Martha Garcia – District 6 (D) - Cibola McKinley

Yesterday, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham FINALLY appointed former Cibola County Commissioner Martha Garcia to represent House District 6.

The District 6 seat became vacant last year when former Rep. Eliseo “Lee” Alcon stepped down for health reasons. Representative Alcon died of cancer Jan. 13.

Garcia was nominated by the McKinley County Commission on Feb. 4. District 6 includes parts of Cibola and McKinley counties including the Village of Milan, Ramah, the Pueblo of Zuni and parts of the Navajo Nation.

Martha has long been active in her district working to serve her region. She was recently named a “Regional Champion” by the Northwest New Mexico Council of Governments.

• Garcia has been an elementary school teacher, school administrator and member of the Ramah Navajo School Board.
• She is past president of the Ramah Navajo Chapter as well as development officer, and community development director of the 638 Program.
• She served as vice chair of the Northwest N.M. Council of Governments.
• Garcia is credited with leading the Ramah Navajo Chapter in a 1990 class-action suit against the federal government that awarded settlement funds to various tribes for underpayment of self-determination contracts at the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Garcia is expected to be sworn in immediately to begin representing House District 6 for the remainder of the current legislative session.  We wish our new Representative the very best as she works to get up to speed halfway through the session.

IS THERE A DOCTOR IN THE HOUSE?

Two bills are helpful to New Mexico

What do you get when you graduate from medical school, finish your internship and residency? A license to practice medicine and a MOUNTAIN of debt. That mountain can be hard to climb with somewhere between $200,000 and $600,000. Many states are offering big loan repayment incentives to attract physicians to their states. Some will repay the entire amount in exchange for a commitment to practice in that state for a number of years. New Mexico has a loan repayment program for all health care professionals, but it's only $25,000 per year for three years - a total of $75,000 - so once again we are lacking when it comes to being competitive.

Sen. Craig Brandt (R-Sandoval) wants to get us in the game! His Senate Bill 411 would offer $75,000 per year for a maximum of $300,000 over four years for physicians practicing in designated professional shortage areas. The fact is that most of the state is a professional shortage area. However, this incentive could attract doctors to more rural areas, particularly if they're native New Mexicans. Brandt used one of the best lines we've heard in presenting his bill to the Senate Education Committee: "This is a great bill." And that's that! The committee gave an 8-0 "do-pass" recommendation after hearing a lot of support and no opposition.

"Our Chamber believes that New Mexico, along with many others, is facing a critical shortage of doctors. We need this legislation to become competitive against what other states are offering. Our quality of life is greatly diminished when you can't get an appointment to see a doctor or, have to travel great distances, often even out of state, to receive medical services. This bill, along with other needed incentives, will hopefully help to close the ever-increasing physician shortage gap. We strongly support SB 411."

The bill now heads to the Senate Finance Committee. HB 411 seeks a $15 million appropriation, which is not (yet) included in the budget bill (HB 2) now before SFC. It's a wonderful time to find the $15 million and sweep it into HB 2! In fact, we recommend that the Senate Finance Committee take the $36 million dedicated to setting up the bureaucracy for Paid Family Medical Leave, and put it to good use by funding this legislation.  We'll keep you informed.

PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT LICENSING COMPACT

On Wednesday morning, the House Health and Human Services Committee heard House Bill 413, “Physician Assistant Licensure Interstate Compact”, sponsored by Rep. Gail Armstrong (R-Catron, Sierra, Socorro & Valencia).

The bill enters New Mexico into the Physician Assistant Licensure Interstate Compact for the purpose of strengthening access to medical services and enhancing the portability of a license to practice as a physician assistant. The Physician Assistant Licensure Compact Commission would serve as the national administrative body.

The Gallup McKinley County Chamber sides with other proponents of the bill.  We must begin making it easier for licensed providers in other states to treat New Mexicans – be it in person or in a telehealth setting – this is a positive step, a real way to get more New Mexicans the care they need, and address the lack of providers while at the same time encouraging them to practice in, perhaps even move to, our state.

By entering the Physician Assistant Licensure Interstate Compact, it would require a licensee to get certified in NM – guaranteeing that the PA would function within the laws and regulations of New Mexico. The Chamber is pleased to support this bill as it aims to bring more care to New Mexicans, and we ask you to vote to pass it.”

Also in support of the bill were the Council of State Governments, Department of Defense State Liaison Office The Greater Albuquerque Chamber and New Mexico Chamber of Commerce.

There was no opposition to the bill.

With that, a "do-pass" motion was approved on a 7-0 vote. The bill now moves to the House Judiciary Committee.

BUT WHAT ABOUT THE NURSES?

Two bills forward and bill takes us backwards.

The House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday afternoon met for just under two hours to hear House Bill 72, Nursing Staff-to-Patient Ratios, sponsored by Rep. Eleanor Chávez (D-Bernalillo).

The bill directs the Health Care Authority to develop rules to create and enforce minimum nurse-to-patient staffing ratios for hospitals. The authority is authorized to waive staffing requirements for rural general acute care hospitals, while certain exceptions to the staffing ratios are granted. It would also create the staffing advisory committee. 

Chávez began with a committee substitute with many definitions to what critical care is, as well as what defines rural. The substitute also had a committee called the Hospital Network Committee that would be established by each hospital across their network.

