New Mexico House bill authored by Rep. Hochman-Vigil repealing pending vaccination law changes passes House and Senate

Passed bill authored by State Rep. Dayan Hochman-Vigil aims to maintain current vaccination-related provisions by repealing scheduled statutory changes after winning approval in both chambers, according to the New Mexico Legislature.

HB 156 passed both chambers as of Wednesday, Feb. 18, clearing the House by a vote of 51-14 and the Senate by a vote of 38-1.

In the House, 42 Democrats and nine Republicans voted in favor of the bill, while 14 Republicans opposed it.

Meanwhile, in the Senate, 23 Democrats and 13 Republicans voted in favor, while one Republican voted against it.

Dayan Hochman-Vigil introduced the bill in the New Mexico House on Monday, Jan. 26 during the 57th Legislature.

Hochman-Vigil graduated from Colorado College in 2006 with a BA and again in 2011 from University of New Mexico with a JD.

Hochman-Vigil, a Democrat, was elected to the New Mexico State House in 2019 to represent the state’s 15th House district, replacing previous state representative Sarah Maestas Barnes.

According to the New Mexico Legislature website, the bill’s title was officially listed as: ‘Repeal Special Session Vaccination Laws’.

The following is our breakdown, based on the actual bill text, and may include interpretation to clarify its provisions.

In essence, this bill repeals Sections 8 through 13 of Chapter 5 of the Laws of 2025 from the first special session, which were scheduled to take effect July 1, 2026. The bill removes these pending statutory changes before they become law, effectively maintaining current vaccination-related provisions instead of allowing the previously enacted but not yet effective changes to go into force.

The bill was co-sponsored by Rep. Elizabeth Thomson (Democrat – District 24) and Rep. Elizabeth Thomson (Democrat – District 24).

In New Mexico, the legislative process involves multiple steps: a bill is introduced in either the House or Senate, assigned to a committee for review, debated and voted on in both chambers, and, if approved, sent to the governor for signature or veto. The Legislature meets annually, commencing on the third Tuesday in January, with 60-day sessions in odd-numbered years and 30-day sessions in even-numbered years. While numerous bills are introduced each session, only a fraction successfully navigate the process to become law. You can read more about bills and other measures here.