Cecilia Fred has used a wheelchair for most of her life, after a gunshot accident when she was eight years old injured her spinal cord.

Now 68, Fred uses a catheter, leg bags and night bags every day. Even though her doctor prescribed that she change her catheter every five days, Medicaid only allows her to receive one catheter per month.

Earlier in February, when Fred’s medical supplier couldn’t get her catheters on time, she developed a bladder infection that hospitalized her for five days. She had to pay for the catheters herself and drive from her home in Redrock, an unincorporated community near Gallup, to Albuquerque to get them.

“No one should have to go through this,” said Fred, who told her story at a news conference on Tuesday alongside other patients and advocates pushing for House Bill 186 , which would allow New Mexicans of any income level to buy coverage through Medicaid, the state’s safety-net health insurance program for the very poor.

The state and the federal government already jointly run and pay for the Medicaid program. The expansion proposed in HB 186 would mean free or low-cost health insurance would become available to New Mexico residents who are under the age of 65, who aren’t otherwise eligible for Medicaid and whose household income is more than 133% of the federal poverty line.

The bill, sponsored by House Majority Floor Leader Reena Szczepanski (D-Santa Fe) and four other Democratic lawmakers, passed the House Health and Human Services Committee on Feb. 10 and heads next to the House Appropriations and Finance Committee. Szczepanski said Tuesday she hopes the committee will hear it “very soon.”

Fred, a patient advocate with Strong Families New Mexico , said she supports the legislation because it would allow people with disabilities and elderly people to get medical supplies without jumping through endless hoops.

“One accident, one illness, or simply aging can change everything. What happens when you need care and can’t get it?” she said. “This bill isn’t just for me — it’s for every child, every senior, every family struggling to stay healthy. Let’s build a health care system that works for all of us.”

Meanwhile, the Senate Tax, Business and Transportation Committee was expected to hold a hearing on Tuesday afternoon on Senate Bill 376 , which would cut health care premiums paid by state workers while fixing a budget shortfall in their insurance plan.

Child welfare agency reforms

Halfway through the 60-day session, New Mexico lawmakers still have five different proposals geared at changing how the state’s child welfare system operates. There are many other bills related to specific aspects of CYFD, but only five that would change who heads the agency or who oversees or controls it.

Two of those proposals, both opposed by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s office, passed the House Health and Human Services Committee last week and currently await hearings in House Judiciary.

House Joint Resolution 5 , which proposes a constitutional amendment to move the Children, Youth and Families Department from the governor’s oversight to that of an appointed commission, has received the most pushback.

Lujan Grisham’s administration also opposes House Bill 5 , called the Office of Child Advocate Act, which would create an independent, impartial office to investigate the wellbeing of children in state custody.

According to a CYFD spokesperson, the agency supports Senate Bill 363 , which would create the Child Protection Authority governed by a nine-member panel appointed by the governor and the Legislature.

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Cleared the floors

The House of Representatives on Tuesday narrowly approved a bill that would make it easier and faster for police to seize guns belonging to a person deemed a risk to themselves or others.

House Bill 12 , sponsored by Rep. Christine Chandler (D-Los Alamos) and Rep. Joy Garratt (D-Albuquerque), amends a 2020 law that created a civil procedure enabling a judge to approve a temporary seizure of a person’s guns based on requests to law enforcement from family members, employers, school officials and others. The 2020 law says gun owners may have up to 48 hours to surrender their weapons after a judge approves an officer’s petition.

The amended version seeks to clarify that if an officer deems a person a risk in the course of their official duties, the officer doesn’t need a request from a third party before seeking a judge’s approval to order a weapons seizure.

The bill also eliminates the 48-hour window and requires a gun owner served with an order to “immediately” surrender firearms to police.

In passing the House by a vote of 41-27, HB12 has already made it farther than a more expansive version did last year: That bill never made it past the House. HB12 now heads to the Senate.

The House voted 42-25 on House Bill 91 , which would allow the Public Regulation Commission to consider a rate structure to charge low-income customers less for electricity. The House rejected two amendments brought by Republicans.

The House voted 64-3 on House Bill 249 , which would allow the Department of Workforce Solutions to waive the one-week waiting period for unemployment insurance during emergencies.

The House, without debate, voted 66-1 on House Bill 103 , which would increase the penalty for aggravated battery on a police officer from a third-degree felony to a second-degree felony.

The Senate on Tuesday afternoon voted 23-15 on Senate Bill 48 , which would create the Community Benefit Fund to pay for local infrastructure projects that, for example, add green energy or reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The Senate rejected six floor amendments brought by Republicans, who also brought a seventh one but withdrew it before a vote.

The Senate voted unanimously in favor of Senate Bill 13 , which would allow Native governments in New Mexico to create cultural schools in an effort to immerse students in their culture and preserve their language .

The Senate voted 36-1 on Senate Bill 92 , which would change the distribution of money collected by the New Mexico Racing Commission to offset the cost of insuring jockeys.

The Senate voted 36-0 on Senate Bill 220 , which would require the Risk Management Division to continue publishing settlement data with state agencies within 30 days of settlement, which the department is currently doing voluntarily.

Bill watch

The Senate Indian Rural and Cultural Affairs Committee voted in favor of Senate Bill 498 , which would make lowriders the official state vehicle; and a substitute version of Senate bill 468 , which would establish tribal liaisons in every county.

The Senate Conservation Committee approved Senate Bill 471 , which would require the Roosevelt Soil and Conservation District to create a rainfall enhancement project; Senate Memorial 2 , which would require the Legislative Council to study and recommend policies for avoiding and mitigating wildfires; and Senate Joint Memorial 1 , which would require two state agencies to work together to study forest restoration through economic development.

The Senate Finance Committee approved Senate Bill 101 , which would give the New Mexico Livestock Board the ability to raise some fees and reduce the inspection fee by half in some circumstances; Senate Bill 142 , which would require two state agencies to work together to modernize the state’s electric grid; and Senate Bill 143 , which would create a Utility Oversight Fund to pay for the Public Regulation Commission’s operations.

The Senate Judiciary Committee voted to advance without a recommendation Senate Bill 119 , which would allow state funds to be invested in local bioscience companies; and to pass Senate Bill 128 , which would limit vehicle license plates from displaying characters the Motor Vehicle Division deems to be profane; Senate Bill 283 , which would require the Children, Youth and Families Department to apply for federal benefits on behalf of children in its custody; and Senate Bill 417 , which would allow parents of children born through assisted reproduction to ue the courts to confirm their parentage and adopt the child.