LEADERSHIP MATTERS: NEW STANDARDS FOR SCHOOL PRINCIPAL TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT
This morning, the House Education Committee gave a unanimous do-pass recommendation to House Bill 157 sponsored by Reps. Joy Garratt (D-Bernalillo), Brian Baca (R-Valencia) and Raymundo Lara (D-Doña Ana). The goal is to raise the standards for principal training and development through mentoring and other support. Terri Cole, president and CEO of the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce, provided the following testimony:
“I’m here today to support HB 157 because to improve education in New Mexico, it’s helpful to think about turning things around one school at a time, which, at its core, is a leadership challenge. There are no documented instances nationally of a school turning around its academic performance in the absence of a dynamic, effective leader at the helm. Stronger, better-prepared principals are essential to driving change.
“The final few pages of this bill significantly raise the standards for how we train principals in New Mexico, which we’ve been urging the Legislature to adopt for several years. Things like:
- Rigorous on-the-job training
- Aggressive recruitment of top teaching talent into school leadership training, and
- Improved tracking of graduates from principal prep programs
“We urge your support of this bill because better-prepared leaders in our schools will build stronger students. Thank you.”
As Baca pointed out, the goal is to achieve nationally recognized best practices because the principal must lead a culture of learning. With the right training and support, Baca noted, there will be a consistency of leadership across the district. Turnover among principals is very high due to a number of factors including lack of preparation for leadership and local support.
The Chamber has long advocated for exactly this kind of change. Through a grant from the Thornburg Foundation in 2022, the Chamber engaged Education Research and Development, a nationally recognized group of experts, to prepare a report on school leadership, and many of those recommendations are included in HB 157. The report leads off with this statement:
“I can tell you a good principal is worth their weight in gold. They make everything work. And when you have a principal that is not good, teachers leave.”
– Mimi Stewart, Senate President Pro Tempore
The report underscores the importance of principals (click here to access the entire report):
Principals play a critical role in school improvement and student success. Studies have shown that strong school leaders are second only to teachers as a strategy for improving student achievement. In fact, research finds that replacing a below-average principal with an above-average principal leads to 2.9 additional months of math learning gains for students per year and 2.7 additional months of reading learning gains for students per year – a greater impact than 66% of math interventions and 50% of reading interventions. Developing effective school leaders is also an effective strategy for addressing teacher shortages and retention.
We couldn’t be more pleased that HB 157 received a ringing endorsement and now heads to the House Government, Elections and Indian Affairs committee and, if approved there, will be sent to the House floor. We’ll keep you posted.
EMBEZZLEMENT BILL GETS A DO PASS
This evening, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted 8-1 to approve Senate Bill 155, Determination of Embezzlement Penalty, sponsored by Sen. Antonio “Moe” Maestas (D-Bernalillo). Chamber President and CEO Terri Cole provided testimony in strong support of the bill, saying it:
“Would allow aggregating embezzlement charges over a consecutive 12-month period so that serial embezzlers could be punished with higher-level felony sentences. In a sense, this bill is similar to legislation passed in 2023 that allowed aggregation of retail theft charges. And that new law is working.
“According to a Jan. 7, 2025, KOB news article, APD reports that it has charged over 100 repeat offenders under the aggregation provision. According to APD Commander of Investigative Services Jeffery Barnard, “Year-to-date starting in November, we were down in shoplifting for the year overall. While it takes more time and work to get people on the felony charge, it’s worth it.”
“Whether it’s stealing a physical item or embezzling funds from a government, business or private account, it’s theft. And, this can include diverting equipment for personal use that was intended for government or business use. Unfortunately, in New Mexico we’ve seen embezzlement in some pretty high places, including law enforcement officials. Often, just like with retail theft, there are repeat offenders, and they would be targeted by this bill, potentially raising their penalty from a petty misdemeanor to different degrees of a felony. This makes good sense. It’s working on the retail theft side, and we believe it will work with embezzlement. We ask for a ‘yes’ vote on SB 155. Thank you.”
Cole was joined in support by the deputy chief of the New Mexico Department of Public Safety and Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s Senior Public Safety Advisor Benjamin Baker. Baker told the committee that he had spent more than 20 years investigating such crimes, and that while embezzlement does not garner a lot of headlines, it has a huge impact on victims, especially when the theft is in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Maestas told committee members that the bill will provide clarity “for all police, DAs and judges throughout the state (where) these (crimes) are investigated.”
