition. Las Cruces native Melody Groves won the biography award for Before Billy the Kid: The Boy Behind the Legendary Outlaw (Two Dots Press), which “explores the early life of the infamous outlaw, the teenage boy who loved to sing and dance.” A Place of Thin Veil: Life and Death in Gallup, New Mexico by Bob Rosebrough won for best contemporary non-fiction. Published by Rio Nuevo Publishers, the book is described as “both a memoir and history about real people facing Goliath struggles.” Rosebrough moved to Gallup in the late 1970s and “embraced the realities of this enigmatic town,” as an “outsider.” He eventually became Gallup’s mayor in 2003 and provides readers “a rare and true insight into Gallup, its iconic stories and its long-kept secrets.” Former Texas poet laureate Larry D. Thomas won in the poetry category for “New Mexico Bootheel: A Triptych,” which originally appeared in San Pedro River Review.

ISO artistic excellence

Nominations are now open for the 2023 Governor’s Awards for Excellence in the Arts, with categories for both individual artists and groups; as well as those who have made contributions to the arts. Originally established by former Gov. Bruce King and First Lady Alice King, the governor and New Mexico Arts Commission review all nominees, with awardees honored at an October ceremony. “The Governor’s Awards for Excellence in the Arts have been a vehicle for public recognition of the significant achievements of New Mexican artists, arts organizations, and arts supporters since 1974,” New Mexico Arts Executive Director Michelle Laflamme-Childs said in a statement provided to SFR. “The awards are not only deeply meaningful for the honorees as the highest honor in the arts that can be conferred by the state, but are also a New Mexican point of pride in the incredible creative talent, innovation, leadership, and accomplishment of our own.” Each nominee requires a letter describing their extraordinary achievement in the arts and why they deserve a governor’s award, with a summary of both the contributions made and the medium in which the nominee has worked. One to five online links with relevant artistic samples should be included; the deadline to submit is by 4 pm, Friday, May 5. Nominations may come from individuals, organizations, or businesses in New Mexico. Galleries may not nominate artists they represent, and self-nominations will not be accepted. More info and nomination form available here. View a complete list of past recipients here.

Head in the clouds

The National Weather Service forecasts a cloudy day with a high temperature near 56 degrees and southwest wind 10 to 15 mph. Looks like a dry week ahead with our next (slight) chance for precipitation not occurring until Sunday. But, speaking of precipitation, March heralds the “friendly” recruiting contest for the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network (CoCoRahHS), a volunteer network of folks who report precipitation from their backyards. Learn more and sign up here.

Thanks for reading! The Word doesn’t want to experience upbeat music and flashing lights as part of the airplane boarding experience (she kind of wants to watch other people experience it, though).