Legislative Session
February 23, 2024
Dear Friends and Neighbors,
Greetings! It was an honor and privilege to serve my fourth term in the legislature this year, continuing to represent Albuquerque’s incredible House District 21 at the Roundhouse in Santa Fe.
Before the Legislative Session began last month, many constituents asked how we can make our communities safer, improve our schools, support our military and veterans, strengthen our cybersecurity, and fight for the environment. Now that the session has concluded, I would like to share several of the priorities I have been working on and invite your feedback.
This session, I worked with the Governor and my colleagues in the House and Senate to pursue bold legislation and craft a comprehensive budget that works for every New Mexican by prioritizing the things that matter to our families and communities. These include transformational investments in health care, affordable housing, community safety, education, climate, infrastructure, and economic development.
In New Mexico, cybersecurity has become an urgent issue, as schools, businesses, and state agencies face increasing attacks on their networks and data. Such attacks have the potential to affect us all and cost the state millions to remediate. This year, my utmost focus has been on safeguarding New Mexicans and our personal information by advancing measures to improve cybersecurity in our state. I sponsored House Bill 72 to create a Cybersecurity Fund in the state treasury, which would provide support for cyberattack response and recovery. I also co-sponsored Senate Bill 129, now with the Governor for signature, to make needed improvements to the Cybersecurity Office we established last year.
Another key area of focus this year was working to protect New Mexico’s environment and keep our land, water, and air clean. I sponsored House Bill 30 to limit the use of fresh water in the gas and oil extraction process, House Bill 31 to increase the accountability of the gas and oil industry to clean up leaks and spills and notify those living and working around the spills, and House Bill 32 to require a one-mile setback from schools for any new pumpjacks, to keep our students safe from the toxic effects of methane and CO2. I also sponsored a bill to modernize our school bus fleet with electric buses.
In addition to these initiatives, I am proud to have passed legislation addressing key priorities for our district and state, including:
House Bill 302: Supports our military service members by adding the Space Force to New Mexico’s recognized military branches, adding military status to the Human Rights Act to prevent discrimination based on this factor, recognizing professional licenses across states for military personnel and their spouses, and exempting childcare programs certified by the Department of Defense from needing further state licensing.
Senate Bill 116: Improves budgetary planning and program stability for tobacco treatment, cessation, and prevention efforts.
I was also appointed to serve as Vice Chair of the House Energy, Environment & Natural Resources Committee and on the House Appropriations & Finance Committee. I am honored to advocate for the needs of our community on these two important and influential committees where we hear a wide range of issues from voices across the state of New Mexico.
I value your opinion and would like to hear from you. If you have ideas, comments, or questions, feel free to contact me year-round by email at Debbie.Sarinana@nmlegis.gov or by phone during the legislative session at (505) 974-9408.
In the spirit of service,
Debbie Sariñana
State Representative, District 21