The Senate Taxation & Revenue Committee considered many agenda items and recorded motions and votes on several bills. Below is a concise "votes at a glance" summary, followed by short context for each item the committee acted on.

Votes at a glance

- SB 52 (reimbursement modernization; private aircraft reimbursements) — Do pass (unanimous in attendance recorded). Sponsor: Sen. Soles. Committee moved the bill, citing alignment of state reimbursement rates with federal levels to reduce payment errors.

- SB 352 (autopsy photos; medical examiner statutory privacy exception) — Do pass. Sponsor: Senator Duhigg and Dr. Heather Jarrell testified that autopsy and medical examiner photos should be withheld from public records except where required for criminal or civil proceedings. Support from Albuquerque Police Department was recorded.

- SB 413 (severance tax private equity cap increase to 14%) — Do pass, 5–4 (covered in separate article).

- SB 460 (film project loans from severance tax permanent fund to independent New Mexico film projects) — Do pass, 6–3. Supporters (independent filmmakers and industry witnesses) said loans would support local production and crew; proponents described a history of state loan programs producing longer term economic returns via series and films that attracted sustained production.

- SB 118 (organ donor registry / administrative substitute) — Do pass, recorded 9–0 (committee substitute streamlined administrative mechanisms and encouraged interagency coordination via motor vehicle division and other agencies).

- SB 422 (appropriation for operational support for affordable‑housing nonprofits) — Do pass, 7–3. Sponsor presented a $5 million, five‑year request to be managed through the mortgage finance authority (rebranded Housing New Mexico); committee members asked about selection criteria and reporting requirements; NMFA/Housing New Mexico confirmed oversight and reporting to the legislature.

- SB 408 (procurement cap increases for construction and related services) — Do pass, 10–0. Sponsors said rising construction and professional service costs and procurement timing issues require higher single‑contract and aggregate caps to let public entities complete projects; supporters included school and public procurement groups.

- SB 377 (New Mexico United specialty license plate) — Do pass, 10–0. Proceeds to Department of Tourism; sponsor and club representatives said plate would promote team and tourism.

- HB 66 (workers' compensation attorney/discovery fee adjustments) — Do pass, 6–4. Sponsor described a negotiated compromise raising statutory fee caps and discovery payment levels to make it more viable for attorneys to take workers' compensation cases; worker advocates supported the changes.

Additional notes and context

- SB 52: Sponsor said small‑aircraft reimbursement language in state code lagged federal rates and caused overpayments and rewrites; committee moved to update state law to use federal levels to avoid duplicate payments.

- SB 352: Dr. Heather Jarrell (medical examiner) and APD policy counsel supported excepting autopsy images from public record except when needed for litigation; committee moved a do‑pass and thanked staff for work on a high‑profile case highlighting the need.

- SB 460: Independent filmmakers and the film community urged renewed access to preproduction loan funds to cultivate local production and distribution paths for independent works; the sponsor argued past state loans led to TV series and economic activity despite mixed short‑term returns.

- SB 408: Cooperative procurement (CES) and school superintendents testified in support, citing vendor caps that prevented contractors from bidding after hitting 10‑year limits; sponsors negotiated cap increases with state purchasing (GSD) and said the bill includes reasonable controls.

Ending and next steps: each bill that received a do‑pass recommendation will proceed by the legislative calendar to the next committee of reference or onto the floor as required. Items flagged for further drafting or fiscal review (notably bills with large fiscal implications) will receive follow‑up with Legislative Finance, implementing agencies or Judiciary as appropriate.