SANTA FE, N.M. (KRQE) – Among the many bills up for debate Wednesday, March 1, are several that have already seen intense debate. That includes a bill to change high school graduation requirements and a bill to limit state interference with reproductive healthcare.
Graduation requirements
It’s been over a decade since New Mexico’s high school graduation requirements were comprehensively revamped. Now, a bipartisan bill would make some statewide changes while still giving school districts some flexibility.
House Bill 126, sponsored by Rep. G. Andrés Romero (D-Abq.) and T. Ryan Lane (R-San Juan), would decrease the total amount of credits required to graduate. The bill would also remove the algebra II requirement and impose a few other changes.
But individual districts would still be allowed some freedom in their requirements. The bill sets a minimum, but schools could have higher requirements. And the bill requires districts to choose a few classes to include in their requirements, giving some flexibility to individual districts and public charter schools.
The bill has already made it through the House of Representatives. As the bill has progressed, it has seen both support and opposition from the public. Now, it’s up for debate in the Senate Finance Committee.
Gender-affirming and reproductive healthcare
Legislators are also set to continue debate over gender-affirming and reproductive healthcare. House Bill 7, sponsored by Democratic legislators, has sparked intense debate as it made its way through the House of Representatives. Now it’s up to Senators to decide if the bill keeps moving forward.
Supporters of the bill say it would protect New Mexicans and their ability to safely access necessary healthcare. Opponents say the bill goes against the morals of the state. For more on the debate, and the details of the bill, check out this KRQE News 13 story.
In case you missed it: Front-end license plates
In recent years, crime has been a hot topic in New Mexico. And one idea for boosting public safety is a bill to require license plates on the front of cars.
“It gives us just another method to identify a potential criminal or even a missing person or an amber alert of some sort,” Commander Mark Torres, with the Albuquerque Police Department, told legislators several days ago. But now, it looks like the idea has stalled.
Tuesday, February 28, legislators in the House Transportation, Public Works, and Capital Improvements Committee voted to table the bill. And it’s not the first time legislators stalled the idea; it’s been semi-regularly proposed and subsequently shut down for over a decade.
