Senator Woods presented a bill intended to attract veterinarians to the state by providing loan‑repayment tied to years of service in underserved areas. The Senate Finance Committee adopted an amendment to strike the appropriation and then gave the bill a do-pass recommendation.

Under the program described by Woods, the repayment schedule would provide $15,000 after the first year of qualifying service (paid to the creditor), $25,000 for each of the next two years, and total roughly $80,000 after four years of service. The payments are made to the loan creditor and are contingent on completion of each year of service.

John Winslow, extension veterinarian with New Mexico State University, and Mia Candelaria from the New Mexico Higher Education Department joined the presentation to answer technical and financial questions.

Senators considered and adopted an amendment to strike the bill’s appropriation. The committee then voted on a do‑pass motion (moved by Senator Trio and seconded as recorded). The clerk announced a do‑pass recommendation; the committee’s recorded result was announced as 7–0 in favor.

What’s next: with the do‑pass recommendation the bill proceeds for printing and referral to the full Senate; because the committee removed the appropriation in the amendment, implementation funding would need to be addressed later in the budget or by a subsequent appropriation.