LESC bill analyses are available on the New Mexico Legislature website (www.nmlegis.gov). Bill analyses are
prepared by LESC staff for standing education committees of the New Mexico Legislature. LESC does not assume
any responsibility for the accuracy of these reports if they are used for other purposes.
LEGISLATIVE EDUCATION STUDY COMMITTEE
BILL ANALYSIS
57th Legislature, 1st Session, 2025
Bill Number HB110 Sponsor Sariñana
Tracking Number .228872.1 Committee Referrals HEC/HJC
Short Title Interstate Teacher Mobility Compact
Original Date 2/25/2025
Analyst Armatage Last Updated
BILL SUMMARY
Synopsis of Bill
House Bill 110 (HB110) would enter New Mexico into the Interstate Teacher Mobility Compact (Compact), which allows teachers to use an eligible license from a compact member state to be
granted an equivalent license in another compact member state.
The Compact would only be applicable to initial licenses granted by the receiving state. Thus,
Compact license recipients would be required to meet New Mexico licensure requirements for
licensure renewal or advancement.
HB110 exempts active military service members and eligible military spouses from certain
Compact licensure requirements. Unlike other out -of-state candidates through the Compact,
licenses held by service members or eligible spouses could be unencumbered (for example,
provisional licenses) and still eligible to receive licensure through the Compact.
If HB110 is enacted, the secretary of public education, or their designee, would serve as New
Mexico’s Compact commissioner and the delegate to the Interstate Teacher Mobility Compact
Commission (Commission). The Commission is a joint interstate governmental agency comprised
of states that have enacted the Compact. Commissioners are required to meet at least once annually. HB110 outlines the powers and duties of the Commission , including levying fees from
member states.
HB110 would require New Mexico to participate in exchanging licensure information with other compact member states in accordance with generally accepted data protection principles. New Mexico would not relinquish ownership of its licensure information.
HB110 would charge the executive and judicial branches of New Mexico (and each member state) with enforcing the Compact.
HB110 includes provisions both for the Commission to terminate state membership in case of state default, as well as provisions for states to withdraw from the Compact.
HB110 – Page 2
If HB110 were enacted , any phrase, clause, sentence or provision of the Compact declared contrary
to the New Mexico constitution or the United States constitution, would be held invalid and the
remainder of the Compact would remain in force.
If enacted, HB110 would become effective June 20, 2025.
FISCAL IMPACT
The bill does not include an appropriation.
The Interstate Teacher Mobility Compact became active in 2023 and is still in the early phases of
implementation. Thus, potential fee structures for member states or teacher applicants are still
uncertain. The Compact does not currently levy fees from member states. According to staff at the
Council of State Governments, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that supported development of the Compact, no fees are expected to be levied from member states for at least the next year.
Based on the Nurse Licensure Compact, state membership costs are expected to be minor. Potential fees for teacher applicants would likely be determined by the Public Education Department (PED), though the Commission could later decide to charge applicants fees.
New Mexico joined the Nurse Licensure Compact in 2003. The Nurse Licensure Compact charges
each member state $6 thousand annually for membership. While the Nurse Licensure Compact
does not charge nurse applicants fees, member states may charge applicants a fee for a multistate license. New Mexico licensed nurses are not required to pay a fee to upgrade their license to a multistate license. The Interstate Medical Licensure Compact passes Interstate Medical Licensure Compact fees onto
physicians seeking licensure through the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact. Applying
physicians pay a $700 service fee to the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact Commission. T he
Interstate Medical Licensure Compact Commission remits $300 of the fee to the applicant’s state of principal licensure and the remainder is retained by the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact
Commission. Anytime the applicant requests a letter of qualification from the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact Commission to gain licensure through the Interstate Medical Licensure
Compact, the applicant pays the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact Commission a service fee of $100. Applicants eligible for expedited licensure through the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact pay the licensing state a fee determined by the state, ranging from $75 in Alabama to
$805 in the District of Columbia. SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES
Interstate Teacher Mobility Compact. The Compact allows teachers to use an eligible license
from a compact member state to be granted an equivalent license in another compact member state. Currently, 10 states have joined the compact, including New Mexico’s neighbors Utah, Colorado,
and Oklahoma. Legislation for the compact is also pending in five other states. The Compact is intended to lower barriers to teacher mobility by permitting teachers holding an
eligible license in a member state to apply for an equivalent license in another member state
without submitting additional materials, taking state-specific exams, or completing additional
coursework.
HB110 – Page 3
Eligible Licenses. If HB110 were enacted, New Mexico would provide the Commission with a
list of eligible licenses the state is willing to consider for equivalency under the compact. HB110
defines an eligible license as a license to engage in the teaching profession that requires at least a
bachelor’s degree and the completion of a state-approved program for teacher licensure.
Upon receipt of an application for licensure by a teacher holding an unencumbered license issued
by a Compact member state, New Mexico would determine which license, if any, the teacher
would be qualified to hold and would grant that license. Compact member states may determine
an applicant is not eligible for any of the state’s licenses.
HB110 defines an unencumbered license as one that is current, valid, and issued by a member
state’s licensing authority that allows a person to serve as a teacher in kindergarten through 12th
grade in a public school. It is not a restricted, probationary, provisional, substitute or temporary
credential. As such, neither New Mexico’s alternative or standard level 1 teaching license would
be eligible for reciprocity through the Compact.
