Dear Editor,

This week starts with positive news for three pieces of legislation and not-so-positive news for another bill.

House Bills 127, 236, and 403 moved forward since our last update, and unfortunately, House Bill 417 remained in committee due to a tied vote during its hearing. (More on these bills below.)

Additionally, we expect the Senate version of House Bill 2 (the FY ’24 budget) to be unveiled soon, and as part of that process, we wanted to highlight a “generic bill” that's been filed and is scheduled to be heard March 8, specifically Senate Bill 521, which would increase the current proposed pay raises from an average of 5% to an average of 6% for public employees...

Dear Editor,

We have two weeks to go, and AFT NM-supported legislation continues to move forward in the Legislature.

This update contains legislative action on two bills, plus another three bills which are slated for tomorrow and Monday.

Finally, we have added an additional category of bills we have been watching this session which are on their final step in this legislative process. Specifically, legislation that is on its final hearing by either the House of Representatives or State Senate before being sent to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham for her signature or veto. (We will add one more category soon that will list bills that have fully cleared the Legislature and are on the...

Dear Editor,

Welcome to week seven of nine of the 2023 Legislative Session. As we mentioned last week, many bills are “making the jump” from one chamber to another – such as HB 151, which cleared the NM House of Representatives Feb. 24. (HB 151 would extend unemployment benefits to non-tenure track faculty when class schedules are abruptly changed.)

We are still advocating around our AFT New Mexico-supported bills, and we are pleased to report two of those bills (HB 126/a and HB 181) advanced, while another HB 150 was tabled in the House Appropriations and Finance Committee.

While we want to see all our supported bills be enacted into law, there are always some worthy bills that...

Dear Editor,

At the close of the sixth week of the legislative session, we are pleased to report that many of our union’s priority legislation continues to move forward. There are still three weeks to go, and many things can change, but we continue to make progress every day by advocating, educating, and agitating for the positive policies than help our students, profession, and communities.

Part of why we continue to make progress has been the efforts of our AFT NM locals who have taken the time to lobby their representatives on the issues that matter to their constituency and community.

Our latest local to lobby were the AFT NM Retirees, who were in the Roundhouse advocating for...