Politics

Minimum Wage Bill Clears Judiciary Committee

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STATE News:

SANTA FE – New Mexico House Democrats’ bill to improve the lives of working families by raising the state minimum wage cleared the House Judiciary Committee.

HB 442 proposes to raise the state’s minimum wage to $9.25 an hour, a $1.75 increase over the state’s current minimum wage of $7.50 per hour. The increase will put an extra $3,000 annually into the pockets of New Mexicans working full-time without burdening small businesses or rural municipalities.

“This an example of really good communication between all groups involved. I’m optimistic that the people of New Mexico are going Read More

HB 261 – Additional Funding For Courts Becomes Law

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New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez

STATE News:

SANTA FE — New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez has announced that the following legislation has been signed into law:

Signed House Bill 261 – Additional Funding for Courts [MESSAGE]

“I spent most of my career in courtrooms as a prosecutor,” Martinez said. “I’ve seen firsthand just how important it is to fund our courts. I’m pleased with the progress we’ve made with this legislation. It’s always important – and even more so during a budget crisis – that every dollar of government spending be accounted for.”

House Bill 261 funds the courts to address their budget Read More

Los Alamos County Judge Alan Kirk And Rep.Stephanie Garcia Richard Team Up To Pass Courts Bill

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Rep. Stephanie Garcia Richard of Los Alamos speaks on the House floor last week in santa Fe as Los Alamos Municipal Court Judge Alan Kirk looks on. Courtesy photo

STATE News:

House Bill 110, sponsored by Los Alamos legislator, Stephanie Garcia Richard, successfully passed the House floor in a unanimous vote last week.

A bill developed by the Association of Municipal Judges, HB 110, seeks to allow municipal bench warrants to be served in adjacent counties. Los Alamos Municipal Judge Alan Kirk, current president of the Association was the expert witness on the bill for Rep. Garcia Richard. He testified Read More

Independent Electoral Redistricting Commission … Down But Not Out

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At a hearing Thursday of the House Local Government, Elections, Land Grants and Cultural Affairs Committee, Rep. Carl Trujillo and Heather Ferguson of Common Cause propose a constitutional amendment to reform a beleaguered legislative redistricting process in New Mexico. Photo by Roger Snodgrass/ladailypost.com

 

By ROGER SNODGRASS
Los Alamos Daily Post

SANTA FE — Electoral redistricting has long been a problem in New Mexico. Always a subject of political turmoil, buffeted by individual ambitions and party positioning, redistricting battles also have served as a proxy Read More

LANL GRT Bill Unanimously Passes First Committee

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Dist. 43  Rep. Stephanie Garcia Richard and Los Alamos County Councilor Pete Sheehey present HB 332 to the House Business and Industry Committee. Courtesy photo

STATE News:

A bill strongly supported by Los Alamos County that would remove the gross receipts tax exemptions from any non-profit organization who would administer the prime contract of any national laboratory in the state cleared its first committee Wednesday with a unanimous Do Pass vote by the House Business and Industry Committee.

House Bill 332, sponsored by Los Alamos area Rep. Stephanie Garcia Richard seeks to remove Read More

Bill To Make Drug Companies Negotiate Lower Prices Passes Key Committee On Bipartisan, Unanimous Vote

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STATE News:

  • SB 354 Could Save State $100 Million

SANTA FE – Legislation to save taxpayers millions of dollars by requiring the State to negotiate with drug companies for lower prices has passed the Senate Public Affairs Committee by a bipartisan, unanimous vote. 

Senate Bill 354, ‘Interagency Pharmaceutical Purchasing Council’, would require that all state agencies and state benefit providers who purchase prescription drugs negotiate for bulk purchasing discounts. In fiscal year 2016 the combined state agencies spent over $670 million on prescription drugs, a staggering 54 percent Read More

House Passes Bill To Consolidate Local Elections

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STATE News:

SANTA FE – The New Mexico House of Representatives passed House Bill 174, a bill to consolidate all local elections to the same day.

The bill is sponsored by Rep. Paul Bandy (R-San Juan) and Rep. Jim Smith (R-Bernalillo, Sandoval and Santa Fe) as well as Sen. Daniel Ivey-Soto (D-Bernalillo).

House Bill 174, known as the Local Election Act, would create a uniform process for local elections and require that those elections be held on the first Tuesday following the first Monday of November in odd numbered years. It would apply to elections for:

  • School Districts;
  • Community College Districts;
Read More

HJM 4: Shining Light On State Infrastructure Projects; Examining Capital Outlay Structure Passes House

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STATE News:
 
SANTA FE ― The New Mexico House of Representatives passed House Joint Memorial 4 (HJM 4), which calls for the creation of a new interim committee that would accomplish two goals:
  • Shine a light on all state infrastructure projects to ensure that taxpayer dollars are being spent efficiently on these endeavors; and
  • Examine state’s capital outlay structure and propose recommendations on how to improve it.
 
“Just last year, our State Auditor’s Office produced a report showing approximately $1.8 billion in taxpayer money that was earmarked for infrastructure projects
Read More

Letter To The Editor: House Bill 50 … Just To Clarify

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By KHALIL SPENCER
Los Alamos

I just want to clarify a couple things in response to Jody Benson’s letter as well as thank her for her engagement on the topic (link).

I did not say that we should reject House Bill 50. What I said was the original and present wording was problematic. There is still plenty of time in this legislative session to find some common ground on this
bill and amend it so it has bipartisan and gun owner support.

To excerpt from my own essay (link), what I said was “…provisions in the bill put onerous constraints on temporary transfers and casual sales between law Read More

Scenes From Ellen Ben-Naim Victory Celebration At Pig & Fig In White Rock This Morning

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Newly elected Los Alamos School Board member for District One, Ellen Ben-Naim, with School Board Member Bill Hargraves at her Victory Celebration this morning at Pig and Fig Cafe in White Rock. The district encompasses Pinon Elementary School and other areas. Photo by Bonnie J. Gordon/ladailypost.com
 
Guests chat at the Victory Party for newly elected School Board member Ellen Bn-Naim this morning at Pig and Fig Cafe. Photo by Bonnie J. Gordon/ladailypost.com
 
Supporters, from left, Robyn Schultz, Karyl Ann Armbruster, Amy Storey and Eric Vasquez at the Victory Celebration
Read More