Joe Heller Lightens Mood A Bit Around SVB Failure
Courtesy/Joe Heller Read More
SALA Hosts Empowering Events For Women’s History Month
SALA News:
March is Women’s History Month and to celebrate, SALA is hosting two empowering events that highlight women’s achievements in the workforce and local governance.
The community to invited attend these events beginning at 6 p.m. Thursday, March 30.
The first event, “Empowering Women at Work: Insights from LANL’s Employee Resource Groups”, will be presented by Olga Martin, Jen Payne and Carolyn Connor from LANL Atomic Women, Institutional Women’s Group, and Women of Computing, respectively. They will share valuable insights into how these employee resource groups support Read More
President’s Fiscal Year 2024 NNSA Budget Enables Modernization And strengthens Nation’s Nuclear Security Enterprise
NNSA News:
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) released details of President Biden’s Fiscal Year 2024 Budget request for NNSA, a proposal designed to support the nuclear deterrent, nuclear security, and naval reactors.
The budget will allow NNSA to deliver the safe, secure, reliable, and effective nuclear deterrent the nation requires and continue NNSA’s progress in modernizing key production capabilities. It will advance nonproliferation and nuclear security efforts as well as the naval nuclear reactor mission. The budget
Senate Confirms New Mexico State Land Trusts Advisory Board Appointments
Newly appointed SLTAB members from left, Dr. Heather Miller, Beverly Allen, Commissioner of Public Lands Stephanie Garcia Richard and Mayane Barudin. Courtesy/SLO
STATE News:
- Board members provide feedback to Commissioner of Public Lands on state land issues
SANTA FE – New Mexico Commissioner of Public Lands Stephanie Garcia Richard announced today that the Senate has confirmed three of her nominees to serve on the State Land Trusts Advisory Board (SLTAB).
Under state law, members serve in an advisory capacity, meeting three times per year to provide feedback and insights to the Commissioner Read More
Bill Barring Life Without Parole For Juveniles Passes House
STATE News:
SANTA FE — The New Mexico House of Representatives has passed SB 64 No Life Sentence for Juveniles.
With the governor’s signature, New Mexico would join 26 states and Washington D.C. in banning life without parole as a sentencing option for children.
The bill’s sponsors include Sens. Antoinette Sedillo Lopez and Bill B. O’Neill, and Reps. Kristina Ortez and Gail Chasey, Democratic Majority Floor Leader.
“My colleagues understood that all children are capable of and worthy of redemption,” Sen. Antoinette Sedillo Lopez said. “Any parent knows children are different from adults,
House Bill 27 Health Coverage To Eliminate Copays For Breast Cancer Screenings Heads To Governor’s Desk
Bill co-sponsor Rep. Christine Chandler
DPNM News:
SANTA FE — House Bill 27, to eliminate copays and cost sharing for breast cancer screenings, will now make its way to the Governor’s desk to be signed into law, after unanimously passing the Senate Thursday.
The bill would extend the exemption for out-of-pocket costs on annual mammograms to also apply to additional, doctor-recommended screenings, which are often cost prohibitive and result in patients forgoing recommended tests that can be early detectors of breast cancer.
“Early detection is critical in successfully treating breast Read More
N.M. Delegation: $18.9M In Infrastructure Funding To Address PFAS, Emerging Contaminants In Drinking Water
From the Office of U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich:
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) and U.S. Representatives Teresa Leger Fernández (D-N.M.), Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.), and Gabe Vasquez (D-N.M.) announced $18,914,000 from the Infrastructure Law to address emerging contaminants, like Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in drinking water.
New Mexico will receive the federal funding through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Emerging Contaminants in Small or Disadvantaged Communities (EC-SDC) Grant Program. Read More
House Passes Omnibus Tax Bill For New Mexico
Rep. Derrick Lente
By ROBERT NOTT
The Santa Fe New Mexican
The House of Representatives voted 50-18 Sunday evening to approve an omnibus tax policy plan that would provide $500 and $1,000 rebate checks to taxpayers later this year.
The amended House Bill 547 upped the amount of those rebate checks from an earlier draft that would have offered $300 to single taxpayers and $600 to married couples filing jointly.
“We heard the public, we heard members of this body and the Senate — we should give [more] money back to the people of New Mexico,” Rep. Derrick Lente said, (D-Sandia Pueblo), who introduced Read More
DPLA To Host Legislative Postgame At The Tub March 20
DPLA News:
In place of its regular March meeting, the Democratic Party of Los Alamos (DPLA) will host a legislative postgame at 6 p.m. Monday, March 20 at Bathtub Row Brewing Co-op, 163 Central Park Square.
For information on the April monthly meeting, visit losalamosdemocrats.org
New Mexico House Committee Approves Bill To Create Unified Health Care Authority
Bill co-sponsor Sen. Liz Stefanics
By ROBERT NOTT
The Santa Fe New Mexican
A bill that would blend several divisions from various state agencies into a new health care authority is moving closer to reality.
Members of the House Health and Human Services Committee voted 6-3 along party lines to approve Senate Bill 16, which would allow the state to lay out a plan to rename the Human Services Department as the Health Care Authority Department and add a number of health-related entities from other state agencies.
The refashioned department would be charged with finding and buying the most affordable Read More
Legislative Roundup: 5 Days Remain In 2023 Session
Legislative Roundup
The Santa Fe New Mexican
Crisis stop OK’d: The House of Representatives unanimously approved legislation allowing law enforcement officials the right to drive people they have taken into custody who may be suffering from behavioral problems to local crisis triage centers for an examination and possible treatment.
