Politics

New Teacher Evaluation System Passes Senate

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STATE News:

 

SANTA FE – On a strongly bipartisan basis, the New Mexico Senate today passed legislation to develop a new system for evaluating teachers and principals that relies less heavily on students’ scores on controversial standardized tests. By a vote of 30-7, with both Democratic and Republican support, SB 34 was passed by the Senate. 

The bill, sponsored by Sen. Howie Morales of Silver City, also was amended to include language offered by Republican Sen. Craig Brandt from the historic Senate override earlier in the day of the Governor’s veto of teacher sick days legislation. Read More

Bill To Allow Pharmacists To Dispense Interchangeable Biosimilar Medicines Passes Senate

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NM SENATE News:
 
The New Mexico Senate on Monday unanimously passed Rep. Debbie Armstrong’s bill, HB 260, which will allow pharmacists in the state, when filling a prescription for a biologic medicine, to dispense less-expensive biosimilar medicines once the Federal Drug Administration has determined that the medicine is interchangeable with an existing biologic treatment.
 
“With biological products becoming increasingly important in treating medical conditions from cancer to rheumatoid arthritis, and with the FDA currently considering
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Bills Limiting School Testing And Restricting Use Of Restraint And Seclusion Head To Governor

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STATE News:

  • Bills Aim to Improve the Quality of Student Life at New Mexico Schools

SANTA FE – Monday night, the House concurred with two bills to improve the quality of student life at New Mexico schools.

House Bills 185 and 75 will now head to the Governor’s desk. House Bill 185 sets limits on the amount of time that students spend taking standardized tests.

“This bill puts teaching ahead of testing, and makes sure students aren’t missing out on valuable classroom time,” said Rep. Joanne Ferrary (D-Las Cruces), one of the bill’s sponsors. “We can’t continue to waste money and Read More

Senate Sends School Restraint Bill To Governor

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Rep. Jim Smith

SENATE News:

SANTA FE – This afternoon, the Senate approved House Bill 75, a bill to limit the use of restraint and seclusion techniques in schools. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Jim Smith (R-Bernalillo, Sandoval and Santa Fe), passed on a bipartisan 30 to 4 vote.

House Bill 75 specifies conditions when restraining and seclusion techniques may be permitted in schools, and it requires New Mexico’s public schools to adopt policies and procedures for the use of restraint and seclusion techniques in their school safety plans. The bill also requires that schools develop procedures for Read More

McMillan To Testify At House Armed Services Panel

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LANL Director Charlie McMillan

Staff Report

The public will get a first glimpse under the hood of the next era of American nuclear weapons this week, when key officials in the complex stand for questions during a hearing of a House Armed Services subcommittee scheduled for Thursday.

Los Alamos National Laboratory Director Charlie McMillan is set to be among those appearing before the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. The meeting at the Capitol in Washington, D.C. will address “Oversight Review of Infrastructure Needs and Projects Ready for Immediate Implementation in the Nuclear Read More

Anti-Hazing Bill Advances Past House

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Rep. Monica Youngblood

STATE  News:

SANTA FE – This afternoon, the House of Representatives passed House Bill 427, a bill sponsored by Rep. Monica Youngblood (R-Bernalillo) to prevent hazing in New Mexico’s schools. The House approved the bill by a 56 to 2 vote.

Youngblood’s bill would require every New Mexico educational institution to adopt, post, and enforce a hazing prevention policy. The bill defines what actions are considered hazing and lists the areas that hazing policies need to address to ensure the policies are consistent statewide.

According to recent statistics, forty-eight Read More

Udall Celebrates Women’s History Month

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U.S. Sen. Tom Udall 
 
SENATE News:
 
WASHINGTON, D.C. ― U.S. Sen. Tom Udall issued the following statement today in honor of Women’s History Month:
 
“This Women’s History Month, we celebrate the resiliency and strength of generations of women in New Mexico and nationwide, who have marched, organized and rallied for equality in the face of great opposition. And we are reminded of the responsibility we have to the brave leaders of these feminist movements to build on their work to create equal opportunity for women
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House Passes Bill Benefitting New Mexico Businesses

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STATE News:

  • HB 356 Uses LEDA Funds to Create Jobs & Promote Local Businesses

SANTA FE — The New Mexico House of Representatives passed House Bill 356, which uses Local Economic Development Act (LEDA) funds to increase local economic growth and create jobs.

HB 356 sponsored by Representatives Rudy Martinez (D-Grants) and Daymon Ely (D-Corrales), targets $2 million in investment dollars specifically for resident businesses in both rural and urban New Mexico.

“When our small businesses thrive, our state thrives,” Rep. Martinez said. “This piece of legislation prioritizes New Read More

Bipartisan Bill To Rein In Predatory Loan Practices Passes House

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STATE News:

SANTA FE — The New Mexico House of Representatives has passed House Bill 347, a bill to rein in predatory loan practices, in a sweeping bipartisan vote of 64-2. Sponsored by Rep. Patty Lundstrom (D-Gallup) and Rep. Debbie Rodella (D-Española), HB 347 is part of a bipartisan effort to limit the fees and charges financial institutions add to installment loans, also known as payday loans, and to implement financial literacy programs in the state.

“We need to make sure the consumer financial market works for everyday New Mexicans, not just the well-connected,” Rep. Read More

Letter To The Editor: Slanted Press Is Nothing New

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By RICHARD NEBEL
Los Alamos 

This is in response to letters from Ms. Dolejsi (link), Ms. Remillieux (link) and Mr. Visel (link) about “Freedom of the Press”.

One thing that Mr. Visel states in his letter is that “No one can trust CNN or the mainstream media anymore”. The part I take issue with is the “anymore” part of the statement. The press has always been slanted.

Many of the newspapers that were founded in the 19th Century were founded and owned by the political parties. For instance, the Chicago Tribune was founded by the Republican party. Do you think they were interested in “fair

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