“I work for YOU—not for myself, nor for any political party. I’m a Ph.D. research scientist, a husband, and a dad—not some out-of-touch career politician. My record over the last 10 years shows this, and I will continue working to make my hometown, and New Mexico, a better place for us all.”
– Representative Jason Harper
Education
Introduced HB 227, which was unanimously passed and signed into law: made meaningful changes to the teacher evaluation system to stop penalizing teachers for staying home when sick.
Added three amendments to HB 147, which safeguarded the Lottery Scholarship: for the sixth year in a row, Jason Harper led the effort to protect this vital program. We stopped the Lottery Authority from raiding the Lottery Scholarship fund, and we also prevented middle-class families from being denied their fair share of funding.
Introduced HB 263: Rescues the Lottery Scholarship: this permanently keeps the Lottery Scholarship afloat instead of kicking the can down the road. It also weans it off tax money, keeping it safe and self-sustaining. Jason’s amendment to SB 347 also made sure that all qualifying students will be treated equally, instead of giving more funds to some students, and less to others.
Co-Sponsored SB 122: Fixes High School Graduation Requirements: ensures that (1) Marching Band, JROTC and other co-curricular activities count towards high school PE credit, so that students are not burdened with unnecessary similar courses, and (2) graduation requirements don’t change for students once they start high school—no surprises in mid-stream!
Healthcare
Introduced HB 226: Midwifes and Rescue Meds: allows registered nurse midwives to obtain and carry life-saving medicines to stabilize the mother and/or baby if unforeseen complications arise during birth.
Supporting Our Community
Introduced HB 157: Childhood Cancer Family Support License Plate: after 10-year-old Taliana was diagnosed with cancer, the Vargas family took steps to make a difference in other kids’ lives. They advocated for a “Childhood Cancer Family Support” license plate, to raise awareness and generate funds. Little Tali spoke in committee hearings, and there was not a dry eye in the house. It was an honor to sponsor this bill.
Introduced HB 371: Reformed the Public Improvement District (PID) Law: ensures that homeowners are not subjected to massive property tax increases like those faced by our neighbors in the Mariposa subdivision.
Introduced HB 479: De-Earmarking: provides more freedom to cities and counties on how they build their budgets, instead of dictating from Santa Fe what dollars should be spent where.
Co-Sponsored SB 84: Department of Transportation: provides a new way high-quality road projects can be done faster & cheaper.
Leveling the Playing Field
Co-Sponsored HB 167: prevents possible double taxation when purchasing a car.
Co-Sponsored SB 129: Tax Hearing Office Changes: helps ordinary New Mexicans through the tax protest process, placing them on level footing with state tax auditors and establishing incentives for mediation that benefit both sides.
Co-Sponsored SB 356: Independent Tax Hearing Office Act: fixes the conflict-of-interest for state tax audits by establishing an independent Tax Hearing Office, giving taxpayers a fair shake when appealing an audit decision.
Co-Sponsored SB 410: aligns NM Partnership tax code with the Federal code updates, creating consistency.
Common Cent$ with Your Tax Dollars
Introduced HB 352: Mandatory Claw-Backs: ensures that when companies receive public funding, but the commitments the companies made are not met, your tax dollars are returned. No free lunches on your dime!
Introduced HB 236: Rescued the Severance Tax Permanent Fund: NM’s permanent funds save each household $1000/year in taxes; this bill stops the over-raiding and requires more investments, keeping the funds safe and growing.
Introduced HB 271: Road Funding Changes: ensures fees from transportation through NM go to maintain NM roads.
Introduced HB 326: Tax Updates and HB 98 Tax Clean-Up: makes several changes to our outdated tax code, bringing it more up-to-date and making it more uniform when compared with other states. Also reduces compliance costs for businesses, freeing up money for growth.
Co-Sponsored SB 218: NM Corporate Income Tax fix: closes fat-cat loopholes, leveling the playing field for all businesses.
The Great Outdoors
Co-Sponsored HB 563: Rio Grande Trail Commission: helps create a beautiful new 500-mile “Rio Grande Trail” along the river, to share our rich history, culture, and landscape with our families, and to attract tourism dollars.
Introduced HB 479: Search and Rescue Teams: for New Mexicans who are part of a volunteer Search and Rescue (SAR) team, allows them to make a claim through NM State insurance if their personal property is damaged while on an official mission.
Jobs and Small Businesses
Introduced HB 2: Jobs Package: protects families with high medical bills from massive tax increases, and also helped rank NM 8th in the U.S. for tax friendliness, paving the way to attract more businesses and jobs to NM.
Co-Sponsored SB1, Economic Development Bill: creates incentives for massive new business growth (which means more jobs!) by cutting construction taxes by half.
Co-Sponsored HB 526, and HB67 Technology Readiness Bill: creates more good jobs by helping technologies invented at our National Labs become high-value products.
Introduced HB278: Manufacturing Equipment Deduction: stops penalizing businesses when they invest in equipment needed to build their product, helping to rebuild our economy.
Introduced HB 371: protects small businesses from ‘gotcha’ audits by the NM Tax and Revenue Department, which almost killed good businesses in Rio Rancho.
Introduced HB102: State & Local Tax Options: reduces businesses’ overall tax burden, freeing up money for growth, which leads to new jobs.