Rep. Gail Armstrong shares a Republican’s view on the good, bad and ugly of the legislative session

With just over a week left in New Mexico’s 30-day legislative session, a handful of bills have been passed and signed into law but there’s still a lot up in the air for lawmakers. Some of the bills passed so far have had bipartisan support, but others have faced strong opposition by the Republican minority in both chambers.

In the latest episode of the “Around the Roundhouse” podcast, House Minority Leader Gail Armstrong joins Santa Fe New Mexican state politics reporter Daniel J. Chacón to offer her take on the good, the bad and the ugly of the session so far.

The Magdalena Republican starts with sharing her support for the interstate compacts for doctors and social workers, and the medical malpractice reform bill that is still working its way through the Legislature.

Armstrong also discusses her opposition to the passage of House Bill 9, a bill to ban local governments in New Mexico from contracting with the federal government to detain undocumented immigrants and others with pending civil immigration cases. She later talks about Senate Bill 17, a gun control bill Republicans have called unconstitutional.

Chacón asks Armstrong about Republicans’ hopes of picking up seats in the Legislature in the upcoming election. She discusses what it’s been like being in the minority party, saying “we’re really sick and tired of being pushed around” and that better balance is needed in the Roundhouse.

Armstrong ends the podcast by talking about her House district, which is the largest in the state and very rural. “I probably have more cows and elk than I do people. I kind of like it like that,” she says.

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