CIBOLA COUNTY, N.M. – The New Mexico State Legislature is debating a bill which mandates that young people who are considered “homeless” by the state receive an identification card that cab serve as an ID without requiring a parent’s signature.
House Bill 127, proposed by NM Representative D. Wonda Johnson (D – McKinley, San Juan), seeks to make it more accessible for homeless youth to improve their lives by allowing them to acquire certain state-required documentation without needing the signature of parents who are not available.
The bill comes after the New Mexico Children’s Youth and Families Depart-ment was running into issues at the end of 2020 with children in their sphere aging out of the program and not having access to resources to support their continued growth.
How would this work?
First, a young person’s homeless status needs to be identified. The bill calls for a social worker, schoolteacher, or other person in good standing to attest to the young person’s homeless situation before they can get an ID card.
People aged 20 and younger are considered youth by the standards of this bill. A “homeless” person is so designated if they do not have a consistent location where they live, someone who is moving from motel-to-motel, living in emergency shelters, or people who live in their cars.
People aged 25 or younger fall into this category if they do not have a “fixed place of living.”
Where is this bill today?
House Bill 127 is currently scheduled for a hearing in the House State Government, Elections, and Indian Affairs committee on Wednesday, Feb. 10.
The bill had already passed its first hurdle, the House Consumer and Public Affairs Committee on February 2.
If approved on Feb. 10 the bill will be sent to the House Floor for a full vote. If approved in the House, the bill moves to the New Mexico Senate for approval.
Rep. Johnson can be reached at 505-986-4433.