Fiscal impact reports (FIRs) are prepared by the Legislative Finance Committee (LFC) for standing finance
committees of the Legislature. LFC does not assume responsibility for the accuracy of these reports if they
are used for other purposes.
F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T
SPONSOR McQueen
LAST UPDATED
ORIGINAL DATE 2/11/2025
SHORT TITLE No Bill Intro Deadline
BILL
NUMBER House Bill 256
ANALYST Leger
ESTIMATED ADDITIONAL OPERATING BUDGET IMPACT*
(dollars in thousands)
Agency/Program
FY25 FY26 FY27
3 Year
Total Cost
Recurring or
Nonrecurring
Fund
Affected Legislative
Branch
No fiscal impact $30.0 to $70.0 $20.0 to $60.0 $20.0 to $70.0 Recurring General Fund
Parentheses ( ) indicate expenditure decreases.
*Amounts reflect most recent analysis of this legislation.
Relates to House Concurrent Resolution 1 and House Joint Memorial 2
Sources of Information
LFC Files
SUMMARY
Synopsis of House Bill 256
House Bill 256 (HB256) amends 2-6-1 NMSA 1978 to remove the timeframe for introduction of
legislation. Currently, a bill cannot be introduced subsequent to the 30
th
legislative day in odd-
year sessions and subsequent to the 15
th
legislative day in even-year sessions.
This bill does not contain an effective date and, as a result, would go into effect 90 days after the
Legislature adjourns if enacted, or June 20, 2025.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
With no timeframe for introduction and no limit on the number of bills introduced, the full-time
legislative agencies responsible for researching and drafting legislation, as well as writing fiscal
impact reports, may require additional staff to meet the demand of bill drafting and analysis for
the full 30 or 60 days of a legislative session. A review of contracts listed on the legislative
website shows multiple contracts that range from $10 thousand to $25 thousand for the 2025
legislative session (60-day session) for legislation research and drafting and writing of fiscal
impact reports. Expenses will vary from 30-day session to 60-day session.
House Bill 256 – Page 2
SIGNIFICANT ISSUES
The elimination of a bill introduction timeframe may limit the number of public peace, health,
safety and welfare bills (emergency bills or once referred to as dummy bills) introduced on the
last day of bill introduction. In the 2024 session, 32 legislative members introduced 71
“emergency bills” between the two chambers. Of the emergency bills introduced, five bills were
substituted for new legislation; however, none of the bills passed both chambers.
RELATIONSHIP
This bill relates to House Concurrent Resolution 1 (HCR1), which amends the joint rules of the
House and Senate to limit the number of bills a member can introduce or sponsor to five bills in
a regular legislative session.
This bill also relates House Joint Memorial 2, which requests that the Legislative Council
convene a task force to study combining standing and interim committees into committees that
function during the legislative session and the interim.
OTHER SUBSTANT IVE ISSUES
The passage of HB256 in combination with adoption of HCR1 could increase the efficiency of
the legislative process. Allowing a maximum of 560 bills to be introduced over 30 and 60 days
instead of 15 and 30 days provides additional time to draft and analyze legislation. However, this
may also limit the amount of time it takes for committee and chamber action on bills introduced
late in the session.
There is no Joint House or Senate Rule of the Legislature outlining how bills are prioritized for
committee hearings or a specific timeframe for public notice of bills scheduled for committee
hearings. According to the Open Meetings Act, reasonable notice shall be given to the public.
JL/hj/SL2