Were HB110 enacted, New Mexico could opt to require teachers who receive a New Mexico
license through the Compact to meet state-determined requirements for licensure renewal or
advancement. Under the Compact, states may also require additional information from teachers
receiving a license through the Compact for the purposes of determining compensation.
Career and Technical Education Licenses. Under the Compact, as enumerated in HB110, states
that require a bachelor’s degree for licenses to teach career and technical education, are not
required to issue Compact member state applicants an unencumbered career and technical
education license who do not hold a bachelor’s degree.
New Mexico currently offers four pathways to initial secondary vocational-technical teaching
licensure, including options for candidates who hold a bachelor’s degree, associate degree, professional certificate, or high school diploma (see Table 1: New Mexico Pathways to Initial
Secondary Vocational-Technical Licensure) . If HB110 is enacted, secondary vocational-
technical teachers in New Mexico who were licensed through pathway two , three, or four may be
denied licensure from Compact member states because they lack a bachelor’s degree.
Current Teacher Licensure Reciprocity . New Mexico state law allows for a teacher licensed in
another state to be granted a level two or level three license if the teacher:
1. Has teaching experience;
2. Demonstrates the required competencies; and
3. Meets other requirements and qualifications for the license for which they apply.
PED administrative rule provides provisions for out of state teachers to apply for a level 1, level
2, or level 3 teaching license through reciprocity. The requirements for licensure through
reciprocity are generally similar to the requirements for in- state candidates (see Table 2: Current
Table 1: New Mexico Pathways to Initial Secondary Vocational-Technical Licensure
Education Work Experience
Pathway 1
Bachelor’s degree with 32 credit hours of
vocational training
None
Pathway 2 Associate degree Two years of verified related work
Pathway 3 Professional Certificate Three years verified related work
Pathway 4 High School Diploma/GED Five years verified related work
Source: NMAC 6.61.7.8
HB110 – Page 4
Level 2 Elementary Teacher Licensure Requirements for In-State and Out-Of-State
Candidates).
Table 2: Current Level 2 Elementary Teacher Licensure Requirements for In-State and Out-Of-State Candidates
Requirements In-State Candidate Out-Of-State Candidate
License Level 1 Teaching License
Valid teaching license issued by a state education
agency
OR
National Board Certified Teacher
Education Bachelor’s degree or higher Bachelor’s degree or higher
Teacher
Preparation
Program
Completed a department-approved teacher preparation
program
Completed a standard or alternative preparation
program approved in another state or accepted by PED
Experience Three years with successful annual evaluations Three years
Exams Passed required PRAXIS exams Passed exams required by state applicant is licensed in
Professional Learning
Successfully completed five required PED micro-
credential courses
No requirement
Mentorship Complete mentorship program No requirement
Source: NMAC 6.60.4.8 and PED
If HB110 is enacted, PED’s existing teacher licensure reciprocity requirements would remain an
important pathway to licensure for out-of-state teachers who do not live in Compact member states.
PED’s reciprocity requirements also provide a pathway for teachers in other states teaching on a
license equivalent to New Mexico’s level 1 teaching license to apply for a level 1 teaching license
in New Mexico, while the Compact would not.
Military Personnel and Families. HB110 would exempt active military members and eligible
military spouses from certain Compact licensure requirements. Unlike other out-of-state
candidates through the Compact, licenses held by these individuals would not have to be
unencumbered to receive licensure through the Compact. HB110 defines unencumbered licenses
as current, valid, licenses issued by a member state’s licensing authority. Unencumbered licenses
exclude those that are restricted, probationary, provisional, or a substitute or temporary credential.
State law already makes certain teacher licensure and substitute certificate exemptions for military
service members, their spouses, their dependents, and veterans, including:
• Expedited licensure. PED shall process the application for licensure within 30 days;
• Acceptance of expired licenses. PED shall issue a license of no more than one year for an
expired licenses from another jurisdiction; and
• Waived fees. Applicants under this law are not required to pay licensing fees for the first
three years their newly issued license or certificate is valid.
As in HB110, eligible military personnel and their families issued teaching licenses through this section of law are required to complete renewal requirements for the licenses issued to them. The ITM Compact is funded by the Department of Defense.
ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS
HB110 would require the secretary of public education, or their designee, to serve as New Mexico’s Compact commissioner.
HB110 – Page 5
PED would be required to provide the Commission with a list of eligible licenses the state would
be willing to consider for equivalency under the C ompact.
PED would need to update administrative code to reflect the Compact and associated licensure
procedures.
Finally, HB110 would require PED to participate in exchanging licensure information with other
Compact member states.
RELATED BILLS
Relates to House Bill 156, Increase Instructional Salaries, which would increase teacher minimum
salaries by $5 thousand at each licensure tier, to $55 thousand for a level 1 teacher, $65 thousand
for a level 2 teacher, and $75 thousand for a level 3 teacher.
Relates to House Bill 297, School Personnel Computer Science Licensure, which would codify
existing pathways to computer science teacher endorsement, reinstate two recently expired
pathways to endorsement, and expand computer science endorsement eligibility to all kindergarten
through 12th grade (K-12) teachers who meet endorsement requirements.
Relates to Senate Bill 343, Teacher Salary Rate Changes, which would repeal language exempting
local education agencies (LEAs) from paying teachers with vocational education licenses state
minimum teacher salaries.
SOURCES OF INFORMATION
• LESC Files
• New Mexico Public Schools Insurance Authority
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