Lawmaker: HB7 would remove parent involvement

Mar. 4—New Mexico State Rep. Jack Chatfield's campaign committee has published an advertisement claiming a bill going through the New Mexico Legislature would remove parent involvement for minors who may receive reproductive care, including abortion, or gender-changing care.

Chatfield represents District 67, which includes parts of Curry, Quay, Harding, Colfax and Union counties.

The advertisement is running in today's edition of The News.

Chatfield was not available Thursday to comment on the advertisement, but on his campaign's Facebook page, he posted, "Are you aware the progressive agenda at the Roundhouse in Santa Fe removes the involvement of parents in their minor child's life?"

Chatfield's Facebook post continued, "I oppose this bill," which is House Bill 7, and urged constituents who oppose the bill to contact the Senate Judiciary Committee, where the bill is awaiting action as of Thursday.

HB 7 was approved by the state House of Representatives on Feb. 21, and since then has been passed out of the Senate Health and Public Affairs Committee with a "do pass" recommendation.

The advertisement further claims, "You were told that this law protects your right to an abortion," and continues, "The hidden language allows anyone...a teacher, sex trafficker, rapist, or neighbor...to take your child, at any age, without parental consent."

The bill's language does not specifically address reproductive or gender-affirming care for minors.

Language often repeated in the bill in its current form states, "a public body, or an entity or individual acting on behalf of or within...the authority of a public body, shall not, directly or indirectly, deprive...a person's ability to access...." (reproductive or gender affirming care).

The bill further states that a health care provider can refuse reproductive or gender affirming care if the provider is not licensed for such care, when such services are "against the medical judgment of the provider," or a patient does not "provide payment or a source of payment for the service, unless there is a duty to provided services regardless of ability to pay."

Tate Turnbough, president of the Roosevelt County Democratic Party, said the advertisement is "outlandish" and has "no factual basis."

'The freedom and access to choose what do with one's own body is a God-given right," Turnbough said.

The authors of the advertisement, Turnbough said, "Sit in fantasy made-up world. There is nothing that shows any grasp of the facts" Such people, he said, write such thing to "get the most 'likes' and attention. There is no truth there."

In the House floor vote on Feb. 21, the three Republican House members who represent Roosevelt and Curry counties voted against the bill. Besides Chatfield, state representatives Andrea Reeb, District 64, and Martin Zamora, District 63, voted against the bill.

District 64 includes parts of Curry, Roosevelt and Chaves counties. District 64 includes parts of Curry, Roosevelt, De Baca, Guadalupe and San Miguel counties.

State Sen. Stuart Ingle, District 27 (parts of Curry, Roosevelt, Chaves, De Baca and Lea counties), voted against the bill as a member of the Senate Health and Public Affairs Committee. The committee passed the bill with a "do pass" recommendation on a 6 to 3 vote.

Packaging bill dies

A bill sponsored by Reeb that would have set packaging requirements for cannabis products to protect children was killed by the House Consumer and Public Affairs Committee on a tie vote, three in favor and three against.

The bill, HB 157, "was drafted in response to reports of cannabis distribution in New Mexico schools," according to a news release from the Legislature's Republican Party organization.

The release includes a quote from Reeb that reads, "Our schools and educators are calling on this legislature to ensure that our laws are clear that cannabis packaging meets commonsense standards in order to protect the safety of our children and schools."

The quote from Reeb continues, "I have heard from many school districts across the state, and of course many New Mexicans have seen cannabis incident reports in our school systems, and HB 157 is designed to strengthen our state's position on protecting safety for our children."

The news release was accompanied by statements from school districts, including one from Laura Massey, director of nurses for Portales Municipal Schools.

"We are seeing students that are using the same products," Massey's statement read. "The day after THC (the active ingredient in cannabis products) became legal in New Mexico, I had a student in the bathroom who ingested an entire package of what looked like Chex Mix laced with THC. We had her transported by Emergency Medical Services."

Other topics

Reeb also had comments on proposed legislation in other areas in response to a request for comment from The News.

On crime legislation, Reeb stated in an email reply, Crime: "This session, it seems that more lawmakers are willing to take the crime crisis seriously," but "rhetoric is still reigning supreme in legislative efforts.""

"There are about two weeks left and I am hopeful that we can start moving some of these important bills to make our communities safer," she stated. "I have a few bills that are slowly making their way through the process, but at the end of the day I am uncertain that New Mexicans are happy with the delays in increasing public safety and addressing the crime problems that our state is facing."

On gun control legislation, Reeb stated, "Myself and the House Republican Caucus are committed to not backing down from supporting our Second Amendment rights."

Attacks on Second-Amendment rights, she said, "are failing to address the root causes of crime. We are leaving a lot on the table in terms of reducing violent crimes in New Mexico."

Democrats, she said, are promoting "gun grab bills for political headlines and failing to do more to target mental health and rehabilitation, and jobs training or skills building for criminals to turn their lives around."

On voting rights legislation, Reeb stated Democrats are proposing legislation that "garners them a political headline yet underscores their unwillingness to produce election related legislation in a bipartisan effort," including their blocking of "commonsense amendments" to voting rights legislation.

She is hopeful that legislation supported by county clerks, which she has not yet seen, she said, but "I look forward to seeing a proposal that includes a diverse cross-section of New Mexico."

Minimum wage issues, she stated, "are stalling on the House side," but added, "the Legislature is missing the mark on many important issues," like energy costs, inflation, failing schools and an "alarming" loss of medical providers.

"House Republican proposals to support working families, educational freedom, affordable energy and healthcare have summarily been blocked by the Democrat's in power,' she stated.

Sen. Ingle responded to The News' request for comments in an interview Thursday.

On crime, he said, "Anything that increases the penalties for crime, I'm all for it."

On gun control, he said, "I oppose any more regulation on gun ownership."

Even if gun ownership is illegal for felons, he said, felons "won't have a problem getting them. We're never going to change that."

Restrictions on large ammunition magazines, he said, will also not stop people from getting the bigger magazines. I don't see the necessity for that, but some people like shooting a bunch of bullets all at once."

Adjustments that can make a semi-automatic firearm work like an automatic are too easy to be effectively regulated by a state law.

"You can make almost any gun an automatic if you want to," he said.

Ingle said he is "not thoroughly familiar" with voting rights legislation.

"We need to make sure we're not giving one side an unfair advantage," in voting, though, he said.

Early voting, he said, was once allowed for only a short time before Election Day and one had to present a good reason for not being able to vote at the polls on Election Day.

He added, however, "voting should be easy," but the vote should be "something to cherish and honor."

Ingle said he does not support minimum wage legislation because minimum wage "is something we don't have any more," due to worker shortages following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Minimum wage should not be dictated, he said. Workers just starting out should not be paid too much, "because they haven't accomplished enough."

"Employees pay people to do good work, and those who do good work get paid well," he said.

Minimum wage, he said, tends to vary from region to region, and the decision should be left to employers.

"You have to pay the wages to get the help," Ingle said, and "employers can help employees better than the state can."

Chatfield, Zamora and Republican State Sen. Pat Woods, District 7 (parts of Curry, Quay and Union counties), were presented the same list of legislative topics, but did not return comments.