Politics

One-Stop Business Portal Bill Signed Into Law

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Senate Pro Tempore Mary Kay Papen

STATE News:

SANTA FE – Gov. Susana Martinez signed Senate Bill 9 March 6 to create a one-stop online portal for New Mexico businesses.

The bill is sponsored by Senate Pro Tempore Mary Kay Papen, D-Dona Ana and co-sponsored by Rep. Luciano Varela, D-Santa Fe.

This legislation provides for the development of a free, user-friendly, searchable and public website that will allow businesses to simplify their online transactions with state agencies.

According to the bill, the one-stop business portal, which is predicted to be in full operation by July 2017, will provide Read More

Heinrich: I Support Sen. Feinstein’s Effort to Set the Record Straight on CIA Misconduct

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Sen. Martin Heinrich

U.S. SENATE News:

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M. responded to a floor statement made last week by U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-CA, chair of the Select Committee on Intelligence, on Congress’s oversight of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA):

“I thank and recognize Chairman Feinstein for her efforts to set the factual record straight regarding the deeply disturbing events and indefensible judgment exhibited by the CIA with respect to the Intelligence Committee’s report on the CIA’s detention and interrogation Read More

Regional Coalition of LANL Communities Meets Friday

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RCLC News:

The Regional Coalition of LANL Communities will hold its Regular Business Meeting 9-11 a.m. Friday, March 21 at Santa Fe County Chambers, 102 Grant Avenue, Santa Fe.  

The Regional Coalition is comprised of eight cities and counties surrounding the Department of Energy’s Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL).

Founded in 2011, the Regional Coalition works in partnership to ensure national decisions incorporate local needs and concerns. The organization’s focus is environmental remediation, regional economic development and site employment, and Read More

College Tuition and Fees Waived for Foster Children

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Sen. George Munoz

STATE News:

SANTA FE – Gov. Susana Martinez signed March 10 Senate Bill 206, Foster Care System Student Tuition Waiver, sponsored by Sen. George Munoz, D-Cibola, McKinley and San Juan.

The legislation signs into state law that college tuition and fees be waived for certain children who have been in the foster care of the state or in the legal custody of a New Mexico Indian nation, tribe or pueblo or the United States Department of the Interior Bureau of Indian Affairs Division of Human Services.

“This piece of legislation is very important to the people of New Mexico. Foster children Read More

Udall Introduces Tech Transfer Legislation

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U.S. Sen. Tom Udall

U.S. SENATE News:

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Tom Udall introduced legislation to improve the Department of Energy’s (DOE) technology transfer process and help innovators turn research into marketable products and businesses. 

Udall’s Accelerating Technology Transfer to Advance Innovation for the Nation (ATTAIN) Act would help New Mexico entrepreneurs create jobs and revolutionary products. The changes it proposes are critical to helping leverage research at the state’s two DOE labs and develop high-tech private sector businesses. 

Udall discussed Read More

Alcohol-Related Fatal Crashes Decrease

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NMDT News:

SANTA FE— Thursday, Gov. Susana Martinez announced that fatal alcohol-related crashes on New Mexico’s roads and highways decreased by 13.7 percent from 2012 to 2013, demonstrating that the state’s increased measures to make the roads safer are working. Traffic fatalities as a whole also decreased by nearly 16 percent from 2012 to 2013.

“This progress shows that the hard work of New Mexico’s law enforcement and public safety officials is saving more lives,” Martinez said. “While there is still much work to be done to make our roads and highways safer, like cracking down on repeat DWI Read More

Rep. Stephanie Garcia Richard Meets With Seniors

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Rep. Stephanie Garcia Richard met with senior citizens at the White Rock Senior Center Thursday. Garcia Richard addressed a variety of topics including her proposals for strengthening repeat DUI offenders, solutions to the Lottery Scholarship’s lack of funding, a constitutional amendment on class size limits for K-3, House Memorials promoting the Manhattan Project National Historic Park and supporting  LANL’s major subcontractors. She secured  $350 million for Los Alamos County  fire mitigation and said the biggest success of this year’s legislative Read More

Governor Acts on 22 Pieces of Legislation

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STATE News:

 

SANTA FE—Gov. Susana Martinez signed legislation Wednesday to reform and provide additional funding for the Legislative Lottery Scholarship. Martinez used her line-item veto authority to fix a widely reported drafting error in the legislative language that could have kept some students from receiving their tuition on time.

 

“I’m pleased that a bipartisan solution was reached to protect the Lottery Scholarship for students currently in their spring semesters, and I believe we’ve begun the process of instituting reforms to the Scholarship to ensure that students Read More

‘Plastic Bag Ban’ Talk March 20 At UNM-LA

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DPLA News:

Members of the “Plastic Bag Ban” group will give a presentation to the Democratic Party of Los Alamos at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 20 at UNM-LA in Building 2.

The group will discuss their effort to get single use plastic bags banned in Los Alamos County, similar to Santa Fe, to help protect the environment.

All Democrats are welcome to attend the meeting. Read More

Los Alamos Political Leaders Cross Party Lines

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Longtime Los Alamos Republican Party leader JoAnn Johnson shared a friendly hug and jovial conversation with longtime Los Alamos Democratic Party leader George Chandler when the two bumped into each other Tuesday in the County Clerk’s Office. They had each stopped in to check the status of who had filed for office. ‘I’ve known George for years and even though we belong to different parties, I think the world of him,’ Johnson said. Johnson is serving her final year as Los Alamos County Assessor before she term limits out. Chandler is an attorney and married to appointed Read More