02/06/2023
As we enter the fourth week of the New Mexico legislative session, things are definitely in full gear!
Last week, bills that received their first hearing in committee included:
House Bill 184 (State Game Commission Changes) changes the appointment process and membership qualifications of the State Game Commission, the Governor-appointed body that creates regulations regarding wildlife management.
Senate Bill 72 (Create Wildlife Corridors Fund) creates a new fund managed by the NM Department of Transportation and appropriates $50 million for wildlife studies, construction, and management of safe road crossings for wildlife.
Senate Bill 18 (Rename Family Violence Protection Act) aims to overhaul the state law regarding domestic abuse protective orders. The bill includes key provisions to protect animals in domestic violence cases.
Senate Bill 134 (No Exotic Animals in Traveling Performances) seeks to prohibit traveling circuses that use exotic animals in their acts from coming to New Mexico.
Additionally, while we wait for Senate Bill 215 (Establish Crime of Be******ty) to be scheduled for a hearing in the Senate Health & Public Affairs Committee, here are some other priority bills that were introduced in the past week:
Senate Bill 271 (Equine Definition) is a bill that not only updates language in state law by defining “equine”—instead of “horses and asses”—but also codifies in state law a process where the abused and abandoned equines that end up either in the custody of the Livestock Board or law enforcement or seized after a cruelty conviction are first offered to the state’s registered equine rescues.
Senate Bill 291 (CYFD Domestic Violence Victims & Animals) appropriates $350,000 in funding for the next fiscal year to the Children, Youth & Families Department to support program work for domestic violence victims and their animals. This type of funding has for years helped fuel the CARE Program, which provides assistance for emergency veterinary care and temporary safe boarding of companion animals for people escaping domestic violence.
Senate Bill 301 (Free-Roaming Horses) amends current state law to strengthen protections and humane management processes for New Mexico’s free-roaming horses.
***Check out the Legislative Session Tracker to follow the progress of these and other bills. https://bit.ly/3Y7t7U0
Thank you for staying engaged, contacting your legislators, and doing everything you can to support animal protection in New Mexico!
P.S. The anti-bestiality bill, SB 215, recently got some local news coverage. Please share this with everyone you know and get them involved in supporting this bill! https://bit.ly/3x46DHn