Heller: Nailed It…
Tribute to Jimmy Carter who served as the 39th President of the United States from 1977 to 1981. He was awarded the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize for work to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development. He has recently entered hospice. Courtesy/Joe Heller Read More
Legislative Re-Cap: High School Graduation Redesign Clears New Mexico House, Two AFT NM Bills Tabled
AFT NM News:
We are now in the sixth week of the Legislative session and bills are beginning to make their way out of the New Mexico House or Senate to the other legislative chamber. What does this look like in real life?
Generally, a bill will receive 1-3 committee hearings in the legislative chamber where the bill is introduced.
Once a bill passes those committees, it will be heard by the full chamber where it was introduced. If that chamber’s majority votes “yes” on the legislation, it will then be sent to the other legislative chamber for consideration in committees and then by the full chamber before Read More
Legislative Roundup: 23 Days Remain In 2023 Session
Legislative Roundup
The Santa Fe New Mexican
Pause on special education office: Members of the House Education Committee were cool Wednesday toward a proposal to start a new office of special education within the state Public Education Department.
House Bill 285, sponsored by Rep. Elizabeth “Liz” Thomson, D-Albuquerque, also calls for the governor to appoint the office’s director — an idea that some special education advocates said is troublesome because of the potential for turnover.
Earlier this week, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced she had hired Los Lunas Schools Superintendent Read More
New Mexico Director Of State Archaeology Office Ousted From Longtime Position
Eric Blinman
By ROBERT NOTT
The Santa Fe New Mexican
One of the state’s most renowned archaeologists was working under the floorboards when he got the call early last week.
Within the hour, he found out he was fired.
“I was terminated,” said Eric Blinman, the longtime director of the New Mexico Office of Archaeological Studies. “No cause was given. No cause was required, since I am a governor’s appointee.”
Blinman, 69, said in an interview Wednesday he had been working in an excavation site under the Palace of the Governors in downtown Santa Fe when he received a phone call requesting that he go Read More
Ethics Bill To Prevent Abuses Of Power Passes Committee
Rep. Kathleen Cates
NMDP News:
SANTA FE — House Bill 5 advanced through the House Government, Elections and Indian Affairs Committee this morning.
This bill updates the Governmental Conduct Act to make the exchange of sexual acts for official favors an ethics violation, and increases the maximum penalty for an ethics violation from $5,000 to $10,000.
HB 5 aims to prevent government officials or legislators from coercing individuals into sexual acts in a quid pro quo arrangement.
“This is an overdue update to the Governmental Code of Conduct. Everyone should feel safe interacting with public Read More
Senators Heinrich, Luján Introduce Bill To Rename Gallup VA Clinic In Honor Of Hiroshi ‘Hershey’ Miyamura
U.S. SENATE News:
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) introduced legislation to rename the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Community-Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC) in Gallup the Hiroshi “Hershey” Miyamura VA Clinic in honor of the late Medal of Honor recipient and World War II and Korean War veteran.
Heinrich said, “Renaming the VA Clinic in Gallup is one important way we can continue to honor Hershey Miyamura’s courageous actions and brave sacrifices during the Korean War and his lifelong commitment to this community. I will never Read More
Legislative Committee Tables Bill Allowing New Mexico State Employees To Work From Home
Jen Paul Schroer
By ROBERT NOTT
The Santa Fe New Mexican
New Mexico Tourism Department Cabinet Secretary Jen Paul Schroer told lawmakers Tuesday, “We serve the public better when we are in our offices.”
Schroer and about 20 other Cabinet secretaries and deputy secretaries showed up at a legislative committee hearing in opposition to a bill that would allow state employees to work remotely if their physical presence is not required at a job site to perform their duties.
Several lawmakers on the House Labor, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee said they were impressed and swayed Read More
Ringside Seat: Big Banks Step Up To Silence Storefront Lending Fearmongers
By MILAN SIMONICH
The Santa Fe New Mexican
My job is to look out for the underdog. It’s also to praise heavyweights when they deserve it.
