With just one week left of the state legislative session, bills must move fast to have a chance at making it through the process. Bearing that in mind, let’s take a look at where the most impactful animal bills are in the process—and their prospects for getting to the Governor’s desk.
The Fight to Save the Affordable Spay/Neuter Law Goes On
Last week, Senate Bill 38, legislation to save New Mexico’s Affordable Spay/Neuter Law from expiring, passed the Senate after a spirited debate focusing on the effectiveness of the Law. SB 38, sponsored by Sen. Peter Wirth (SD 25), Rep. Cristina Parajón (HD 25) and Rep. Joanne Ferrary (HD 37), must pass in order to remove the current repeal date from the Affordable Spay/Neuter Law.
Data from scores of communities and three other states, and a NM Senate-requested study published in 2012, clearly show that access to affordable spay/neuter services is the most effective tool for combatting companion animal population. And while New Mexico’s state spay/neuter program has been stalled for the past several years, more recently administrative processes were improved and agency concerns over pending litigation were addressed. Finally, last October, the first grants—totaling $1,000,000 from funding derived from the Affordable Spay/Neuter Law—were awarded to spay/neuter providers all across New Mexico.
However, opponents to SB 38 are weakly asserting there is insufficient evidence that New Mexico’s Affordable Spay/Neuter Law is effective, which led to Senator Jay Block (SD 12) bringing a floor substitute bill meant to only extend the repeal date to 2033, rather than eliminating it. If the vote to adopt the substitute version of the bill had succeeded (it didn’t!), advocates, stakeholders and supporters would have been forced to return to the Roundhouse yet again in a few years to save the most effective and popular mechanism New Mexico has known for funding spay/neuter services.
While the move to add a repeal date back into SB 38 caused delay, the substitute bill failed by a vote of 22-15, and the original SB 38 passed the Senate on Thursday, February 5th by a vote of 23-15.
Now, SB 38 must pass through the House process as well. The bill was heard by the House Committee on Consumer and Public Affairs on Tuesday night, February 10th. But because there wasn’t a quorum (enough committee members to allow for a vote) at that hearing, the committee readdressed the bill on February 12thand voted 4-1 to approve the measure.
The next stop for SB 38 will be the House Judiciary Committee, where it must receive a majority vote before it can advance to the House floor. While anything can happen in the final few days of a session, SB 38 is well positioned to pass the House so long as legislators continue to hear from us that this bill is crucial for New Mexico. If you haven’t already done so, please reach out to your Representative to urge their YES vote on our action page here.
Bill Establishing a Fair and Efficient Wildlife Commissioner Removal Process Passes the Senate
You might recall that Senate Bill 5, passed last year, overhauled the state Wildlife Commission and Department of Wildlife and was signed into law by Governor Michell Lujan Grisham. However, the Governor line-item vetoed one provision in the bill that established a clear, fair, and efficient removal process for Wildlife Commissioners. This session, Senate Bill 104, sponsored by Sen. Peter Wirth (SD 25), Sen. Pete Campos (SD 8), Rep. Nathan Small (HD 36), Rep. Matthew McQueen (HD 50), and Sen. Crystal Brantley (SD 35), provides that missing piece—ensuring that Wildlife Commissioners can serve without undue political influence and, if necessary, be removed for incompetence or other disqualifying behavior.
Since we last updated you, SB 104 has passed the Senate Rules Committee on January 30th (10-0), and then passed the Senate Judiciary Committee on February 10th (8-0) and then passed the Senate floor with a resounding unanimous 36-0 vote. After that, SB 104 was heard by the House Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Thursday, February 12th, where it received a unanimous vote of 10-0. The next stop for SB 104 is the House Floor, where odds are good it will get the votes needed before February 19th to advance to the Governor’s desk.
Other Pro-Animal Bills Unlikely to Succeed During This Short Legislative Session
In a short thirty-day session, there are many more bills that die than pass into law—and this session is no exception.
