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Headlines: House Panel Eyes E-Cigarette Sales To Minors, Pipeline Application Withdrawn...

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New Mexico House Panel Eyes E-Cigarette Sales Ban To MinorsThe Associated Press

A New Mexico House panel is set to debate a bill that would outlaw e-cigarette sales to minors.

The House Health Committee is scheduled Thursday to take up a proposal that would add electronic cigarettes to the state's Tobacco Products Act.

Rep. Monica Youngblood, an Albuquerque Republican, is sponsoring the bill.

Battery-powered e-cigarettes heat a liquid solution, usually containing nicotine, to create vapor that users inhale.

Supporters contend the proposed ban is needed because e-cigarettes are growing in popularity and children may consider them a safer alternative to tobacco. Although the nicotine used in the devices is addictive, health officials have said the risks of inhaling nicotine remain unclear.

New Mexico Health Exchange Denied $100M For Website ChangesThe Associated Press & The Albuquerque Journal

New Mexico health exchange leaders are worried on how to pay for the technological changes after the denial of around $100 million in federal grant funding.

The Albuquerque Journal reports that the federal Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services recently denied the state federal money to retool New Mexico's health exchange eligibility and enrollment system.

CMS spokesman Bob Moos said a committee awarded money based on scores given to grant applicants, and determined that New Mexico and Rhode Island were not "worthy of funds."

The exchange pays nothing now to access Healthcare.gov.

Health exchange CEO Amy Dowd says a state-run exchange would mean more flexibility to customize services for individuals. The board is now considering whether to tap $48 million remaining from previously received federal grant funds, or to continue to be a hybrid system.

Los Alamos National Lab Creates Website For Measles Fight - The Associated Press & KOAT

The Los Alamos National Laboratory has developed a website designed to help public health officials in their fight against measles and other infectious diseases.

KOAT-TV reports lab scientists recently compiled information into what's called the Biosurveillance Gateway.

Gateway project director Alina Deshpande says the website will offer "credible information" and will be the most comprehensive place online for the latest research.

California health officials say a measles outbreak originating at Disneyland has grown to 99 cases in the state.

The California Department of Public Health says two-thirds were infected when they visited Disney theme parks last month or had contact with a sick person who went there.

While the U.S. has not seen homegrown measles in years, outbreaks still occur when people travel overseas and bring the virus back.

Congresswoman Eyes Special Prosecutor In Police ShootingsThe Associated Press  

A New Mexico congresswoman is pushing legislation that would urge governors to appoint special prosecutors to investigate police shootings.

The office for Democratic U.S. Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced Wednesday she would push for the new measure amid high-profile police shootings in Albuquerque, Denver, and Ferguson, Missouri.

Under the proposal, special prosecutors would present the findings to a judge during a probable cause hearing.

Grisham says there's public suspicion that police officers currently receive preferential consideration during investigations by prosecutors and grand juries into police shootings.

Albuquerque police and the U.S. Justice Department recently signed an agreement to overhaul the city's troubled police department following more than 40 police shootings since 2010.

New Mexico House Approves Bills Protecting Children - The Associated Press

A pair of bills bolstering protections for New Mexico's children has passed the House of Representatives.

One closes a loophole in existing law and makes it a crime to send naked pictures of people to anyone under 16. The other makes it mandatory for parents or guardians to receive court-ordered family services when there is strong evidence of child neglect or abuse, even when the victim is not taken into state custody.

Currently, offenders who sent pictures of their own genitalia to a child faced a fourth-degree felony, but not if they sent obscene picture of someone else. Doing the latter now would also be a felony sexual offense.

The bills sponsored by Belen Republican Kelly Fajardo and approved Wednesday now move to the Senate for consideration.

Survey: New Mexico Crop Production Mixed Bag In 2014 - The Associated Press & The Portales News-Tribune

A new report shows that New Mexico production numbers for agricultural crops last year were mixed.

The Portales News-Tribune reports that the USDA's annual crop summary last month showed that sorghum, cotton and hay production numbers for New Mexico rose last year while winter wheat production was down by 33 percent.

The summary says peanut production also fell by 29 percent.

New Mexico county extension agents said the reason for the production numbers of both crops being down is simple: Drought.

Dunlap and Roosevelt County Extension Agent Patrick Kircher says the closing of Sunland Peanuts in 2013 also could have had an impact on production numbers.

The Roosevelt County peanut processor went bankrupt in 2013 after a national salmonella outbreak in 2012 traced back to the plant. The plant's doors have remained closed since.

Bill Seeks Payment From Insurance Companies For Vaccines - The Associated Press

Health insurance companies would have to help pay for purchasing vaccines for privately insured children under legislation proposed by a bipartisan group of New Mexico lawmakers.

New Mexico is among a handful of states that operate universal vaccine purchasing programs aimed at boosting immunization rates. But here, paying into the program is voluntary.

Lawmakers say that needs to change to ensure the state has enough funding to cover the vaccinations needs of all New Mexico children.

The director of the New Mexico Immunization Coalition, Anna Pentler, says the state has made strides in the last decade to pull itself from the bottom of national immunization rankings. Now, New Mexico is close to the national average.

Pentler says the legislation would prevent a shortfall in funding for the vaccine program.

Congresswoman Wants Special Prosecutor For Police Shootings - The Associated Press and Albuquerque Journal

A New Mexico congresswoman says the working relationship between police and local prosecutors warrants appointment of special prosecutors to review police shootings.

Democratic U.S. Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham says there's public suspicion that police officers currently receive preferential consideration during investigations by prosecutors and grant juries into police shootings.

The Albuquerque Journal reports that Lujan Grisham is co-sponsoring legislation to urge governors across the United States to appoint special prosecutors to investigate police shootings. The special prosecutors present the findings to a judge during a probable cause hearing.

Lujan Grisham cites high-profile cases across the country and the large number of shootings by Albuquerque police officers.

Energy Company Pulls Pipeline Application - The Associated Press

A major energy infrastructure company is at least temporarily shelving plans to build a new pipeline between eastern Arizona and central New Mexico.

The federal Bureau of Land Management said Wednesday that Houston-based Kinder Morgan Inc. has withdrawn its application for a right of way for construction of a new carbon dioxide pipeline between Arizona's Apache County and an existing pipeline in New Mexico's Torrance County.

Kinder Morgan delivers carbon dioxide for use in projects to recover oil from mature oil fields.

Kinder Morgan said in late January it was re-evaluating the timing of its planned spending of approximately $1 billion on the project. The company cited the decline in oil prices.