SB135 amends the Per Diem and Mileage Act to change when elected public officers may receive reimbursement for out-of-state travel. The bill removes the existing legislative-council approval language for legislators and instead provides that members of the legislature are not subject to the bill’s restriction that bars out-of-state travel reimbursement for elected officials who have not filed for reelection or who have been defeated in a primary or general election. In effect, the bill creates a specific exemption for legislators from that reimbursement cutoff.
The measure also makes several technical and conforming changes to the statute governing travel advances, voucher requirements, and the authority of the secretary, local public bodies, and post-secondary governing boards to reduce per diem and mileage rates. It preserves the existing framework for reimbursement documentation and the annual $1,500 threshold for non-governmental travelers, while clarifying that legislators must still provide itemized travel statements to the New Mexico legislative council when required under the act.
Impact
SB135 narrows the application of the Per Diem and Mileage Act by exempting legislators from the prohibition on out-of-state travel reimbursement that applies to certain elected officials after they fail to file for reelection or are defeated. It also removes the prior requirement that legislative travel be approved by a three-fourths vote of the New Mexico legislative council, replacing it with broader language that simply excludes members of the legislature from the restriction. The bill does not appear to change reimbursement rules for other elected officials, state employees, local public bodies, or public post-secondary institutions, aside from conforming edits.
Sentiment
The available voting history suggests strong support for the bill: SB135 passed the Senate unanimously, 39-0. No committee transcripts were provided, so there is no recorded debate in the supplied materials. Based on the final vote, the overall sentiment appears favorable and noncontroversial among senators.
Contention
The main point of potential contention is the special treatment of legislators compared with other elected public officers. Supporters likely view the bill as a clarification or cleanup measure that allows legislative travel reimbursement to continue without the current election-status restriction and without a separate legislative-council approval hurdle. Critics could argue that the bill creates an exception for lawmakers that is not available to other elected officials, reducing a safeguard on public spending for out-of-state travel. No specific objections are documented in the provided materials, however.