The Paid Family and Medical Leave Act was first introduced in the New Mexico Legislature in 2019 and for the past 6 legislative sessions it has failed on slimmer and slimmer margins. This year during the 60-day session, many lawmakers are hoping it will finally pass and that Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s will sign off on the legislation.
HOUSE BILL 11
House Bill 11 is the 2025 legislative version of the Paid Family and Medical Leave Act. The bill is largely starting off this year where it left off in 2024, when it failed to pass the House by two votes. The big difference this year is that 3 Democratic representatives who voted against the bill last year lost their primary election races and are no longer in the legislature. The representatives no longer in the legislature are Willie Madrid of Chaparral, Ambrose Castellano of Serafina and Harry Garcia of Grants. It clear the legislation has a good chance of passing this year.
House Bill 11 if it passes and if signed into law by the Governor would allow employees to take up to 12 paid weeks off for parental leave and up to 9 weeks off paid for medical or military exigency purposes. It would allow 9 weeks paid time-off for instances of domestic violence, stalking, sexual assault or abuse, for the employee or an employee’s family member.
Under the program, employees would pay 0.5% of their wages into the fund or $5 for every $1,000 wages earned and employers with 5 or more employees would pay 0.4% of wages into the fund or $4 for every $1,000 in wages paid. Employees and employers would start paying into the fund in 2027, and employees could start requesting time off using the fund in 2028. Businesses that already offer a similar or broader paid leave program could apply for exemption waivers.
The major concerns from Republicans, who have already said they oppose the bill, and more moderate Democrats and some business leaders largely center on the tax the program that would be created to fund the leave. The tax would be imposed on businesses and businesses would be prohibited from replacing workers taking paid leave.
Rep. Marian Matthews, D-Albuquerque, who introduced a much narrower alternative to the Paid Family and Medical Leave Act last year, still has the same concerns with the bill she had last year. Her alternative legislation garnered support from business leaders who didn’t support the original proposal, but the legislation was tabled in its first committee. Rep. Marian Matthews said this:
“Given the number of times the bill has been introduced in the past and the opposition to it, hopefully we’re at a point where there’s some recognition that we need to find a meeting of the minds.”
Mathews added that legislators who voted in favor of the bill in the past may not necessarily do the same this year. Matthews has said she might introduce another, more narrow version of the bill this year. But that depends on “whether or not we can make some progress through the negotiation process.”
Tracy McDaniel, policy director at Southwest Women’s Law Center, which has repeatedly helped craft the bill, said advocates don’t anticipate another alternative bill will be introduced. McDaniel said this years bill “looks a lot different than it did when we started this fight [in 2019]”. She added that there’s a lot of misinformation about the program still and negative outcomes as a result of it, which advocates “continue to combat.”
McDaniel said this about this year’s legislation:
“This version of the bill really reflects lots of hard work, lots of negotiation and working with the business community and other stakeholders to ensure that this really will work well for everyone involved. … We’re continuing this fight, and we’re going to keep fighting until it’s passed. … [If an alternative bill is introduced, its hoped] that we can collaborate with other legislators and continue to negotiate something that will work well for everybody.”
HOUSE BILL 11 PASSES FIRST COMMITEE
On January 27, the House Health and Human Services Committee approved the Paid Family and Medical Leave Act proposal on a 6-4 vote, with all 6 Democrats voting YES and all 4 the Republicans voting NO. The committee heard more than two hours of discussion and public comment were heard before the vote was taken.
Alison Riley, Public Policy Director for the New Mexico Chamber of Commerce, said this:.
“There’s definitely a way to craft legislation that would support businesses as well as families. Unfortunately, the bill that’s being discussed in committee does miss that mark. … Employees can’t afford a tax on already stretched thin wages. And from what we’re seeing, employers are already working with their employees when they welcome a child into the world, or they have to step away to care for family.”
Most business leaders who spoke to the committee agree it’s a good idea on the surface, but the devil is in the details. There are three big issues business leaders wanted to address:
- The mandatory contributions from employees and employers they say is just another tax.
- The ongoing issues with labor shortages which they argue will only get worse when employees take leave.
- The ongoing staffing issues at the Department of Workforce Solutions which would manage the program.
Not all business owners are against the bill. Deborah Condit, owner of Books on the Bosque said a paid family and medical leave program would be a game changer for her nine employees. Condit said this:
“I get the fears that small businesses have, but we shouldn’t be nickel and diming off the backs of our employees. Corporations sometimes have that put in place where they’re able to provide that for their employees, but we don’t. I cannot afford that.”
Condit said she could afford the $32 a month to participate in a state-run program and she said this:
“It’s just like one more book that I would have to sell and to make sure every month and to make sure that my employees are going to be taken care of.”
House Bill 11 now heads to the House Commerce and Economic Development Committee for another hearing.
OPPOSITION REMAINS HIGH
Many of those who spoke in opposition, including lawmakers, said they support the spirit of the bill but it’s just not economically feasible for employers, especially those in rural America, to replace workers for 9-12 weeks. Many of the businesses and trade associations that opposed the bill last year again do not support in this year, including the Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce, the New Mexico Chamber of Commerce and the New Mexico Restaurant Association. The business leaders noted the bill hasn’t changed much since its 2024 failure on the House floor.
