House Bill 62 Formalizing Teacher Mentorship To Address Statewide Shortage Passes Education Committee
STATE News:
SANTA FE — House Bill 62, sponsored by Majority Floor Leader and Rep. Sheryl Williams Stapleton (D-Albuquerque), Rep. Andres Romero (D-Albuquerque), Rep. Willie Madrid (D-Chaparral), Rep. Debra Sarinana (D-Albuquerque), and Rep. Joy Garratt (D-Albuquerque), was heard Thursday in the House Education Committee.
House Bill 62 creates a fund through which PED can establish a formal mentorship program help school districts and individual schools support educators and help them succeed.
“New Mexico is facing a crisis in our schools, particularly in our rural areas,” Rep. Williams Read More
Skolnik: Coronavirus, The US, And Global Health Security
By RICHARD SKOLNIK
White Rock
The health of anyone, anywhere, is the health of everyone, everywhere. Infectious diseases and resistance to antibiotics don’t respect boundaries. The whole world is in this together.
No country is adequately prepared to deal with disease threats, resistance to antibiotics or bio-terrorism. Two recent studies revealed how far we are from being ready to cope adequately with such threats.
Major threats to global health exist and may get worse. We have already faced SARS, MERS, Ebola, and resistance to many antibiotics. We had an anthrax scare. Coronavirus is Read More
NNSA Not Among Finalists For Santa Fe Midtown Campus Redevelopment
Three finalists were named Tuesday to redevelop the city-owned Santa Fe Midtown Campus, formerly the home of Santa Fe University of Art and Design. Couurtesy/SFUAD
By BONNIE J. GORDON
Los Alamos Daily Post
bjgordon@ladaailypost.com
The City of Santa Fe has named three finalists for the redevelopment of the city-owned campus that was left vacant when the Santa Fe University of Art and Design closed. The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), which administers Los Alamos National Laboratory is not among them.
The finalists are Raffles Education Corp., a Singapore-based education Read More
Former State GOP Executive Marge Teague Has Died
RPNM News:
The Republican Party of New Mexico announced Monday that former state GOP Executive Director Marge Teague has died.
Teague was 84 and had been in hospice care for 10 days before her passing in Oregon, according to a GOP news release.
Teague was executive director of the Bernalillo County Republican Party and later served under former Gov. Gary Johnson.
The news release indicates that no public services are planned for Teague in Oregon and the family plans a memorial service in May in Albuquerque. Read More
Red Flag Gun Bill ‘Extreme Risk Firearm Protection Order Act’ Steeped In Controversy Clears Senate Panel
By JENS GOULD
The New Mexican
In an emotional hearing before hundreds of supporters and detractors, a state Senate panel narrowly passed a high-profile gun bill today that would allow law enforcement to obtain a court order to confiscate guns from people considered dangerous.
The Senate Public Affairs committee voted 4-3 along party lines in favor of Senate Bill 5, known as the “Extreme Risk Firearm Protection Order Act”.
The bill will now be sent to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
The legislation is a marquee item on Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s agenda and likely to be one of the most contentious Read More
CIR: Jeff Bingaman On ‘Impeaching A President’
Sen. Jeff Bingaman
CIR News:
During a luncheon at 11:30 a.m. Monday, Feb. 3 at Hotel Santa Fe, retired U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) will react and respond to the Senate trial of President Trump by offering key reflections on his experience in the January 1999 trial of President Bill Clinton.
Interviewed by Amb. Vicki Huddleston, Sen. Bingaman will provide a behind-the-scenes look at an impeachment trial, reviewing the oft-cited trial rules set by the US Senate in 1999 for such a trial, and the role that evidence, including witnesses and partisanship played in President Clinton’s eventual Read More
Governor Authorizes ‘Licensing For All’ Bill SB 137
NMDT News:
SANTA FE — Gov. Michelle Lujan-Grisham sent a message Friday to Senate President Pro Tempore Mary Kay Papen authorizing Senate Bill 137 to move forward during the 30-day session.
