Feb. 3 Legislative Tidbits

Days remaining in session: 46

Police on trains

A measure introduced by Sen. Linda Lopez, D-Albuquerque, would allow regional transit districts to employ law-enforcement officers. The bill (SB245) would also allow the districts to contract with agencies for protection and other security needs.

The bill could mean officers would ride the Rail Runner Express commuter trains between Albuquerque and Santa Fe.

Parking garage progress

Not many bills have been passed by lawmakers so far this session. But there’s progress of another kind being made just across the street on a $13 million new parking garage. The ground work has been done and concrete walls have risen for the garage, which when complete later this year will provide between 550 and 580 spaces.

The garage site is directly west of the Capitol.

Opening conference committees

Rep. Joe Cervantes, D-Las Cruces, proposes allowing the public and news media into one of the last closed-door meetings held at the Roundhouse, known as conference committees. The bill is a repeater, and has been introduced for more than ten years. Whether there is support for the idea this year remains to be seen, but proponents are hopeful.

The meetings take place when the House and Senate pass similar versions of the same legislation and must work to hammer out the differences.

The measure is HB393.

Live from the Roundhouse

The New Mexico Legislative Reports now has a site where you can listen to live audio of the House and Senate floor session. The private business, an online legislative news operation in Santa Fe that has provided audio webcasts for its paid subscribers for the last five years,