Committee Chair Sen. Joseph Cervantes (D- Doña Ana & Otero), Majority Floor Leader Sen. Peter Wirth (D-Santa Fe) and Senate President Pro Tempore Mimi Stewart (D-Bernalillo) briefly discussed if the bill should be sent on to the Senate Finance Committee or held and rolled into the omnibus public safety package. They determined they would look into the best option and revisit where HB 155 goes next when they reconvene on Friday.
And we’ll be there to let you know what they decide.
DRUGGED-DRIVING BILL MOVES FORWARD
This morning, the House Health and Human Services Committee voted an 8-2 do pass on House Bill 106, DWI Blood Testing, sponsored by Rep. Andrea Reeb (R-Chaves, Curry & Roosevelt).
Reeb amended the bill, heard earlier this week and voted down, and omitted the reference to cannabis, leaving the ability for a search warrant after a valid arrest for other substances that are controlled substances act, like methamphetamine, cocaine, opioids, fentanyl – all the harder drugs for which there is reliable testing.
J.D. Bullington testified in support of the bill on behalf of the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce, saying “it’s past time to establish rules regarding drugged driving.”
Bullington said alcohol and controlled substances can impair the safe operation of a vehicle and lead to injury or death, and all should be treated as such.
“The primary standard for any DWI conviction in New Mexico is when the defendant is proven “impaired to the slightest degree.” And impaired is impaired, by it by beer, hard liquor, prescription drugs or illegal narcotics. The Chamber respectfully asks you to vote yes on HB 106.”
Reeb explained her amendment, saying “I know there was concern about the cannabis testing and when somebody used cannabis or not. When we get better cannabis testing down the road, it could be something we could add in. And so those are the amendments, and I hope this bill satisfies the committee.”
Clearly it did. The bill is now headed to House Judiciary, where we’ll be to keep you up to date on its progress.
EVICTION RECORDS EXPUNGMENT PASSES
This morning the House Government, Elections and Indian Affairs Committee voted 6-3 to move House Bill 98, Expungement of Eviction Records, sponsored by Reps. Janelle Anyanonu (D-Bernalillo) and D. Wonda Johnson (D-McKinley & San Juan) on to the House Judiciary Committee. The Chamber was there to testify against this unfair bill.
D’Val Westphal, executive vice president of policy and programs for the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce, told the committee:
“I’m here to testify in strong opposition to House Bill 98.
“Landlords have a lot at stake when they rent a property. It’s their livelihood, and many have poured their life savings into a duplex, quadruplex, town home or apartment building.
“And they have a fundamental right and need to know who they are renting to. It’s often said that past actions are the best predictor of future behavior, and prior evictions can reveal everything from a pattern of nonpayment, to extensive property damage, to illegal and illicit behavior. Eviction is not an easy process or done on a whim – the landlord must establish legal grounds, serve notice to the tenant, wait for a response or compliance, file an eviction suit, attend a court hearing and prevail in the case.
“The landlord-tenant relationship should be one entered into with all the facts on the table. Erasing eviction records after just five years would essentially blindfold landlords to prospective tenants’ rental history. That is patently unfair to someone who is putting their property in another’s hands.
“We respectfully ask you to vote ‘no’ on HB 98. Thank you.”
The Chamber was joined in opposition by:
- The Apartment Association of New Mexico
- The New Mexico Association of Realtors
- The New Mexico Business Coalition
- An attorney representing landlords
All focused on the need for property managers and landlords to have complete information on potential renters’ histories, and the attorney pointed out a conflict with existing law that has judgments and liens on record for 14 years.
Supporters of the bill focused on rising rents and the struggle to find affordable housing, important issues but ones not germane to eviction records and the need for landlords to have full information when renting their properties.
We’ll be in HB 98’s next committee, House Judiciary, to let you know what happens.
PUBLIC BANK PROPOSAL ON HOLD – FOR NOW
The House Commerce and Economic Development Committee today considered a bill that would create a Public Bank run by the state of New Mexico. House Bill 130, Public Bank of NM Created, is sponsored by Rep. Patricia Roybal Caballero (D-Bernalillo).
