Updated: 02/23/2015 4:06 PM | Created: 02/23/2015 3:58 PM 
By: The Associated Press

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) – A committee of New Mexico lawmakers has approved an anti-bullying bill spurred by the 2013 suicide of a teenager who was bullied at school.

The bill calls for the creation of a five-member board to oversee grant applications to eradicate bullying in New Mexico schools and colleges. It garnered bi-partisan support Monday in the Senate Rules Committee with a unanimous vote.

The legislation, called the Carlos Vigil Memorial Act, would create a fund to be administered by the University of New Mexico Board of Regents.

Bill sponsor Sen. Jacob Candelaria of Albuquerque says bullying is an issue that “warrants a state response.”

A Twitter post by 17-year-old Carlos Vigil of Los Lunas about enduring bullying garnered widespread media attention in 2013 after he committed suicide.

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