Terri Cole, president and CEO of the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce, said the Chamber “continues to oppose passage of an onerous paid family medical leave proposal.” The Chamber particularly disagrees with the tax it would impose on businesses and anticipates the program would increase the cost of labor in New Mexico and make it harder for employers to find replacement workers, leading “to workplace disruptions across the economy year after year,” Cole said. She said the bill “isn’t business friendly because of its extreme business mandates.”
Jerry Schalow with the Rio Rancho Chamber of Commerce said he is concerned about the mandatory contributions contained in the bill and that workers are more concerned about being paid higher wages. Schalow said this:
“This is a tax. This would be the very first employee tax that is paid by employees as well as employers. … If the state of New Mexico put this in front of the voters and asked, ‘Would you rather have higher wages, or would you rather have paid family medical leave?’ I have a firm belief it will be overwhelmingly in favor of higher wages.”
Very strong opposition in the New Mexico legislature to the Paid Family and Medical Leave Act has come from Republicans. Republican State Representative Joshua Hernandez said this:
“I can see the benefit [of family and medical leave], but I think that the ways that we’re trying to do it are just so, well, there is much better ways to do it. … The mandate is the biggest part of what I think has, you know, businesses and legislators kind of questioning the bill still. … If they want to offer it, they should be able to offer it on a volunteer basis. … There are seven states now that have a voluntary program. All of them are thriving.”
Republican House Republican Minority Floor Leader Rep. Gail Armstrong was blunt in her opposition and said this:
“We are for paid family medical leave, but not the version that’s been introduced. And we will draw a line in the sand with that.”
Republican Armstrong was referring Democratic State Rep. Christine Chandler’s bill, which would allow all New Mexico workers to take paid time off to deal with family or medical reasons. But to pay for that, all workers and employers with five or more employees would be required to contribute a small amount of money into a state fund.
In response to Armstrong, Rep. Christine Chandler said this:
“Just to be clear, it’s not the employer paying the person’s salary while they’re on leave, but it’s actually the fund.”
Although the House Health and Human Services Committee meeting maintained a cordial decorum, tensions did appeared high at times. For example, Representative Thomson did not pass out a non-validated survey on business responses to Paid Family Medical Leave Act. Representative Martinez objected because “these numbers are important for the committee.” He said more than 80% of businesses in his district found issues with the proposed program.
After about 15 minutes into Martinez’s line of questioning, and after repeated back-and-forth between him and Representative Chandler about characterizations of the bill, Thomson said the lawmakers already “agreed to disagree” and asked them to move on. Rep. Jenifer Jones, R-Deming, questioned bill sponsors for nearly an hour, digging into the legislation page by page.
COMPROMISE ENCOURAGED
At a breakfast at the La Fonda hotel hosted by the New Mexico Chamber of Commerce, Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth, D-Santa Fe encouraged business leaders to “stay at the table.” Wirth said this:
“We’re going to try and find a compromise. … It doesn’t mean everyone’s going to be happy, but I think that it’s important that we listen and hear the concerns and the input that you all have and try and get ourselves a place where we can move forward.”
The Governor’s Spokesperson Michael Coleman Office said the Governor’s Office is still evaluating the bill and the Governor does not have a definitive position yet.
House Minority Whip Alan Martinez, R-Bernalillo, questioned the bill sponsors on how the bill would work and how it’s changed since 2019 to make it more amenable to business leaders.
In response to a question from Martinez, Department of Workforce Solutions Secretary Sarita Nair said her agency would need 219 employees to run the program and currently has a 17% vacancy rate, or 100 employees.
Links to quoted or relied upon news sources are here:
https://www.kob.com/new-mexico/paid-family-and-medical-leave-proposal-passes-first-committee/
https://www.kob.com/new-mexico/state-lawmakers-bring-back-paid-family-and-medical-leave-proposal/
https://www.abqjournal.com/business/article_2ea24f1a-d4fa-11ef-bbb2-3be182219e70.html
COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS
If there was ever a realistic chance for the New Mexico Legislature to enact a Family Leave and Medical Act, 2025 is the year to do it. This year, Democrats have a commanding 43-26 majority in the House and a 26 to 16 majority in the Senate. The biggest problem every year is the amount of time wasted to get legislation through the committee process which results in major legislation failing. Republicans consistently rely on the filibuster in the last few days of the session to kill Democrat initiatives remaining to run out the clock and the Democrats have only themselves to blame given their majorities in both chambers.
Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham has not said if she supports the Paid Family and Medical Leave Act. She made no mention of it as a priority in her State of the State address. Lujan Grisham will have only one more Legislative session before she leaves office, but the 2026 session is a “short session” of 30 days and primarily focused on budgetary matters. Democrat House and Senate leadership need to reach out to the Governor and ask for her support on the legislation and get assurances she will sign it and not veto it in the end.