NACo: Counties Encouraged By White House Action On Mental Health Parity
NACo Executive Director Matthew Chase
NACo News:
WASHINGTON, D.C. — County leaders across the nation Tuesday joined President Biden for the announcement of a new proposed role to reinforce elements of the 2008 Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA).
Mental health parity is a cornerstone of the work of the National Association of Counties (NACo) Commission on Mental Health and Wellbeing.
“Counties are feeling the strain of the rising demand for mental health services and ensuring this crisis is addressed. To achieve our shared goals, a strong intergovernmental partnership Read More
Robinson: Outdoor Recreation Division Deserves Kudos, But Don’t Neglect State Parks
By SHERRY ROBINSON
All She Wrote
© 2023 New Mexico News Services
Carl Colonius, an outdoor recreation planner for the state Outdoor Recreation Division, sat down before the Legislative Finance Committee recently, prepared to talk about trails. He found that lawmakers want to know about more than hiking. They’re eager to learn about the full range of outdoor recreation enjoyed all over the state.
In the conversational silos of state budgeting, they weighed outdoor recreation only from the Outdoor Recreation Division’s perspective, which they support. Days later, another silo of state government Read More
New Mexico Higher Education Secretary Rodriguez Participates In National Summit In Washington, D.C.
NMHED News:
WASHINGTON D.C. — New Mexico Higher Education Secretary Stephanie M. Rodriguez joined U.S. Department of Education Secretary Miguel Cardona and senior Biden-Harris administration officials in Washington last Wednesday for the National Summit on Equal Opportunity in Higher Education.
The Summit marked a key next step in the Biden-Harris administration’s efforts to advance diversity and opportunity in higher education following the Supreme Court ruling on affirmative action.
“You are the higher education leaders this county needs to transform this moment from Read More
County Council Meets In Regular Session Tuesday Aug. 8
Gessing: Cartoon & Road Trip Highlights Massive Policy Gap Between New Mexico And Lone Star State
By PAUL J. GESSING
President
Rio Grande Foundation
A recent cartoon by John Trever highlights the vastly different approaches towards governance of New Mexico and Texas.
The cartoon is of the state border circa 2030 as New Mexicans head to Texas for gas-powered vehicles while Texans visit NM for abortions and marijuana.
These are hardly the only differences between the two nowadays as Texas has no income tax or job-killing gross receipts tax, it is a right to work state, and state spending per-person is less than half of what it is in New Mexico. Not coincidentally, Texas is also one of the fastest Read More
Denish: Moms For Liberty Use Harassment, Intimidation To Push Agenda
By DIANE DENISH
Corner to Corner
© 2023 New Mexico News Services
When a local or national advocacy group uses words like “freedom”, “patriot” or “liberty” in their title, it raises my suspicions. The title may be catchy but usually disguises the true intent of the organization. This is especially true in the case of Moms for Liberty.
Moms for Liberty was founded in Florida in 2021 and began campaigning against COVID-19 protections in schools, including masks and vaccine mandates. All three of the original co-founders are Republicans (although they claim to be non-partisan) and one of them, Bridget Read More
Heinrich, Luján, Leger Fernández: Over $1.5M Funding To Fight Opioid Epidemic, Substance Abuse In New Mexico
From the Office of U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich:
SANTA FE – U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) and U.S. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández (D-N.M.) announced $1,524,625 in federal funding for the Santa Fe Recovery Center, Inc. from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to combat the opioid epidemic and substance abuse in communities across New Mexico.
The funding will go toward recovery addiction treatment, recovery services, and overdose prevention. It will also expand the Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) Access program, which the delegation passed Read More
Legislator OpEd: New Fines And Fees Law
By Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth
Sen. Crystal Diamond Brantley, and
Rep. Christine Chandler
At a time when politics are more divisive than ever, New Mexicans have meaningful bipartisan change to celebrate. A new state law went into effect June 16 mandating the Motor Vehicle Division (MVD) no longer suspend driver’s licenses for simply missing an appearance or payment in minor traffic cases. While this highly technical change may sound tedious, it has an enormous impact.
License suspensions are a severe punishment in a state like ours that relies so heavily on driving. When people lose Read More
Housing Workshop For Northern New Mexico Aug. 8
VFNM News:
ULI New Mexico in partnership with the Ventana Fund has just released its Northern New Mexico Housing report for the Española area.
This report is the result of the April 2023 Northern New Mexico Housing Summit held in Española.
ULI NM extends an invitation to Northern New Mexico leaders to attend the next steps meeting 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2023, at Nuckolls Brewing Santa Fe at 1611 Alcaldesa St. in Santa Fe.
The Española Housing Summit report discusses the impact of 7,500 new jobs in Española from Los Alamos National Laboratory and what that means for the ongoing housing Read More
Heinrich, Luján Lead Colleagues In Bicameral Call For Funding To Prevent Child Care Fiscal Cliff In New Mexico
Congressional News:
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) joined U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) along with Senators Tina Smith (D-Minn.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and U.S. Reps Suzanne Bonamici (D-Ore.) and Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.) in leading a bicameral group of colleagues to call on President Joe Biden to support needed funding to prevent a national wave of child care closures.
Democrats secured historic funding in the American Rescue Plan to stabilize child care during the COVID-19 pandemic, but that relief funding is set to end this
National Science Foundation Announces Space Valley Coalition A Finalist For Potential $160 Million Federal Grant
New Mexico Trade Alliance President Randy Trask
New Mexico Trade Alliance News:
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- The Space Valley Coalition is comprised of government, industry and academia from throughout the Rio Grande Valley, a region critical to the nation’s space strategy and research, development and testing infrastructure.
