Following three hours of intense debate today, the House of Representatives defeated legislation (Senate Bill 3) that would have imposed a new tax on employers and employees to create and finance a broad and burdensome family and medical leave mandate in New Mexico. The legislation failed by a vote 34-36, with 11 Democrats joining Republicans to prevent it from going to the governor.
For each of the past three years, the Chamber has remained steadfastly opposed to this legislation, citing its imposition of a likely escalating tax, its fiscal unsustainability, the ease with which the law could be abused, inadequate protections for employers, the unrealistically large amount of leave (12 weeks!) that would be provided every year for a wide range of purposes involving even non-relatives of employees, and the incredible disruption the legislation would create in workplaces across the state – especially for small businesses. The Chamber wants to recognize Reps. Marian Matthews and Cynthia Borrego – both who have a history of running and working with small businesses – for being the two Albuquerque-area Democrats to oppose the legislation.
Early in the session, the Chamber proposed a scaled-back, responsible alternative, which would have focused on the provision of maternity leave to ensure mothers had time to bond and care for their children after a birth or adoption and to keep working mothers in the workforce. Other reasonable proposals have also been offered along the way, but unfortunately, at no time have proponents of SB 3 been willing to make meaningful changes to the legislation to genuinely and substantively address business concerns.
Here is a list of those who voted today to defeat this legislation:
- Democratic Representatives: Arthur Allison, Cynthia Borrego, Ambrose Castellano, Harry Garcia, Tara Jaramillo, Wonda Johnson, Raymundo Lara, Patty Lundstrom, Willie Madrid, Marian Matthews and Joseph Sanchez.
- Republican Representatives: Gail Armstrong, Brian Baca, John Block, Cathrynn Brown, Jack Chatfield, Mark Duncan, Candy Ezzell, Jason Harper, Jared Hembree, Joshua Hernandez, Jenifer Jones, Ryan Lane, Stefani Lord, Alan Martinez, Jimmy Mason, Tanya Mirabal Moya, Rod Montoya, Randall Pettigrew, Andrea Reeb, Bill Rehm, Larry Scott, Luis Terrazas, James Townsend, Harlan Vincent and Martin Zamora.