Freedom Index Results Highlight Challenging 2019 Legislative Session

(Albuquerque) The Rio Grande Foundation has tracked floor votes in New Mexico’s Legislature from the perspective of individual freedom (both economic and under the US Constitution) for several years. Final results for the 2019 Legislature are available now.

Unlike most legislative “scorecards,” the Foundation’s Freedom Index tracks hundreds of bills (more than 800 bills were rated this session alone) and rates them from -8 to +8. High scores are tough to come by because minus votes actually subtract from the vote total. Thus, a positive overall score is considered “good.”

Unfortunately, as Rio Grande Foundation president Paul Gessing noted, “2019 was not a good year. In fact, when it comes to New Mexico taxpayers and their economic and constitutional freedoms, 2019 was the worst year he could recall.”

The Five Highest Point Scorers were:

Rep. Candy Spence-Ezzell
Rep. Rod Montoya
Sen. Mark Moores
Rep. Rachel Black (tied)
Rep. James Strickler (tied)

The Five Lowest Point Scorers were:

Rep. Joy Garratt
Rep. Sheryl Williams Stapleton
Rep. Daymon Ely
Rep. Debra Sarinana
Rep. Eliseo Alcon

The Worst Bills Rated and Voted on Included:

HB 2 (The Budget which increased spending by 11%)
HB 84 (Automatic Voter Registration)
HB 85 (Eliminating local Right to Work ordinances)
SB 489 (Forcing utilities to use 50% “renewable” electricity)
SB 2 (More than doubled film subsidies from $50 million to $110 million annually)