The Chamber’s Immediate Past Chairman Bruce Stidworthy addressed the committee and joined the crowd that lined up to oppose this idea:
“HB 130 is a solution in search of a problem. New Mexico and New Mexicans are well-served by a vibrant banking infrastructure in the private sector.”
“A so-called ‘public bank’ would duplicate the efforts of the State Investment Council, the New Mexico Finance Authority, the New Mexico Small Business Investment Corporation and the Economic Development Department. Under the current system, the state’s investments have grown to be its No. 2 revenue source behind oil and gas. These agencies know what they’re doing, and they know how to leverage risk. A public bank would be a lender of last resort, putting state appropriations in peril.”
Stidworthy argued that the state faces numerous serious challenges, but having a robust banking system is not one of them.
After the litany of opposition, Roybal Caballero asked to “hold” her bill. She plans to rewrite portions of it in the hopes of securing enough votes to get her bill to the next committee.
TRADE PORTS TABLED FOR TAX PACKAGE
This morning, the House Taxation and Revenue Committee voted unanimously to temporarily table HB 19, sponsored by Rep. Patricia A. Lundstrom (D-McKinley). A temporary table means that HB 19 will be considered for inclusion in an omnibus tax package later in the session. The bill would create the new Trade Ports Development Act to promote economic development and enhance supply chain resiliency by enabling the creation of districts in the state with multimodal systems and facilities to efficiently manage cargo and its movement between locations.
J.D. Bullington testified for the Chamber in support, saying the bill is:
“A smart reinvestment of GRT and Motor Vehicle Excise Tax revenues into what drives those revenues: our supply chain.
“The global pandemic and economic downturn laid bare the vulnerabilities in our nation’s supply chains, and having New Mexico establish Trade Port districts sets our state up to be a real part of the solution. As sponsor Rep. Lundstrom has said, the goal is to make New Mexico more than just a bridge state.
“We have a built-in north-south corridor from I-25 to the Santa Teresa Borderplex poised to maximize existing and planned expansions of manufacturing plants in Mexico. We have existing east-west corridors of I-10 and I-40 that are already integral to getting goods to and from the West Coast and beyond. Communities from Bernalillo County, to Gallup and McKinley County, to Santa Teresa have recognized the need for, and opportunity in, developing inland ports. HB 19 will help these and other communities not only make them a reality, but get them on the road to reaching their full potential. We respectfully ask you to support HB 19.”
RURAL PRACTITIONER TAX CREDIT SET FOR OMNIBUS BILL
Also this morning, the House Taxation and Revenue Committee voted without objections to temporarily table House Bill 52, Expands Rural Health Care Practitioner Tax Credit, sponsored by Reps. Miguel Garcia (D-Bernalillo), Jenifer Jones (Doña Ana, Hidalgo & Luna), Anita Gonzales (D-San Miguel & Torrance), Joshua N. Hernandez (R-Sandoval) and Mark Duncan (R-San Juan).
The Chamber was there to testify in support, as it was in the bill’s first committee, House Health and Human Services. J.D. Bullington spoke for the Chamber:
“Last session the Legislature passed an omnibus tax bill that included a modest tax break to encourage health care professionals to practice in our rural areas. This session the sponsors are advocating to expand the health care practitioners who are eligible for the $3,000 credit.
“They are right to do so. We have a shortage of medical professionals at all levels across our state, and encouraging licensed practical nurses, emergency medical technicians, paramedics, speech-language pathologists, occupational therapists and chiropractic physicians to live and practice in New Mexico is a win-win.
“In the fiscal impact report on last session’s bill, the Taxation and Revenue Department weighed in and said the credit would encourage more health care professionals to practice in rural areas. That’s good for the nurses, EMTs, therapists and chiropractors who decide to make New Mexico their home, and it’s good for the folks who live and get treatment in their communities. We urge you to support HB 52.”
The Chamber was joined in its support by:
- The president of the New Mexico Chiropractic Association
- The legislative chair of the New Mexico Occupational Therapy Association, who is also an occupational therapist
- The executive director of Desert States Physical Therapy Network
- The New Mexico Speech-Language-Hearing Association
- The Gallup-McKinley County Chamber of Commerce
- The city of Gallup
- The New Mexico Pharmacy Business Council
- And Think New Mexico, which researched and published a list of recommendations to address the state’s health care crisis.