Today’s tip of the hat goes to three financial giants: Wells Fargo, Bank of America and U.S. Bank.
They are doing what ruthless storefront lending companies claimed was impossible. The banks are providing small loans to New Mexico customers at reasonable rates, all at a rapid clip.
Only a year ago, an army of lobbyists for storefront lenders told New Mexicans the sky was falling. The lobbyists claimed desperate, low-income residents would never Read More
Legislative Roundup: 24 Days Remain In 2023 Session
The Santa Fe New Mexican
Members of Congress: U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján and U.S. Rep. Melanie Stansbury delivered words of encouragement to lawmakers Tuesday during a joint session of the Legislature.
Luján, who spoke first, got off to an emotional start by remembering his late father, former House Speaker Ben Luján, who served in the chamber for nearly four decades.
“On a day like today, you’d think after 10 years,” he said before pausing as his voice cracked with emotion, “it’d be easier to be here and address each and every one of you. But mom’s here.”
As he looked into the chamber, Read More
New Mexico Increase In Alcohol Excise Tax Stumbles
Rep. Derrick J. Lente
By ROBERT NOTT
The Santa Fe New Mexican
An effort to increase New Mexico’s alcohol excise tax for the first time in 30 years — a measure intended to help the state rein in a problem that takes the lives of more than six people a day — stumbled Monday when the House Taxation and Revenue Committee unanimously voted to table the bill.
House Bill 230 calls for a flat 25-cent tax per serving, starting in July — a hefty change from tax rates that now range from a high of 15.5 cents for a serving of “fortified wine” to a low of 0.4 cents for a serving of spirits by a craft distiller that has sold less Read More
Unions Celebrate Committee Passage Of HB 236 To Establish Process For Safe Staffing Levels In New Mexico’s Hospital Settings
AFT NM News:
SANTA FE – National Union of Hospital and Health Care Employees, District 1199NM Executive Director, HB 236 Sponsor Rep. Eleanor Chavez, District 1199NM President James Ortiz and American Federation of Teachers New Mexico (AFT NM) President Whitney Holland issued the following statement Monday celebrating House Bill 236’s advancement thorough the House Health and Human Services Committee:
“Our unions are celebrating the passage of House Bill 236 through its first committee, the House Health and Human Services Committee on a unanimous vote. House Bill 236 would begin the Read More
County Short-term Rentals Program Public Open House Wednesday
COUNTY News:
The public open house on the County’s Short-term Rental Program will be 6-8 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 22, in County Council Chambers at 1000 Central Ave.
The public is encouraged to attend this in-person meeting, including a project presentation and Q&A session planned for 6:15-6:45 p.m. Light refreshments will be served.
This meeting was originally scheduled for Feb. 15 but rescheduled due to adverse weather conditions.
Short-term rentals, also known as vacation rentals, are now a mainstay in most communities and Los Alamos is no exception. The purpose of the Los Alamos STR Read More
Governor Appoints Dr. Arsenio Romero To Lead PED
Dr. Arsenio Romero
From the Office of the Governor:
SANTA FE – Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham today appointed Los Lunas Superintendent Dr. Arsenio Romero as the Secretary of the Public Education Department. He will begin work March 6.
“Dr. Romero has been a key education policy partner since the beginning of my administration,” said Gov. Lujan Grisham. “With his broad range of experience as a teacher, a principal, and superintendent in districts across the state, I have full confidence that he will continue to build innovation and access for New Mexico students. Dr. Romero has the vision and expertise Read More
Some In GOP Decry Overdose Prevention Bill As State-Funded ‘Drug Den’ Program
Rep. Harlan Vincent, R-Glencoe
By DANIEL J. CHACÓN
The Santa Fe New Mexican
A bill that would allow for the creation of state-funded overdose prevention centers where drug users would have a safe space to consume heroin, fentanyl and other illegal substances cleared its first legislative committee Monday.
House Bill 263 passed the House Health and Human Services Committee on a 5-3 party-line vote.
