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Read. Follow. Verify.New Mexico requires lodging facilities to post human trafficking notices and train employees
Last action · January 22, 2026: Not PrintedSponsor: Ray Lara
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What This Bill Proposed
New Mexico requires hotels, motels, and other lodging facilities with ten or more rooms to display informational human trafficking posters and ensure all employees complete awareness training starting July 1, 2026. Operators must maintain training records for three years and face civil penalties of up to $500 for each violation. Smaller facilities with 25 or fewer employees receive a 12-month grace period to comply.
Lodging business operators face new administrative mandates, employee training schedules, and financial penalties up to $500 per violation, while staff gain mandatory anti-retaliation protections for reporting suspected trafficking.
- Raymundo Lara is a member of the New Mexico Legislature who introduced House Bill 147 during the 2026 regular legislative session. context
- State human trafficking awareness laws for hospitality businesses have been increasingly enacted across multiple states to leverage hotel staff in identifying potential victims. context
Who It Would Have Affected
Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Lodging facility operators
Operators must purchase or display mandated posters, implement annual staff training, preserve records for three years, and face civil penalties up to $500 per violation.
Lodging facility employees
Employees must complete annual human trafficking awareness training within specified timeframes and receive whistleblower protections for good-faith reports.
Workforce Solutions Department
The department is tasked with making available a model poster that satisfies statutory requirements.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which lodging facilities are covered under this bill?
What are the penalties if a lodging facility fails to comply?
Are employees protected if they report suspected human trafficking?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Died at adjournment · introduced in the House.
Procedural history
1 action- Jan 22, 2026New Mexico LegislatureNot Printed
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Connected Entities
Sources
www.nmlegis.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 55)
- Controversy15Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz25Current news / social attention level
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