Garcia again made the case for the bill, pointing out the great need for providers in our state. He shared that while New Mexico is 63 percent rural, just 23 percent of the practitioners mentioned in the bill work in rural New Mexico – licensed practical nurses, emergency medical technicians, paramedics, speech-language pathologists, occupational therapists and chiropractic physicians.
And he introduced an amendment to the bill adding naturopathic and naprapathic doctors, which the committee passed. He explained after the first hearing it came to light that these providers are also much needed in rural New Mexico.
As you see from today’s coverage, many bills will be vying to get into that omnibus tax bill. We’ll let you know which ones ultimately make the cut.
VETERANS PROPERTY TAX BREAK ROLLED
Also this morning, the House and Taxation and Revenue Committee heard HB 47, Property Tax: Veteran Exemption Changes, sponsored by Rep. Art de la Cruz (D-Bernalillo) and Rep. Alan Martinez (R-Sandoval) and voted unanimously to roll it until Friday. Rep. de la Cruz says the bill seeks to give benefits to our veterans, our disabled veterans and of course, veterans’ widows. The Chamber was there is support.
House Bill 47 is a simple bill that effectuates the two veteran property tax exemption constitutional amendments that were approved by the electorate in the November 2024 general election.
De la Cruz said the first constitutional amendment increases from $4,000 to $10,000 the exemption that may be claimed by any veteran or veteran surviving spouse in future years.
The second constitutional amendment expands the disabled veteran property tax exemption to include a proportionate exemption reflecting a veteran’s partial disability. The current exemption only provides a 100% exemption for 100% disabled veterans.
J.D. Bullington testified for the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce in support of HB 47 by saying:
“New Mexico is home to 141,000 veterans who are proud of their service and defense of this country. The Greater Albuquerque Chamber is proud of them too, and it wants to make New Mexico more attractive for veterans to serve here and stay in our great state.
“House Bill 47 is a good investment in New Mexico’s economy. And for the many veterans who are business owners, consumers and contributors to our state success, we applaud the sponsors for bringing it forward. Thank you.”
We’ll be in the committee room Friday to let you know how HB 47 fares.
3 BILLS, A GOOD DAY FOR STEM AND TRADES
Today was a good day for STEM and trade bills in the Senate Education Committee. Committee members passed three different bills that each move along on their legislative journey. The Chamber was there to support all three.
First, Senate Bill 116 funds a pilot project for school math labs that Sen. Craig Brandt (R-Sandoval) has experience with in Rio Rancho. That school district already has four math labs, targeted at kids in kindergarten through sixth grade. Rio Rancho’s math labs were funded by a combination of state funds secured by the senator and local school funds.
Seeing the success first-hand, Brandt now wants to allocate $3 million to replicate the labs in other New Mexico schools. The labs complement regular math instruction and employ hands-on, experiential learning techniques. Think measuring, weighing bags and working with the numbers, and plotting points on a coordinate grid: basically, answering up front that old question, “How will I ever use this in my life?”
Enrique C. Knell testified in support of the bill, saying it “is another good and positive step toward making New Mexico more competitive. We support efforts to improve how we teach math, and to therefore improve outcomes for our students.”
Brandt says the labs in Rio Rancho have proven effective and have increased student engagement with mathematics. The logic all added up for committee members; SB 116 passed the committee unanimously and is headed to Senate Finance.
A 96% graduation rate?
Next up were a pair of Brandt bills that expand the Career Technical Education (CTE) programs. CTE prepares learners for the world of work by introducing them to workplace competencies and making academic content accessible to students through hands-on experiences in various industry sectors. The programs also help students get industry-approved licenses or certifications as they graduate from high school, preparing them to enter the workforce.
Knell again presented the Chamber’s support to Committee members:
“These programs have proven very effective in getting students through high school and into the workforce. It sets our New Mexico students up for success. For example, in 2023, the overall statewide graduation rate was 77%. That same year, of the 64,000 high schoolers who took part in a CTE program, 96% graduated.”
Both bills use funding mechanisms to reward schools that get more kids enrolled in CTE programs.
Senate Bill 64, Career Development Success Pilot Project, and SB 130, Add Career Technical Education Units to SEG, both passed the committee unanimously and are also headed to Senate Finance. We’ll be there in support of all three proposals and will let you know how the votes add up!
