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2022 Legislative Session

  • Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham has been selling a plan for the last several months to make New Mexico into a hydrogen energy hub. Her idea is that we can transform our economy, based primarily on natural resource extraction, into one that is more renewable – but there is some controversy. On this #YNMG we’ll get into some details of how to make energy from hydrogen and why it may not be environmentally friendly. We’ll also talk about some of the hydrogen bills that have been in front of the legislature this year, whether the legislation is in fact dead for now, and where it might go from here. Then, we’ll touch on some of the other energy and environmental bills that have been introduced this session.
  • The question of whether to have an independent commission, rather than lawmakers, redraw the state’s legislative maps has advanced out of its first committee.
  • Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham has made it clear that paving a path to a hydrogen hub in New Mexico is a priority for this legislative session.But, with just under 10 days left, it’s looking grim for the governor’s wishes as yet another attempt by lawmakers to define hydrogen as a renewable energy has fallen short.
  • We have ten days left in this legislative session. This is the point where everything starts moving very quickly - almost frantically - so lawmakers can get to all of the bills they care about before time runs out. On today's #YNMG we’re going to focus on House Bill 132, a bill that would limit interest rates on storefront loans - you know, the kinds of loans given in strip malls that sometimes require a car title as collateral. They’re problematic for the way they tend to cluster in less affluent parts of town and for the exceptionally high interest rates that often keep borrowers trapped in a cycle of debt that’s difficult to escape.
  • This week we felt the action at the Roundhouse pick up speed, and there were some shake-ups that threw journalists and the public off balance. So #YNMG is taking the opportunity to focus on access and transparency. Monday, was supposed to have a hearing for Senate Bill 8, but that got pushed to Wednesday, then extended to Friday. There was another Senate bill aimed at making sure farmworkers would get some extra pay this year. That passed through a committee without the public getting a chance to look it over first. And, away from the legislature, the state’s Department of Health has been making changes over the last couple weeks to how it engages with journalists and the public in the weekly COVID-19 updates.
  • Amid a national conversation about voting rights, we’ve seen efforts to restrict access to the ballot in other states and two federal voting rights bills stalled in the United States Congress. On this episode of #YNMG we'll cover New Mexico's Senate Bill 8, the New Mexico Voting Rights Act, which has the backing of Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver and Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. It's aimed at expanding voting access by making it easier to vote and even allowing new classes of people a chance to cast ballots.
  • We’re at the halfway point of the session, this time talking with reporter Shaun Griswold from Source New Mexico on #YNMG. Source NM has had journalists at the Roundhouse throughout the session watching crime, energy, pandemic relief, and more. Griswold has covered different areas too, but focused on education. We’ll get caught up on the ed bills in front of the legislature and some of the other stories coming from Source NM. Have a listen.
  • From helping people who are unhoused to addressing the lack of affordable homes in New Mexico, we have a serious problem with no easy or quick solution. There are some lawmakers who are trying to help though. On the latest from #YNMG we'll discuss some of the bills that have been filed to help with housing with KUNM reporter Alice Fordham.
  • Today we’ll take our first dive into education in this legislative session - and it’s a doozy. But we don’t shy away from controversy on #YNMG; we dig into it. School boards around the country have been among the new cultural battlegrounds where parents with differing political views fight for their respective moral values. Sometimes it gets ugly. Along with new ideas of trying to respect more perspectives in school curriculum has come the backlash over the perception of critical race theory sneaking in and harming our kids.
  • As homeless shelters are stretched, and housing advocates warn rising rents could cause more evictions, lawmakers are proposing legislation that would give tenants more protections.