Happy New Year, New Mexico Activists!

Today is the first day to pre-file legislation, and the 2023 Session opens in just two weeks. Follow this link to find a list of the bills we know we will be supporting so far. If you’ve been involved with the formation of any these bills and have information to share, please email us at retakeresponse@gmail.com. And we invite you to speak at our upcoming Legislative Huddles: Weds., Jan. 4, and Weds., Jan. 11, 6-7 p.m. Learn more about our Huddles and find the registration links here. We’ll schedule additional Huddles once the Session has begun.

Everyone is invited to our Huddles, so if you haven’t registered yet, please do so at the link above. And if you know of legislation that you’d like us to support and you don’t see it on our list at the first link above, please email us at retakeresponse@gmail.com to make your case. It will need to be a strong case, as we’re determined to keep our list shorter this year.

We still need hearing observers during the session. If you’d like to know more about the legislative process and take notes at a hearing once or twice a week, you can learn more and volunteer to become a hearing observer at this link. You can observe in person at the Roundhouse or you can observe online via Webcast. We’re not sure yet if hearings will be accessible via Zoom again this year. The Session runs from Jan. 17 through March 18 this year, but we don’t expect to need many observers until the second week, beginning Jan. 23.

A slight change in strategy this year: once bills are introduced and they’ve been assigned to committees, and updated committee rosters are available (likely the end of the first week), we will notify you about which bills are scheduled to be heard in which committee. You can then email and call committee members – especially if your own House or Senate member is on the committee – to encourage them to support the bill, rather than waiting until the night before the hearing. We suspect that many legislators may have their minds made up by the time a bill gets to a hearing, so this will give you a little lead time to persuade your House or Senate member to vote for (or against, such as Hydrogen Hub) a bill.

One last thing: if you have special knowledge about any of the bills on our list at this link, and you have talking points or other research-based info to share, please contact us at retakeresponse@gmail.com to tell us what you can offer. Thank you.

It takes thousands of us across the state, working together, to get transformational legislation passed. We welcome and encourage your participation! We hope you’ll join the conversation on Wednesdays at 6 p.m. – again, you can learn more about Huddles and find the registration links here. We’re excited about working with all of you again this year to promote social, environmental, and economic justice in New Mexico!

In solidarity and hope,

Roxanne & Paul