State school board: A proposal to resurrect a statewide board of education in New Mexico received a passing grade Tuesday from the Senate Finance Committee.

The committee endorsed Senate Joint Resolution 1, a proposed constitutional amendment for voters to consider, on an 8-1 vote.

Sen. Jeff Steinborn, D-Las Cruces, cast the lone dissenting vote.

The proposal, designed to bring stability to public education, would take New Mexico back to a similar system that was in place before voters approved a constitutional amendment two decades ago to create the Public Education Department with a Cabinet-level secretary.

“There’s been something like eight or 10 secretaries of education since the current [system] was put together 20 years ago, and it hasn’t worked,” said Sen. Steven Neville, R-Aztec. “Prior to the change in 2003, for 45 years, we only had three state superintendents.”

Stan Rounds, executive director of the New Mexico Superintendents’ Association and the New Mexico Coalition of Education Leaders, said he voted in support of the 2003 change to the state Constitution.

“Unfortunately, it hasn’t played out like we thought it would,” he said.

Future for clean energy office: In 2019, State Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard created an Office of Renewable Energy.

House Bill 95, which the Senate Conservation Committee unanimously endorsed Tuesday, mandates the State Land Office to keep it going long after Garcia Richard is gone.

“This legislation is aimed at institutionalizing this function and its successful efforts to advance renewable energy,” said Rep. Tara Lujan, D-Santa Fe, who is sponsoring HB 95 with Rep. Debra Sariñana, D-Albuquerque.

“We’re trying to ensure for the future that that capacity remains,” Sunalei Stewart, the State Land Office’s deputy commissioner of operations, told the committee. “We have had tremendous success in terms of both revenue generation and clean energy. We’ve got 39 projects on state trust land right now. We just had a record year making over $12 million from these projects, and we really want to build on the momentum.”

A fiscal impact report on the bill states existing and anticipated renewable energy projects are expected to generate long-term revenue in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

Sidewalk repairs: Members of the House Transportation, Public Works and Capital Improvements Committee tabled a bill that would move the burden of paying for public sidewalk repairs from property owners to municipalities.

House Bill 24, introduced by Rep. Miguel García, D-Albuquerque, would repeal part of a provision that requires homeowners to pay for any repairs or upgrades to sidewalks abutting their property. García said this can cost homeowners several thousand dollars. 

But many committee members expressed concern after representatives and lobbyists from several cities and municipalities, including Santa Fe, said the shift in responsibility would cost them millions of dollars.

“Santa Fe has miles and miles of sidewalks,” which would cost the city “millions and millions of dollars,” said J.D. Bullington, a lobbyist for the city of Santa Fe.

Certificate of recognition: The Senate recognized former Department of Finance and Administration Secretary Deborah “Debbie” Romero with a certificate Tuesday.

Romero retired at the end of the year after serving nearly five decades in state government.

“Debbie Romero has worked for nine different gubernatorial administrations — how she did that, I don’t know — there’s so many politics involved,” said Sen. Nancy Rodriguez, D-Santa Fe.

Rodriguez said Romero also participated in more than 40 legislative sessions.

“My goodness, and she can still sit here with us today and smile,” she said.

When the Governor’s Office announced Romero’s retirement last year, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said in a statement she was “deeply grateful to Debbie for her decades of public service to New Mexico and the invaluable experience and expertise she provided to my administration.”

Quotes of the day: “You’re so pointless.” —Sen. Michael Padilla, D-Albuquerque, delivering the punchline Tuesday, to the riddle, “What did the triangle say to the circle?” The Senate declared Tuesday “New Mexico Architects Day”.

“I am disheartened that we have to even consider bringing a bill here that says all white people are guilty of something. It tears me up.” —Sen. Bill Sharer, R-Farmington, reacting to a bill that would, among other things, create a chief diversity officer and “diversity and inclusion liaisons” within state agencies, and “assist agencies in developing and implementing policies to meet the challenges of institutional racism here within our state government.”