Terri Cole, president and CEO of the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce, and Adam Silverman, president of NAIOP New Mexico, were in the Sunday Albuquerque Journal and on the latest Business Outlook podcast episode to talk about progress at the Roundhouse. Click here to listen.
On Cole’s mind was the crime package, House Bill 8, that was moving through the Roundhouse. It’s a six-bill package and a priority after last summer’s very short special session on crime delivered no legislation.
Cole said the criminal competency bill, an effort to allow for the involuntary commitment of certain civil and criminal defendants, and increasing penalties for fentanyl trafficking are good measures in the package, but she wants to see more — a sentiment echoed by Republicans and the Governor’s Office.
“There’s a lot that we can still do. We have about seven bills that we’re going to be pressing hard on,” Cole told the Journal, referring to measures like more aggressive penalties for juvenile offenders or felons who illegally possess firearms.
To read the full story, click here.
On Feb. 19, Cole was also featured in a KOB-TV story on the Paid Family and Medical Leave Act — which Rep. Christine Chandler (D- Los Alamos, Sandoval & Santa Fe) recently renamed the Welcome Child and Family Wellness Leave Act.
The family wellness portion is functionally the same as the original paid family medical leave proposal. All New Mexico workers would be able to take up to six weeks of paid time off to deal with medical issues, bereavement, military leave and a few other circumstances. There would still be mandatory contributions to a new state fund; workers would contribute $2 for every thousand dollars in wages, and employers with five or more workers would pay a $1.50.
Cole said, “this bill still imposes a tax increase on employers and on every worker in the state.”
To read the full story, click here.