House Bill 243—which sought to improve and provide immediate and sustained funding for the Equine Shelter Rescue Fund that supports the cost of community services provided by New Mexico’s network of nonprofit equine shelters—was heard by House Agriculture, Acequias & Water Resources Committee, on Tuesday, February 3rd. While committee members sympathized with the plight of abused and homeless equines, unfortunately some disagreed on how best the state should step up to fund the Rescue Fund. A “Do Pass” motion failed on a tie of vote 4-4, which means HB 243 is stalled and unlikely to proceed further.
Other funding bills—which solely exist to direct an appropriation for a particular agency or project—like House Bill 177 to support care for the companion animals of veterans in need of services, and House Bill 300 to facilitate the care and herd management of horses on Tribal land in Cibola County, will likely not see further action at this point. Appropriators are working on the state budget (House Bill 2) and negotiations are taking place to determine whether the funding from these bills will be included.
House Bill 315, to revive the legislation that would create a framework for the humane management of free-roaming horses across the state, was filed last week but will also be unlikely to see further action. HB 315 appears to be modeled on last session’s HB 284 (which passed and was then pocket vetoed by the Governor). With roughly a week left of the session, odds are HB 315 won’t have enough time to get through the necessary committees in each chamber and floor votes to pass.
As supporters of APV likely know, while bills may not cross the finish line this year, our effort to tackle problems and bring policy solutions for animals in New Mexico will not stop.
Bill That Could Drive Expansion of Mega Dairies and CAFOs at a Standstill… For Now
Previously, we told you about Senate Bill 113, which doubles the tax credit for transporting manure from dairy and feedlot operations (“agricultural biomass”) to facilities for energy production. Animal Protection Voters opposes SB 113 because it falsely frames the production of biofuel as a solution that spares the environment while producing a sustainable energy source. In truth, policies that incentivize factory farm expansion add to pollution, drive climate change, and subject countless animals to confinement and cruel treatment.
At the time of this writing, we’re happy to report that this bill to fuel mega dairy and feedlot expansion appears to be stuck. But rest assured, we will continue to monitor whether this potentially harmful policy finds another path forward via a tax package being developed by the Senate.
The Final Week of the 2026 Legislative Session
Earlier this week, so many of you joined us for Animal Protection Lobby Day. We would like to take a moment to thank all those who participated in Animal Protection Lobby Day this year, including APV supporters, staff, ambassadors, and board members—especially those who made the trek to Santa Fe from far corners of the state.
Huge thanks Rep. Parajón and Rep. Ferrary, House sponsors of SB 38, for taking part in the Animal Protection Lobby Day press conference and speaking about their passion for saving New Mexico’s Affordable Spay/Neuter Law. Likewise, we were honored to be joined by Rep. Martha Garcia (HD 6), sponsor of HB 300, as well as Rep. Cynthia Borrego (HD 17) and Rep. Tara Lujan (HD 48), sponsors of HB 243. Las Cruces City Councilor Becky Corran and Santa Fe Animal Shelter CEO Jackie Roach both spoke eloquently about the need—and the ongoing work—to provide affordable spay/neuter at the community level.
Hats off to the teams from Animal Humane New Mexico, ABQ Animal Welfare Department, Santa Rosa Animal Control, Friends of Estancia Valley Animals, S.N.A.P Las Cruces, and the Santa Fe Animal Shelter Offsite Adoption crew—all of whom joined us at the Roundhouse this year.
A major bonus from this year’s Lobby Day: Two pups from the Santa Fe Animal Shelter found their forever families during the event. We couldn’t ask for a better way to mark the day!
These lucky puppies, Bingo and Muffin, found their new adoptive human family at Animal Protection Lobby Day at the State Capitol! Photo courtesy of Santa Fe Animal Shelter.
Stay with us as we head into the last seven days of the session, when things can begin to move even more quickly. Be sure to visit our Legislative Session Tracker often to stay updated! And thank you for all the ways you give voice to animal protection in our great state.