Adrian Gomez, SVP of policy and programs at the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce, testified in opposition for the Chamber and Gallup-McKinley Chamber of Commerce by saying:

“While the chambers appreciate the goals behind HB 72, striving to prevent nurse burnout and deliver higher-quality care, the reality in our state, as in states throughout the nation, is a severe nursing shortage. And the No. 1 consequence of this legislation will be less care for more New Mexicans.

“For New Mexico’s patients, mandating staffing ratios when you are facing a staffing crisis is the wrong move at the exactly wrong time. And turning staffing decisions over to someone miles away, or embracing a one-size-fits-all approach, disregards the complexity of these decisions.

We respectfully ask you to vote against HB 72.”

Joining the Chamber in opposition were:

• Christus Health System
• New Mexico Hospital Association
• San Juan Regional Medical Center
• New Mexico Chamber of Commerce
• University of New Mexico Hospital
• Sierra Vista Hospital

Many of the committee members were happy with the work going into the committee substitute, as some of the changes were responsive to their concerns. However more than a handful had concerns about the bill itself, and more than once the question came up, “Why don’t we graduate more nursing students?”

Rightfully so, other legislators like Rep. Andrea Reeb (R-Chaves, Curry & Roosevelt) had a concern about the effect on rural hospitals. This is a devastating piece of legislation for our rural hospitals who continue to struggle to make ends meet. Mandating staffing ratios may sound good, but when there is already a shortage, the only choice is to hire more very expensive travelling nurses.

The Representative said - “I understand the waiver attempt (for rural hospitals), but it’s the language in there that concerns me,” Reeb said. “The concern I have is for the rural areas where I am in Curry and Roosevelt counties and those hospitals (there). Having Cannon Air Force Base, they have to drive to Lubbock or Amarillo where they can get all the care. If we lose that health care (in our community), it’s going to be just devastating for our base, if these ratios are put into effect.”

With many amendments to the committee substitute, Committee Chair Rep. Christine Chandler (D-Los Alamos, Sandoval & Santa Fe) decided to roll the vote to Friday and not take additional public comment in order to give the sponsor time to clean up the committee substitute.

We’ll be watching for the vote on Friday and hoping for a dose of

STRATEGIC WATER PLAN

House Bill 137, sponsored by Rep. Susan Herrera (D-Rio Arriba, Sandoval, Santa Fe & Taos), gained a "do-pass" recommendation from the House Appropriations and Finance Committee yesterday. The vote was 10-4. The bill has now cleared its final House committee and will next be considered on the House floor. The Chamber and others had originally been opposed to the measure because it had included a new tax on oil-field-produced water that would have once again attacked that industry and done economic harm to the state. However, a new version of the bill removed all reference to produced water, including the tax. This change allowed the Chamber to support what has always been a good idea.

Bill Lee, Chamber president and CEO, had these remarks in favor of the bill:

"We stand in support of HB 137 – The Strategic Water Supply Act. Wisely the bill moves New Mexico forward with smart strategies that will serve to secure the precious resource of water throughout New Mexico.

We all know water is life.  In McKinley County we have been working for decades on the Navajo Gallup Water pipeline…due to unplanned costs and delays created by federal bureaucracy, today there is still no water in the pipe.  Across our state many water projects face the same obstacles and challenges, leaving our communities trying to plan for the future when in so many cases their water supplies are uncertain.

The use and conversion of brackish water, the smart use of resources available through New Mexico Mining and Technology to map out aquafers will serve our state well, as we shore up a strategic water supply.

Our quality of life, and economic vitality will rely on having a strategic water supply as we continue to strive to diversify New Mexico’s economy.  Funding for water projects through HB 137 that will expand the future water supplies needed across New Mexico makes sense.

We ask that you give a Do Pass to HB-137"

There were a wide range of supporters for the bill and little opposition. Removal of produced water from consideration has calmed many environmental organizations that formerly were against the program.

The purpose of the bill is to accelerate the use of brackish (salty) water found in deep aquifers. The bill is aimed at helping fund these kinds of projects and advance scientific work at New Mexico Tech and New Mexico State University. Tech is working on mapping these aquifers throughout the state - geological mapping to understand possible effects of tapping brackish aquifers. NMSU is working on how to improve treatment technology. 

El Paso, TX has been desalinating brackish water since 2007, as have many towns throughout Texas and the world, for that matter. The Kay Bailey Hutchinson Desalination Plant, the largest inland de-sal plant in the world, produces 27.5 million gallons a day of potable water, and there are plans to expand the plant to 42 million gallons per day. That would be enough to serve nearly 300,000 residences. The plant is described as cost-effective because a mineral processing plant is situated next door that buys the byproducts, contributing revenue to the cost of the de-sal treatment plant. Also, yesterday a huge computer facility was announced in Santa Teresa that will bring $5 billion in investment and 1,000 jobs. This facility will construct a de-sal plant to meet its operational needs.

The bottom line is there are existing cost-effective desalination options available right now. Through expanded research and development, costs can be reduced further. Forty-million dollars has been set aside in the budget bill to get this initiative started. It's a wise investment to improve our state's drought resilience and ensure we can remain competitive in attracting and expanding businesses.