SANTA FE, N.M. (Feb. 16, 2017) – A New Mexico bill that would close a loophole some city officials claim allows them to continue with civil asset forfeiture despite a 2015 law meant to end the practice passed in important Senate committee last week. Daniel A. Ivey-Soto (D-Albuquerque) filed Senate Bill 202 (SB202) on Jan.…
SANTA FE, N.M. (Feb. 14, 2017) – The New Mexico House overwhelmingly passed a bill that would decriminalize industrial hemp yesterday. Passage into law would set the stage for the people there to nullify federal prohibition on the plant in practice. Rep. Rick Little (R-Chaparral) introduced House Bill 166 (HB166) on Jan 18. The legislation would simply…
SANTA FE, N.M. (Feb. 9, 2017) – A bill that would decriminalize hemp cleared its second House committee hurdle Tuesday. Passage into law would set the stage to nullify federal prohibition on the plant in practice. Rep. Rick Little (R-Chaparral) introduced House Bill 166 (HB166) on Jan 18. The legislation would simply remove industrial hemp from the…
SANTA FE, N.M. (Feb. 7, 2017) – Last week, an important New Mexico Senate Committee passed a bill known as the Electronic Data Privacy Act. Passage of the bill would not only protect privacy in New Mexico, but would also hinder at least two aspects of the federal surveillance state. Sen. Peter Wirth (D) and…
SANTA FE, N.M. (Feb. 2, 2017) – A bill working its way through the New Mexico House that would remove the state ban on industrial hemp has already cleared its first committee hurdle. Passage into law would set the stage to nullify federal prohibition on the plant in practice. Rep. Rick Little (R-Chaparral) introduced House Bill…
SANTA FE, N.M. (Feb. 1, 2017) – A bill filed in the New Mexico Senate would close a loophole some city officials claim allows them to continue with civil asset forfeiture despite a 2015 law meant to end the practice in the state. Daniel A. Ivey-Soto (D-Albuquerque) filed Senate Bill 202 (SB202) on Jan. 26.…
SANTE FE, N.M. (Jan. 30, 2016) – A bill introduced in the New Mexico House sets the foundation to nullify in practice some Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rules that deny access to experimental treatments by terminally ill patients. Introduced by Rep. Rebecca Dow (R-Grant), House Bill 228 (HB228) would give terminally ill patients access…
SANTA FE, N.M. (Jan. 27, 2017) – A bill introduced in the New Mexico Senate would limit the warrantless use of surveillance drones. The legislation would not only establish important privacy protections at the state level, it would also help thwart the federal surveillance state. Sen. Gerald Ortiz y Pino (D-Albuquerque) introduced Senate Bill 167…
SANTA FE, N.M. (Jan. 17, 2016) – A bill prefiled in the New Mexico House would legalize marijuana for recreational use and the production of industrial hemp. Passage would not only legalize marijuana and hemp in the Land of Enchantment, but would also take a big step toward nullifying federal cannabis prohibition in practice in…
SANTA FE, N.M. (Jan. 12, 2017) – A electronic data privacy bill introduced in the New Mexico Senate would ban the use “stingrays” to track the location of phones and sweep up electronic communications without a warrant in most situations and restrict warrantless collection of cell phone data from third parties. Passage of the bill…