By james art 
Hands rise among the audience, as reporter Doreen Galegos, chairman of the Chamber of Trade and Economic Development Committee, asks who is against HB11 during a long Commission meeting on Wednesday, February 19, 2025, which is closely voted on to progress for progressing The updated version of the proposal for paid family and medical leave. The proposal will go to the floor of the house, where Bill version for paid and medical leave was killed in 2024. A photo from Jim Weber/New Mexican
Reporter Christine Chandler, D-Los Alamos, testifies during a long meeting of the Chamber of Trade and Economic Development Committee on Wednesday, February 19, 2025, which is closely voted for a pre-updated version of her proposal for paid family and medical leave. The proposal will go to the floor of the house, where Bill version for paid and medical leave was killed in 2024. A photo from Jim Weber/New Mexican
By Margaret O’Hara
The new Mexican Santa Fe
It may be a week at Santa Fe’s restaurant, but representatives of some Santa Fe establishments have changed their restaurants for the round house on Wednesday afternoon.
They appeared at a committee meeting to express their prospects – both for the benefit and against – at the last proposal of New Mexico for paid family and medical leave.
“As a small business operating with thin razors, we fought significantly from Covid-19, especially in finding and retaining quality staff,” Kerry Young told the committee on behalf of Boxcar Bar and Restaurant.
The proposal for paid family and medical leave will only create “additional weights” for the staff as they adapt to workers on vacation, Young said.
However, the municipal councilor of Santa Fe and the local owner of Alma Castro restaurant speaks in favor of the proposal, arguing that the existing system offers “there is no time to withdraw” to take care of a loved one.
“My over 30-year-old family business-so many small companies-they need to vote on HB 11,” Castro, owner of Café Castro, said.
At a Wednesday meeting on Wednesday, an updated version of the legislators’ proposal for paid family and medical leave closely survived the control of the Committee on Trade and Economic Development of the Chamber.
With 6-5 votes, the group of legislators voted for the progress of the Commission a substitute for the Chamber Bill 11, which will provide $ 3,000 a month plus up to 12 weeks of paid leave to one parent after welcoming a new child, as well as up to six to six weeks at ” Family Wellness Leave “while receiving part of their salaries. The benefits will be available from January 1, 2028.
The replacement committee reduces the cost of premiums for workers and employers compared to previous versions of the bill, while ensuring that workers are able to take advantage of a vacation when they need it, said Bill Sponsor Christin Chandler, D-LOS Alamos.
“This is beneficial for your voters and, frankly, my voters and any group of voters who do not have a program of benefits like that when they get sick,” Chandler told Wednesday’s Commission members.
The proposal will go to the floor of the house – where a version of Bill for paid family and medical leave was killed.
What new with HB 11?
The latest version of HB 11 divides the paid family and medical leave into two different pieces, known in the bill as “Welcome Child” and “Family Wellness”.
The Welcome Child component will apply to families after birth or adopting a child, offering a fixed rate of $ 3,000 a month to one parent. Both parents would have access to 12 weeks of welcoming children to work with protection.
Although the original version of HB 11 offered premiums for workers and employers to pay for parental leave, legislators now plan to pay for a welcome child from the child through the state budget of the early childhood and care department.
This is because it is “almost impossible” to find children care for the first three months of the child’s life, said during a committee meeting, sponsoring reporter Linda Serato, D-Santa Fe.
“This is vital when we look at our education at an early age and the development of these children,” she said.
The current annual budget of the early childhood and care is approaching $ 800 million, while initial forecasts show that “Welcome Child” payments will cost approximately $ 200 million a year. Chandler said legislators are already reporting for this price as they are developing the state budget.
“What is the message we send with state funding? The state is committed to families, “Chandler said.
But there is another piece of HB 11: if it is accepted, the bill will also provide “Family Leave for Wellness”, with part of the salaries of workers available through a fund paid by employees and employers.
The bill determines “Family Wellness Leave” to include fear leave, medical leave, foster leave, leave relating to the military service of a family member and “safe leave” to take action to protect himself a or family member of certain types of types of violence, namely domestic violence.
Qualifying workers will be able to take up to six weeks of family wellness leave until they receive part of their pay, equivalent to the minimum wage of the state, plus two -thirds of their remaining salary.
Employers and employees will contribute to premiums to pay for family wellness leave, with workers chipping in the equivalent of 0.2% of their profits while employers will add. This is significantly more than the proposed premiums offered by 0.5% and 0.4% for workers and employers, respectively.
However, premiums are a sticking point for many business defenders who were from a dozen on Wednesday to oppose the updated HB 11.
Although employers with five or less employees will benefit from programs without having to pay the premiums, they claim that the cost – plus must work around a missing employee – yet they will harm their business.
“When they understand that this is a tax in time of inflation, they do not want it,” Carla Sontag of the Business Coalition in New Mexico told the commission.
Republicans offer opposition – and alternative
House’s Republican leadership took on social media on Wednesday morning, encouraging adherents to show up to oppose House Bill 11.
“This is the biggest tax that New Mexicans will ever feel,” said the leader of minorities in the Gail Armstrong House in the X, former Twitter video, announcing the Republican alternative.
But, Reporter Rebecca Dow, R-TRUTH or consequences, he added to the video: “We’re not just here to say no. We realize that paid leave is very important, so we have offered a reasonable alternative. ”
This alternative is the House Bill 446. Dow sponsored, the bill will provide workers with part of its salaries for six weeks of parental leave, with the possibility of an additional three weeks for leave for employees involved.
Unlike HB 11, HB 446 does not provide time for leave or benefit for the care of a family member, preparing for a spouse’s military deployment or a family member from certain forms of violence.
Funding for HB 446 also stems from a different source, drawing from the State Education and Care Fund for early childhood – which now contains billions of dollars – instead of drawing from a combination of existing funding and premiums for education and premiums for early childhood and premiums paid by premiums and premiums paid by premiums paid by premiums and premiums paid by premiums and premiums paid by premiums and Premium employers and employees.
“There is no reason to tax citizens – to tax taxing you or your employer – when New Mexico has the largest excess we have ever seen,” Dow said in the video.
The members of the Republicans submitted the same skepticism to the Committee on Trade and Economic Development of the Chamber, argue that the proposal would put special tension on rural areas and amount to the government invasion of private business.
“The more taxes we apply, and the more mandates we put on employers and employees, take away the opportunity for employers to help make these decisions,” Armstrong said during the Commission meeting.
She completed the comments of her meeting on the committee, mentioning the next step of the proposal for a paid family and medical leave: “I will see you on the floor,” she said.