Carlsbad Mayor: Legislative Session opens, city supports local business

Thank you to Jennifer Hedrick and Magistrate Judge Jimmy Foster for the invitation to the 5th Judicial DWI Drug Court Alumni Celebration on Tuesday. The Eddy DWI Drug Court Program held its first alumni support meeting in 2017. It’s the longest running treatment court alumni program in New Mexico, and other programs now use it as a reference for building their own.

Moving past addiction is never an easy process- it requires a great deal of personal determination, while support from the community and loved ones is always important It’s also not a process with a single finish line – addiction can return at any moment. Alumni and current participants in the DWI Drug Court Program all spoke at Tuesday’s graduation. They spoke about how the program helped them because they knew that other people had experienced similar challenges in the past. They renewed their commitment to better themselves and to help each other. Cindy Sharif with the Eddy County DWI Program was also present to support the effort.

Thank you to George Armijo, Carlos Gonzales, Donnie Gossett, Benito Ortego, Jesse Ramos and Jimmy Davis for their courageous words. Thanks again to all of the men and women who assist with the Eddy DWI Drug Court Program.

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New Mexico’s 2022 session began this week, with the Governor issuing the State of the State address at 1 p.m. on Tuesday. The deadline for bill introduction for this short session is on Feb. 2.  This is a 30-day session, meaning bills are generally expected to address economic issues.

Of specific concern to us is House Bill 6, which changed the way business taxes are filed. In most instances, taxes are now based on where services are provided, not where the company providing them is located. This has produced a host of challenges for small businesses, who now have to keep track of where each individual service takes place. It has also made things extremely difficult for communities such as our own, who have a large number of companies who provide services outside of city limits. We have been very blessed over the past few years to see a very high population growth. This has meant more jobs and opportunity here, but it also means much more responsibility in terms of providing essential services.  This change is expected to have a massive negative impact on our community, and we understand that many other communities around the state are facing similar situations. We hope that amendments will be made to House Bill 6 during this legislative session that will address these concerns.

Sincerely,

Carlsbad Mayor Dale Janway