Frequently Asked Questions

1. How often is the bill text updated?
2. Where do I find a key to the abbreviations that appear after the bill title, in the Bill Finder and in the Bill Locator?
3. Where do I find a key to committee codes that appear in the bill actions?
4. What can I do if the search results in "no bills found" or "document contains no data"?
5. Where can I find the most recent version of a bill that includes its amendments?
6. How do I find a capital outlay project?
7. What is different about the pdf version of a bill?
8. Why won't my computer load or print a large bill?
9. Where do I find: bill amendments - committee substitutes - veto messages - voting records?
10. How do I find the final outcome for a bill?
11. What is the effective date of a bill that has been passed by both houses and signed by the governor?
12. Where do I find the NM state statutes?
13. Glossary


How often is the bill text updated? During a legislative session, every effort is made to finish updating the information in the Bill Finder by 6 a.m. of the next calendar day. The revision date is posted on the search page of the Bill Finder. After a legislative session, updates will be made as the governor takes action on the bills that have passed. The deadline for the governor's action is 20 days after the session ends; no updates are necessary after that deadline.
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Where do I find a key to the abbreviations that appear after the bill title, in the bill explorer and in the Bill Locator? To get to the key to action abbreviations, click on the help option on the lower menu bar and select the Abbreviations link.
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Where do I find a key to committee codes that appear in the bill actions? To get to the key to committee abbreviations, click on the help option on the lower menu bar and select the Abbreviations link.
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What can I do if the search results in "no bills found" or "document contains no data"? First, make sure the session in the Bill Finder search box is set to the one you need. The default setting is always the most recent legislative session. Do not include letters in front of the bill number. If the problem persists after you've tried a couple of different ways of searching, notify the Legislative Council Service.
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Where can I find the most recent version of a bill that includes its amendments? The New Mexico Legislature does not prepare "engrossed" bills - with amendments integrated into the bill text - until a bill has been passed by both chambers. The final version of the bill, listed in the Bill Finder menu, is the complete integrated text which contains all of the amendments.
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How do I find a capital outlay project? A capital outlay project is usually introduced as a house or senate request. These can be searched in the same way as bills and memorials. Capital outlay requests may include one or several projects from a single legislator. However, capital projects are usually collected into an omnibus capital bill near the end of the legislative session. The number and sponsor of the original request are not included in the omnibus bill, but the project can be found using key word searching. It can be helpful to find the project description in the original request and to search using those exact words for example "football field" or "sports stadium". Note that there may be several projects that use the same descriptive words.
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What is different about the pdf version of a bill? Pdf, which stands for "portable document format", is the version that resembles the official format of the bill and its amendments and reports. While the html format of the bill has separate files for committee reports, amendments and committee substitutes, the pdf version includes all of these in one single file. You will need to scroll through the bill to identify the various parts. Large bills in pdf format can contain hundreds of pages of text.
They are also the best way to print bill contents if you require a document that closely resembles the actual bill. But remember, only the printed version is a legal copy.
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Why won't my computer load or print a large bill? Our previous version was framed based and some people had problems printing large bills. You should be able to print any bill you can view in your browser. If you continue to have problems printing a bill from your browser, access the pdf version.
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Where do I find: bill amendments - committee substitutes - veto messages - voting records? These are listed in the Bill Finder menu on the left of your screen after you have made a search and selected a bill. Veto messages are formally called "executive messages". To get to the key to committee abbreviations, click on the help option on the lower menu bar and select the Abbreviations link.
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How do I find the final outcome for a bill? The latest action taken on a bill appears as the last locator information under the short title that appears after a bill search. After a session ends, the governor has 20 days to act on those bills that passed both houses and were sent to him at the end of the session. For more information on the governor's approval or veto of bills, see Article 4, Section 22 of the Constitution of New Mexico.
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What is the effective date of a bill that has been passed by both houses and signed by the governor? The date on which the new law takes effect will depend on an effective date written into the bill, an emergency clause or the default date for that legislative session. A date written into the bill itself usually appears in a separate section titled "Effective Date" at the end of the bill. Some bills also contain significant dates in other sections, such as a gross receipts tax exemption that became law on July 1, 1999 for sales that take place after January 1, 2000. An emergency clause in the bill means it goes into effect as soon as it is signed by the governor. This appears as a separate section titled "Emergency" at the end of the bill. A bill must be passed by a two-thirds' vote of each house. The date on which the governor signed the bill is given in the locator information that appears with the short title of the bill after a search in the Bill Finder or when browsing the Bill Locator. If the bill does not contain an effective date or emergency clause, it becomes law according to Article 4, Section 23, of the Constitution of New Mexico, which says "Laws shall go into effect ninety days after the adjournment of the legislature enacting them, except general appropriation laws, which shall go into effect immediately upon their passage and approval".
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Where do I find the NM state statutes? You can access the state statutes from the menu on the left side of your screen.
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