The bill expands access to professional and occupational licensing to ALL New Mexicans, no matter immigration status. SB 137 is sponsored by Sen. Jerry Ortiz y Pino and Rep. Javier Martinez.
The NM Dream Team has put together a fact sheet to provide more details on its campaign for SB 137.
NMDT Campaign Manager Felipe Rodriguez said:
“SB 137 will play an important role in the transformative decade that Gov. Read More
Committee Votes 7-4 To Pass House Joint Resolution 1
By JENS GOULD
The New Mexican
The House Commerce and Economic Development Committee gave the green light Friday to legislation calling for a constitutional amendment to tap more of the state’s nearly $20 billion Land Grant Permanent Fund, even as the governor is prioritizing an alternate proposal to create a new trust fund for a similar purpose.
The committee voted 7-4 along party lines to pass House Joint Resolution 1, which would allow additional distributions of 1 percent from the fund to be used for early childhood educational services. Under current law, annual distributions from the Read More
Gessing: Stars Have Aligned For Needed Pension Reform
By PAUL GESSING
and LEN GILROY
Over the last few weeks leading up to the 2020 legislative session, an all too rare alignment has occurred in New Mexico—the Governor, legislators from both parties, labor and taxpayer representatives, plan managers and other stakeholders in Santa Fe all agree that it is time to reform the state’s largest public pension system.
New Mexico’s Public Employees Retirement Association (PERA) has amassed over $6 billion in unfunded pension liabilities and has become vulnerable to volatile investment markets. The Governor’s PERA Solvency Task Force recognized Read More
Legislative Roundup: 26 Days Remaining In Session
Legislative Roundup
SFNM News:
Governor on guns: Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham spoke on Friday about proposed gun legislation, saying it’s possible to protect Second Amendment rights as well as improve public safety. “My message is we have an opportunity to do both,” she told reporters. “Why wouldn’t we?”
Lujan Grisham has put on her agenda an initiative, filed as House Bill 7 and Senate Bill 5, that would allow for extreme-risk protection orders, letting law enforcement obtain a court order to remove guns from people considered dangerous.
Best of both worlds? Lujan Grisham also spoke about Read More
Optimism Marks Opening Of 2020 Legislative Session
Members of the New Mexico National Guard present the colors as the 2020 Legislative Session gets underway Tuesday in Santa Fe. Photo by Carol A. Clark/ladailypost.com
New Mexico Commissioner of Public Lands Stephanie Garcia Richard and Dist. 43 Rep. Christine Chandler, both of Los Alamos gather for a photo at the opening of the legislative session Tuesday at the Roundhouse in Santa Fe. Photo by Carol A. Clark/ladailypost.com
By CAROL A. CLARK
Los Alamos Daily Post
caclark@ladailypost.com
SANTA FE – The 30-Day Session of the 54th New Mexico Legislature got underway Tuesday at the Roundhouse. Read More
U.S. Supreme Court Action On Abortion Could Prompt Special Session Of New Mexico Legislature
The Roundhouse in Santa Fe. Photo by Carol A. Clark/ladailypost.com
By DANIELLE PROKOP
The New Mexican
Democrats in the state Senate say they still don’t have enough votes to repeal an old, unenforceable abortion ban that remains in New Mexico law.
They believe a failed effort in the 2019 legislative session — when a handful of conservative Democrats joined Republicans to block it — could see the same results in this year’s 30-day session.
But with the U.S. Supreme Court poised to hear a Louisiana case that is expected to test the landmark 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade, Senate Democrats and Read More
Tesuque Pueblo Eyes Film Production Facility To Meet What State Says Is Rising Demand
By JENS ERIK GOULD
New Mexican
Tesuque Pueblo is actively pursuing plans to turn its old Camel Rock Casino into a film production facility after the space was used last year for the movie production of News of the World, starring Tom Hanks.
The Pueblo of Tesuque Development Corp. is in talks with scouts for film and television companies about using the location for future productions, said Timothy Brown, the entity’s president and CEO. The former casino, located off U.S. 84/285, could be used on a short- or long-term basis or rented to a major production company, he said.