“I just can’t get my mind wrapped around something like this,” said Rep. Harlan Vincent, R-Glencoe, who called the proposed overdose prevention facilities “drug dens”.
“This is not a drug den,” Read More
Legislative Roundup: 25 Days Remain In 2023 Session
The Santa Fe New Mexican
Red or Green?: New Mexico already has an official state song — “O Fair New Mexico” — but some lawmakers want an official state chile song. Songwriter Lenny Roybal has just the piece for the occasion — his original tune “Red or Green?”
Members of the House Rural Development, Land Grants and Cultural Affairs Committee will consider House Bill 510, which would make “Red or Green?” the official state chile song, in their Tuesday morning committee hearing.
We think the bill’s sponsors — Reps. Andrea Romero, D-Santa Fe, Javier Martínez, D-Albuquerque, Read More
New Mexico Teachers Demand Full Funding For Insurance Premiums In Roundhouse Rally
Educators from across the state gather at the Roundhouse Feb. 20, 2023, for a rally organized by the National Education Association to lend their support to House Bill 102, which would shift a significant chunk of health care costs from public school teachers to their employers. Jim Weber/The Santa Fe New Mexican
By MARGARET O’HARA
The Santa Fe New Mexican
Nicole Pearson loves her job.
She’s a lead teacher in a highly structured special education classroom at Aspen Community School in Santa Fe. She has two master’s degrees and nearly two decades of experience as an educator.
But when her eldest Read More
Senate Endorses Bill To Open Primary Elections
Sen. Siah Correa Hemphill
By DANIEL J. CHACÓN
The Santa Fe New Mexican
Independent voters would no longer have to sit out primary elections under a bill the Senate approved today.
Senate Bill 73, which now heads to the House for consideration, would allow unaffiliated voters to select a major party ballot and vote in a primary election without having to change their registration status.
Sen. Jerry Ortiz y Pino, an Albuquerque Democrat, joined nine Senate Republicans voting against the measure, saying it takes responsibility out of voting.
“I just see this as a kind of Generation X kind of thing Read More
Governor Signs Bipartisan Hermit’s Peak-Calf Canyon Fire Recovery Bill
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham
From the Office of the Governor:
SANTA FE — Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed Senate Bill 6 today alongside sponsors Sen. Pete Campos, Sen. Liz Stefanics, Rep. Ambrose Castellano and Rep. Joseph L. Sanchez as well as local and state officials.
Senate Bill 6 will provide the Department of Finance and Administration (DFA) the ability to distribute $100 million in zero-percent interest loans to local governments or political subdivisions who have eligible FEMA Public Assistance projects from the 2022 Hermit’s Peak Calf Canyon wildfires. The loans will ultimately Read More
Santa Fe World Affairs Forum Lunch Program Features Former U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman Discussing New Book ‘Breakdown: Lessons For A Congress In Crisis’ Thursday
Sen. Jeff Bingaman
SFWAF News:
The Santa Fe World Affairs Forum (SFWAF) Lunch Program will feature former U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico discussing his new book “Breakdown: Lessons For A Congress In Crisis” noon to 2 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 23 in Board Room #233 at Santa Fe Community College.
“I will explain the main points I make in the book, both about the problems I saw develop in the workings of Congress, and about the increased pressures members of Congress face as they try to act in the public interest. I will also discuss eight of the challenges Congress tried to deal with—where we succeeded Read More
Rep. Gabe Vasquez: Federal Money Needed To Modernize Technology, Upgrade Border Security At Santa Teresa
U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez, left, greets Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar at a press conference Tuesday to discuss the importance of bolstering international trade between the United States and Mexico. Courtesy photo
Congressional News:
SANTA TERESA – U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez (NM-02) hosted a press conference Feb. 14 with U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar at the Santa Teresa border crossing. In his speech, Vasquez discussed the importance of bolstering international trade between the United States and Mexico in order to strengthen the economies of our border communities.
Rep. Vasquez’s Read More
