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Highlights Of New Mexico Legislative Session 2015

Arianna Sena / KUNM

A look at proposals that passed and failed during the 60-day session of the Legislature, which ended Saturday.

ALCOHOL-DRUGS

— Passed: Bill to allow restaurants and delivery companies to deliver beer and wine to residences and hotels; prohibit the sale of electronic cigarettes and nicotine liquid containers to minors; allow farmers in the state to grow industrial hemp for research only.

— Failed: A bill to legalize the selling and cultivating of marijuana stalled in a House committee.

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ANIMAL PROTECTION

— Passed: Add tilapia and striped bass to game fish.

— Failed: The banning of coyote hunting contest died in House committee after Senate approval.

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BUDGET-FINANCES

— Passed: A $6.2 billion spending proposal including pay raises for new teachers and state police.

— Failed: A Senate-approved bill that included $272 million in state and local capital projects.

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BUSINESS:

— Passed: Bill extending solar tax credit to 2024, while phasing it down from 10 percent to 5 percent.

— Failed: "Right-to-work" bill that prohibits requiring non-union workers to pay union fees as a condition of employment.

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EDUCATION

— Passed: Anti-bullying legislation calling for the creation of a five-member board to oversee grant applications to eradicate bullying in New Mexico schools, colleges and communities.

— Failed: Gov. Susana Martinez-backed proposal to end practice of social promotion by holding back third graders who can't read proficiently.

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GAMBLING-HORSE RACING

— Passed: A gambling compact that will allow the Navajo Nation, the Mescalero and Jicarilla Apache tribes, and the pueblos of Jemez and Acoma to continue operating casinos. Among other things, the agreement allows casinos to stay open around the clock and to offer complimentary food and lodging. The compact also clears the way for the casinos to extend credit to high-rolling patrons.

— Failed: Martinez vetoed a racehorse drug testing bill that required New Mexico's horse racing regulating body to follow the guidelines for testing set up by an international umbrella organization.

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GOVERNMENT:

— Passed: A bill that would allow online voter registration. A bill that would end civil asset forfeiture. A bill requiring certain reports to be made by lobbyists' employers.

— Failed: A bill requiring voter ID.

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HEALTH-CHILD WELFARE

— Passed: Broaden who must report suspected cases of child abuse and neglect, making it everyone's responsibility to report.

— Failed: A ban on late-term abortions and requiring that parents be notified at least 48 hours before a minor ends a pregnancy.

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HEALTH CARE

— Passed: A bill extending immunity from civil liability for those rendering emergency care or treatment by the use of an automated external defibrillator. A bill to provide for the creation and ranking of investment zones statewide for the prioritization of behavioral health service delivery.

— Failed: A bill that would have created a version of Kendra's Law and would allow courts to order forced treatment for residents with severe mental illness.

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LAW ENFORCEMENT

— Passed: A bill allowing for longer contract term extensions for jail contractors; abolish civil asset forfeiture by police.

— Failed: A bill that would have required candidates for sheriff to have law enforcement experience stalled in House Judiciary Committee; a bill that would have limited the use of warrant-less drones by law enforcement agencies; a bill that would have set strict limits on the use of solitary confinement.

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SPACEPORT

— Passed: A memorial to study making a Spaceport road a state road.

— Failed: A bill to sell Spaceport America.

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TAXES

— Passed: Adjust tax credits for film and television production companies to encourage them to buy and hire locally.

— Failed: A proposed gas tax in a capital outlay package failed to win support in the House.

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TRANSPORTATION

— Passed: Lower the maximum speed limit for county roads without a posted speed limit from 75 mph to 55 mph.

— Failed: Governor's proposal to stop the state from issuing driver's licenses to immigrants illegally in the country; A bill that would have regulated ride-booking services like Uber and Lyft.