KEEPING GRT HOLIDAY FOR SMALL BUSINESS ADVANCES
The House Commerce and Economic Development Committee also took up a bill that extends Small Business Saturday and the GRT deduction that comes with it. The exemption expires in 2025, but House Bill 179 continues the deduction through 2030 so shoppers and small businesses can skip paying GRT on the Saturday immediately following Thanksgiving.
Enrique C. Knell was there in support for the Chamber, testifying:
“The tax holiday on gross receipts tax is an effective tool for supporting our local small businesses. Encouraging people to buy local helps keep money in our community, supports small businesses, and creates jobs.
“Strong local businesses mean a stronger tax base overall for New Mexico.
Out of $100 spent, $68 stays in our community if you shop local. It’s important for policy-makers to support our small businesses, both owners and employees, and help them be competitive and successful. Our overall goal for this session is to make New Mexico more competitive. The Small Business Saturday deduction helps us make local businesses more competitive during one of the busiest shopping weekends of the entire year.”
The exemption provides a nice little boost to small, locally owned companies, and we’re glad to see it extended. The bill carried by Rep. Doreen Gallegos (D-Doña Ana) passed unanimously and now heads to the House Taxation and Revenue Committee.
IN THE HOUSE
Yesterday, it was all green coats. Today, it’s all blue and gold. Both the House and the Senate honored the FFA program, which focuses on leadership and agriculture. FFA’s motto is “Learning to Do, Doing to Learn, Earning to Live, Living to Serve.” FFA is nearly a hundred years old and is instrumental in teaching young people life skills and developing confidence. A number of students and clubs from around the state were introduced and welcomed.
The House also recognized Lincoln County Day. Representatives of the county provided a brisket lunch for members of both chambers. Lincoln County brings a special aura of the wild west and colorful characters like “Buckshot Roberts, Big Jim and Billy the Kid.” Smokey Bear hails from Lincoln County, and because of the number of fans, received his own zip code. Ruidoso Downs is the home of the All American Futurity, the richest quarter horse race in the country. And, after the devastating fires, the resiliency of its people is evident in the determination to rebuild and restore.
AROUND THE ROUNDHOUSE
Senate Finance Gets Briefing on Early Childhood Education
This afternoon, the Senate Finance Committee received a briefing on early childhood education programs and results. The briefing was chock-full of slides, binders, graphs and reports. Here are some highlights of what we heard:
- Birth rates are declining from a high of 26,00 in 2010 to 21,000 currently. This is significant because services and programs have to be right-sized and not overbuilt.
- Spending on ECE has grown exponentially – 251% over the last 10 years, and that doesn’t include federal programs like Head Start.
- Pre-K programs are very successful, increasing substantially high school graduation rates.
- Home-visiting produces many positive outcomes, but the number of participants needs to be increased, as well as the number of participants completing the entire program.
- Child care eligibility is set at 400% of the federal poverty level, which includes a family of six making $172,000 per year, thus nearly all families can qualify given the median income in New Mexico is about $50,000. Having child care has increased family income and child wellness, but its impact on education is yet to be determined.
- The cost of child care programs is increasing due to more participants and the higher cost of providing service.
- Infant and toddler care is the hardest service to obtain because it is very demanding and less profitable for child care providers. It’s important to ensure infant and toddler care as these are the formative years of brain development and the most likely time children experience some form of abuse, often neglect.
In our view, these briefings are very valuable for decision-makers before they dive into all the funding requests they’ll be dealing with in the budget. It’s also good public education, and the LFC staff has some really smart people that evaluate the programs and make recommendations.
SIGNING OFF FROM SANTA FE
We are so pleased that the legislation boosting school principal training and support is moving ahead. This is a key factor in improving school and learning performance. We hope this one makes it all the way to the finish line. Likewise, to see the idea of increasing serial embezzlements gain traction is another good sign that some tougher crime-fighting legislation has a chance of moving forward. The days are growing longer and the committee dockets are becoming more crowded as more and more bills are introduced. Saturday hearings will be in vogue for the rest of the session. At least they showed some mercy and didn’t schedule any hearings for Super Bowl Sunday! The Senate convenes at 11 tomorrow and the House at 10:30. Stand by for more news and views coming your way. Until then, have a very good evening.