Otherwise, said Rep. Doreen Gallegos, D-Las Cruces, said, those people would go to “the ER [emergency room] or jail.” Gallegos and Sen. Jerry Ortiz y Pino, D-Albuquerque, are sponsoring Senate Bill 310.
Proponents of the bill say it’s one way to treat behavioral Read More
New Mexico Senate Passes $9.57 Billion Budget Amid Accusations Of Backroom Shenanigans
Senate Finance Committee Chair Sen. George Muñoz
By DANIEL J. CHACÓN
The Santa Fe New Mexican
The state Senate passed a nearly $9.6 billion spending plan for the upcoming fiscal year Sunday amid accusations the proposed budget was hijacked at the eleventh hour.
Discussion on the proposed budget, which would increase spending by almost 14%, or more than $1 billion, also came with a warning from the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee: The level of spending is unsustainable.
“New Mexico had better be prepared in our future for the plateauing of oil and gas, and that’s not too many years away,” Read More
House Approves Free School Meals, Bill Heads To Governor
By ROBERT NOTT
The Santa Fe New Mexican
The House of Representatives voted unanimously this evening to pass a bill to provide free breakfast and lunch to all New Mexico public school students — regardless of their economic standing.
Senate Bill 4 is now on its way to the desk of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, who is expected to sign it. Lujan Grisham made providing free lunches to all students a priority of hers in this year’s 60-day legislative session.
She first brought the idea up during a convention on public health policy in Philadelphia late last year.
“Universal free breakfast and lunch will Read More
Huang: Questions To Ask On China’s Tree-Planting Day
On this 2023 Tree-Planting Day, a video circulating around China shows four giant pandas sitting down and having their ‘Summit Peace Talks’ while sharing apple chips in their hometown Sichuan. Courtesy/Zhen Huang
By ZHEN HUANG
Los Alamos
Today, March 12th marks China’s National Tree-Planting Day.
US Agriculturist Sterling Morton created the first Tree-Planting Day in 1872. It was created in order to inspire our passions for planting and protecting trees, and to protect and improve the natural environment on which we depend.
China’s Tree-Planting Day was initially proposed by our founding Read More
County Short-Term Rental Survey Open 2 More Weeks
COUNTY News:
Los Alamos County residents are encouraged to participate in a survey to assess the community’s experience with and perceptions of short-term rentals (STRs), and to gauge the degree of STR regulation that the community will support.
The online version of the survey is available here until 11:59 p.m. Sunday, March 26. Paper copies of the survey are available for pick-up at the County Municipal Building (1000 Central Avenue, Los Alamos), on the first floor, at either the Customer Care Center or in the Community Development Department (Suite 150) lobby. Paper surveys must be returned Read More
With A Week To Go, Where Do Governor’s Priorities Stand?
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham
By ROBERT NOTT and DANIEL CHACÓN
The Santa Fe New Mexican
When Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham delivered her 2023 State of the State address on the opening day of this year’s legislative session, she charted a course of her priorities for lawmakers over the following 60 days.
Such addresses, dismissed by some, avidly followed by others, say much about what any governor’s political agenda is and what he or she sees as the top issues impacting their state.
With one week left to go in this year’s session, which ends at noon on March 18, how has the governor fared with her initiatives?
Bill Protecting Patient & Provider Privacy; Ensuring No One Is Criminalized For Legal Health Care Passes Senate
SENATE News:
SANTA FE — Friday, Senate Bill 13: the Reproductive & Gender-Affirming Health Care Protection Act, legislation designed to prevent discrimination related to abortion and gender-affirming care, protect the privacy of patients and providers, and ensure no one is criminalized for safe and legal health care, passed the senate (26-16).
Under this bill, if a person seeks or provides reproductive or gender affirming care in New Mexico, regardless of where they come from, the state will protect their information from the reach of other states. New Mexico public bodies will not Read More
New Mexico Legislature Approves Bill Ending Debt-Based Driver’s License Suspensions
Rep. Christine Chandler of Los Alamos
STATE News:
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- Bipartisan Legislation Will Reinstate Hundreds of Thousands of New Mexican Driver’s Licenses
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SANTA FE – Late Saturday night, the New Mexico House passed SB 47, which would end the widespread practice of suspending licenses due to court debt.
The bill, sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth, Sen. Crystal R. Diamond, and Rep. Christine Chandler, now heads to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s desk.
SB 47 ends driver’s license suspension for missed court hearings and overdue fines and fees payments owed in traffic and criminal cases. It Read More
New Mexico House Of Representatives Passes Capital Outlay Bill Despite Fight Over Abortion Clinic
The Roundhouse in Santa Fe. Courtesy photo
By ROBERT NOTT
The Santa Fe New Mexican
The House of Representatives voted to approve a $1 billion-plus capital outlay bill Republicans said they could not support because of a $10 million appropriation to construct an abortion facility in Doña Ana County.
The list of projects funded by the legislation includes park upgrades, road improvements, acequia system support, senior center renovations and the construction of fire stations and behavioral health facilities.
But it was the proposed abortion clinic that led House Republicans and two Democrats Read More
New Mexico Doctors Fight For Medical Malpractice Changes
Dr. Gabrielle Adams
By ROBERT NOTT
rnott@sfnewmexican.com
While state lawmakers tackle a number of key issues this session that grab the public’s attention— crime, public education, rebate checks — there are any number of lower-profile ones that keep popping up and down like inflatable punching bags.
Like medical malpractice, to name one.
A moving current of white medical coats — with professional practitioners within them — showed up in force at the Roundhouse Saturday to remind lawmakers the issue is very much alive in their minds.
Their goal is to pressure lawmakers to act on a stalled bill Read More
