Legislators look back at 2024 session: Kathleen Cates

For Representative Kathleen Cates, the 2024 legislative session in New Mexico was both fulfilling and disappointing.

While some of her “bigger” bills passed, she was disappointed that some of her “ethics” bills didn’t but intends to bring them back should she return to the house.

The bills that didn’t pass were a housing discrimination bill, county redistricting task force bill, anti book banning and elected officials and government conduct changes.

She was especially hopeful for the housing discrimination bill. The bill would ban ‘source of income’ discrimination.

“It got killed in the very first committee. I was very disappointed by legislators who seem to support what I would call prejudicial views based on people’s income source,” she added.

Cates said she found out UNM law students were studying the bill in class and thought it was a good bill.

Despite corporate pushback, she says she intends to keep pushing for this bill to succeed.

“The apartment association members are all against the housing discrimination bill. In my interim committees, I heard numerous times about people who had a voucher for section eight and they could not find a place to rent because the landlord said ‘we won’t accept vouchers’,” Cates said.

Cates had also heard through legislators who serve on the military and veterans committee that they had active military and veterans that were having difficulty in finding rentals because landlords wouldn’t rent to them.

“They were saying, ‘oh, you’re going to leave a nine months or two years, we’re not going to rent to you’,” she said.

She says there were also reports from people who have fixed income that landlords wouldn’t rent to them saying just because they qualify one year doesn’t mean they will in coming years.

“And so that’s why i decided this would be a very simple fix, it’s not overly elaborate. And it does not interfere with landlord’s creating the criteria they need to create to vet their renters,” Cates added.

Housing Discrimination laws have been updated to include many factors but income hasn’t been successfully added yet.

Two “large” bills of Cates’ did pass both house and senate but are sitting on the governor’s desk.

The first was an apprenticeship fund which she says will benefit trades in the state. The other was to do with a water fund aimed at helping rural and agricultural communities.

Cates also talked about bills presented in recent years saying they do not keep younger generations in mind.

She explained that if she were younger and having to support a family, she couldn’t be a legislator because the position is unpaid. She says younger legislators bring perspective that older generations don’t. She continued saying older generations often pass legislation that won’t take effect until after they’re long gone.

“That is why you only have old people, why are presidential candidates all like 80. That’s why our legislators are all over 50, because we’re the only ones that can afford to. So, I’m very grateful for some of the youth in the house now, even when I don’t agree with them. We desperately need their perspective,” Cates said.