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Bill

HR 1

PUBLISH YES & NO VOTES ON COMMITTEE REPORTS

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Matthew McQueen

Requires New Mexico lawmakers to publicly disclose and publish individual yes and no votes cast during committee proceedings to increase legislative transparency and accountability.

action postponed indefinitely
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Bill Summary · HR 1

Legislative bill overview

HR 1 would require that individual yes and no votes cast by legislators on committee reports be publicly disclosed and published. Currently, many committee votes may not be systematically recorded or made available to the public in an easily accessible manner. This bill aims to increase transparency in the legislative process by documenting how individual representatives vote when committees prepare reports.

Why is this important

Committee votes are where much legislative work happens before bills reach the full chamber for debate. Public access to these votes allows constituents to see exactly how their representatives voted on specific issues and helps hold legislators accountable. Transparency at the committee level can also reveal patterns of bipartisan cooperation or partisan divisions on particular topics.

Potential points of contention

  • Cost and administrative burden: Implementing a comprehensive system to publish all committee votes may require new staff, software, or databases, raising questions about fiscal impact and legislative operations efficiency.
  • Committee confidentiality concerns: Some argue certain preliminary committee discussions or votes on sensitive matters benefit from limited circulation before public debate, though this may conflict with transparency goals.
  • Existing systems: If committees already informally track votes or publish some records, questions may arise about which votes qualify, what format meets requirements, and whether this duplicates existing efforts.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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