2022 legislative session: Tracking Gov. Lujan Grisham’s agenda

SANTA FE, N.M. – Wednesday is the last full day of the legislative session. The session will wrap at noon Thursday.

Lawmakers worked well past midnight Tuesday night and were up early Wednesday debating bills.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham set the agenda for lawmakers this year. As the session rounds out – KOB 4 took a closer look at how that agenda is fairing.

EDUCATION

Lujan Grisham wanted pay raises for teachers – that bill passed and is now on her desk. Teachers should expect about $10,000 more a year.

She also wanted to expand the opportunity scholarship program.

Along with the secretary of state, the governor wants a voting rights bill that allows felons to vote, 17-year-olds to vote and easier access to absentee ballots and ballot drop-off locations. That idea has been watered down, but it is still in progress. County clerks and Republicans are against the bill, so its future is a bit uncertain.

Lujan Grisham wants tax breaks and to cut social security income tax. The Legislature agreed to cut that tax for single filers making less than $100,000 or married filers making $150,000 jointly.

She also wants to cut gross receipts taxes by 0.25%. Both of those ideas are still in progress, and they are expected to pass.

PUBLIC SAFETY

Lujan Grisham wanted to change pretrial detention rules to allow for rebuttable presumption. The intent was to keep more dangerous suspects behind bars but that idea is dead.

There are a number of crime bills that got rolled into one mega-bill. The public safety package is watered down – but it is expected to pass.

Democratic senators reshaped the bill to include some increased sentences and new crimes, but it’s clear they want to address other parts of the justice system, too.