“We feel it’s a Read More
Legislative Roundup: Days Remaining In Session 29
Legislative Roundup
New Mexican
Days remaining in session: 29
Bring out the guillotines: Climate activists rallied outside the Roundhouse prior to the governor’s address Tuesday, demanding action on global warming and an end to fracking. Amid a crowd of around 100 people, there was drumming, and one protester, Bobbe Besold of Santa Fe, danced while holding a giant skeleton and a sign that read “Extraction is Extinction.”
At one point, activists placed three young people’s heads in three fake guillotines, with angled blades held up by ropes attached to blocks of Read More
House Speaker Brian Egolf Shares Priorities For 2020 Legislative Session In Opening Remarks Tuesday
Speaker of the House Brian Egolf opens the 30-Day Session of the 54th New Mexico Legislature Tuesday at the Roundhouse in Santa Fe. Photo by Carol A. Clark/ladailypost.com.
NMDP News:
SANTA FE — Speaker of the House Brian Egolf (D-Santa Fe) opened the 30-Day Session of the 54th New Mexico Legislature Tuesday with remarks asserting House priorities for the 2020 Legislative Session.
Focused on passing a responsible budget that continues investing and uplifting a generation from poverty through education, House Democrats are also committed to securing a better future through economic diversification Read More
Governor Issues Second State Of State Address
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham delivers her State of the State Address this afternoon before a joint session of the House and Senate at the State Capitol. Photo by Carol A. Clark/ladailypost.com
From the Office of the Governor:
SANTA FE – Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham issued her second annual State of the State address today at the Roundhouse.
The governor launched the second session of the 54th New Mexico Legislature with a speech
New Mexico Counties Push For Jail, Sheriff Funding
By AMANDA MARTINEZ
New Mexican
An organization that represents New Mexico county governments is pushing the state Legislature to increase reimbursements to counties for the rising costs of transporting state prisoners and providing behavioral health care to state inmates housed in county jails and youth centers.
The Santa Fe-based nonprofit New Mexico Counties is seeking a more than $6 million increase to the County Detention Facility Reimbursement Fund, which now stands at $2.3 million a year.
State law allows county sheriff’s offices to charge the state per diem and mileage expenses Read More
Governor, Staff Gear Up For State Of State Address
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham
By MICHAEL GERSTEIN
New Mexican
On the roughly eight-hour flight from Chicago to Dublin, Ireland, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s speechwriter and top communications staffer started a draft of what will be her second annual address to the Legislature.
Six hours and 6,000 words later, Tripp Stelnicki closed his laptop and braced himself to meet his sister’s fiancé in Ireland.
Since then, Stelnicki said, the document has run the gantlet, viewed and honed by the governor’s chief of staff, John Bingaman, senior adviser Dominic Gabello and the governor Read More
54th Annual Legislative Session Begins Noon Today
Legislative Roundup:
The New Mexican
Days remaining in session: 30
In the beginning: The 54th annual legislative session begins at noon today at the state Capitol on the corner of Paseo de Peralta and Old Santa Fe Trail.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is scheduled to give her State of the State address outlining her initiatives on the floor of the House of Representatives, though that event generally occurs later in the afternoon.
Musical political chairs: The Senate’s Committee on Committees meets at 10 a.m. Tuesday in Room 326 to discuss assignments. Members will choose a successor for Sen. Read More
New Mexico Congressional Delegation Makes Requests Regarding PFAS And Plan For Next Steps
CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION News:
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senators Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and U.S. Representatives Ben Ray Lujan (D-N.M.), Deb Haaland (D-N.M.) and Xochitl Torres Small (D-N.M.) wrote a letter to Secretary of Defense Mark Esper requesting that the Department of Defense’s (DoD) release a plan for next steps to ensure New Mexican communities and dairy farms in close proximity to Cannon Air Force Base receive access to a clean water supply and a reimbursement of incurred filtration expenses.
The delegation also requested DoD work on plans to purchase Read More
