SANTA FE - New Mexico’s newly minted Women’s Legislative Caucus has selected its first round of nine key pieces of legislation supporting the state’s women, children and families.

The New Mexico Women’s Legislative Caucus has endorsed the following pieces of legislation with a minimum three-fourths vote in support.

HB 71 – School-Based Health Center Funding. Brings funding levels to school based health centers back to pre-recession levels. These health centers are throughout the state.

HB 135 – Sexual Assault Survivors Bill of Rights. Lays out rights for persons who have been sexually assaulted, including having their rape kit tested in a reasonable time, notification...

WASHINGTON, D.C. -  U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) introduced bipartisan legislation March 6 to repeal a provision in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) known as the ‘Cadillac tax,’ which taxes high-cost health insurance plans and impacts middle-class health benefits.

In the 115th Congress, more than 300 members of Congress from both parties cosponsored legislation to repeal the 40 percent tax. Although the tax was originally a provision in the Affordable Care Act, implementation has been delayed numerous times by bipartisan coalitions in Congress, most recently to 2022.

“Eliminating this onerous tax on employees’ health coverage will protect...

WASHINGTON, D.C U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich,D-N.M., met with and congratulated New Mexico’s two student delegates March 6 for the United States Senate Youth Program (USSYP), Katherine Broten of Farmington and David Fillmore, Jr. of Alamogordo.

Each year, two students from each state and the District of Columbia – as well as two children of service members stationed and living abroad — are selected in a highly competitive merit-based process to participate in a week-long study of the federal government and its leaders.

The students visit Capitol Hill, the White House, the Pentagon, the State Department, the Supreme Court and many other historic sites in Washington. The program...

WEAPON THREAT

Gallup, March 3

A Williams Acres man was arrested after he reportedly made threats to cut off his girlfriend’s head with a machete.

Johnson Jim Jr., 62, was charged with aggravated assault against a household member with a deadly weapon.

McKinley County Sheriff Sgt. Anthony Morales said he was dispatched to Williams Acres about 4 pm on March 3 because of a domestic dispute.

Morales said he met Jim’s girlfriend at Jim’s house. The girlfriend said they were arguing when Jim made the threat about the machete and told her to leave the house. Morales then went inside the house and found Jim and placed him in handcuffs because of safety concerns.

He said he saw a...