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ALBUQUERQUE — The U.S. National Science Foundation announced Wednesday the Space Valley Coalition as a finalist of its first-ever Regional Innovation Engines Competition.
The NSF Engines program is anticipated to be transformational for the nation, ensuring the U.S. remains globally Read More
Governor Reminds New Mexicans Of Tax-Free Weekend
STATE News:
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- New Mexicans can save 8% or more on purchases Aug. 4-6
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SANTA FE – Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is encouraging New Mexicans to take advantage of the upcoming Back-to-School Tax-Free Weekend, which could save shoppers 8 percent or more on purchases.
“I want the focus for New Mexico families to be on the excitement of the upcoming school year – not on worrying about which school supplies they can afford,” Gov. Lujan Grisham said.
Businesses can choose to deduct the sales of various merchandise made between 12:01 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 4, and midnight on Sunday, Aug. 6. That allows them to sell Read More
JEC Chair Heinrich On Fitch Downgrading US Credit Rating
JEC Chair Martin Heinrich
JEC News:
WASHINGTON, D.C. — This week, Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Chairman of the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee (JEC), released the following statement after Fitch downgraded the U.S. credit rating from AAA to AA+:
“Actions have consequences and Republicans’ reckless stand-off on the debt limit has now caused one of the exact consequences we warned about: A leading rating agency has downgraded its U.S. debt rating.
“I completely disagreed with House Republicans’ actions on the debt limit, and I disagree with the new threats coming from certain House Read More
State Ethics Commission Settles With New Mexico Value PAC For Campaign Reporting Act Violations
State Ethics Commission News:
ALBUQUERQUE — The State Ethics Commission today announced it has entered into a pre-litigation settlement with the New Mexico Values PAC.
The Commission alleges that, in the run up to the June 7, 2022 Primary Election, New Mexico Values PAC made independent expenditures opposing the election of Representative Susan Herrera but failed to timely disclose information about those expenditures and the sources of the contributions used to fund those expenditures.
New Mexico Values PAC’s failure to make timely and complete disclosures violated New Mexico’s Campaign Read More
LAPS To Host Informational Meeting For Potential School Board Candidates Monday Aug. 14
LAPS News:
Los Alamos Public Schools (LAPS) will host an informational meeting for potential School Board candidates starting at 5:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 14 in the School Boardroom.
Los Alamos County Clerk Naomi Maestas will open the meeting by providing information about the candidate filing process and campaign requirements. Former and current school board members will then host a question-and-answer session for potential candidates to learn more about school board roles and responsibilities.
Three seats for the LAPS Board will be on the ballot this November.
These three open seats Read More
U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich Cosponsors Legislation To Protect Communities From Untraceable Ghost Guns
U.S. SENATE News:
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) cosponsored the bicameral Ghost Guns and Untraceable Firearms Act.
The legislation, led by U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and U.S. Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.), would require online and other sellers of gun-making kits to comply with federal firearm safety regulations.
“We cannot allow ‘ghost guns’ to evade federal regulations simply because of how they are made and purchased,” Heinrich said. “This legislation will make sure the components of these weapons are traceable and subject to the same federal Read More
Heinrich, Young, Booker, Rounds Introduce Bipartisan Bill To Expand Access To Artificial Intelligence Research
U.S. SENATE News:
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Founder and Co-Chair of the Senate Artificial Intelligence Caucus, and Senators Todd Young (R-Ind.) Cory Booker (D-N.J.), and Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), Co-Chair of the Senate AI Caucus, introduced the Creating Resources for Every American To Experiment with Artificial Intelligence Act of 2023 (CREATE AI Act).
The CREATE AI Act establishes the National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource (NAIRR) as a shared national research infrastructure that provides AI researchers and students with greater access to the Read More
New Mexico State Treasurer Montoya Removes Walmart From Investment Caution List
State Treasurer Laura M. Montoya
STATE News:
SANTA FE — New Mexico State Treasurer Laura M. Montoya has upgraded Walmart, Inc. from the State Treasurer’s Office (STO) investment “Caution List ” to “Buy” status, after previously expressing serious concern regarding the February 2023 New York Times investigative report by Hannah Dreier that companies may be profiting from the use of U.S. suppliers that illegally employ underage migrant children.
“Companies that turn a blind eye to state and federal laws pose serious legal and regulatory risks that negatively affect investors,” Treasurer Read More
U.S. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández To Announce $750,000 Grant To Homewise Aug. 1
From the Office of U.S. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández:
SANTA FE — U.S. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández will announce at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 1 that New Mexico’s Homewise is the recipient of a $750,000 grant to provide down payment assistance to potential homeowners residing in New Mexico’s 3rd Congressional District.
Through the Homeownership Assistance Voucher Program eligible residents can receive up to $30,000 in the form of a housing voucher that is designed to make their home purchase more affordable.
The voucher is a form of down payment assistance (DPA), a powerful tool that helps fill Read More
Governor On Back To School: What Is New This Year For New Mexico K-12 Students
From the Office of the Governor:
As doors open for the 2023-2024 academic year, students in New Mexico, their families, and their teachers will have a stronger, more supported and well-rounded experience in schools across the state.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham highlights the advancements made during the legislative session that students, parents and teachers will see as school doors open this month.
“We’ve made great strides in the last year to reinforce the hard work educators across New Mexico already do in the classroom,” Gov. Lujan Grisham said. “The changes everyone will see as they Read More
