SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) - The state House of Representatives is poised to vote on Democratic-sponsored bills to raise the statewide minimum wage, guarantee abortion rights and replace the Columbus Day holiday with Indigenous Peoples’ Day.
House Speaker Brian Egolf planned for lengthy deliberations Wednesday on the initiatives.
The minimum wage bill has the backing of Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and would raise base pay to $12 an hour in 2021. Restaurant owners opposed a provision to do away with exemptions for tipped workers and were petitioning the governor.
Leading Democrats want to remove the state’s criminal ban on abortion in case the U.S. Supreme Court overturns a decision that made the procedure legal.
Votes also are looming on bills to expand background checks on firearms and ensure medical insurance coverage for contraception.
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