Politics

Senate Committee Votes Unanimously For Hospital Solvency Bill

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Jerry Ortiz y Pino, chair of the Senate Public Affairs Committee

N.M. SENATE News:

SANTA FE – Wednesday, the Senate Public Affairs Committee, in a straight party line vote, passed a substitute bill for Senate Bills 314, 368 and 268, designed to allow counties to come up with funding solutions to cover Medicaid and Medicare cuts to hospitals statewide.

The compromise provides for counties to impose an excise tax of one-twelfth percent of gross receipts. A representative from the New Mexico Association of Counties said counties were in agreement with the proposal. A hospital advocate who attended Read More

Bills Improving Transparency of Legislature Clear First Hurdle

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Rep. Jeff Steinborn

LEGISLATIVE News:

Bills Would Require Webcasting of Interim Committees and Archiving of Session Webcasts

SANTA FE—Two pieces of legislation that would increase the accessibility and transparency of the New Mexico Legislature passed unanimously in the House Appropriations and Finance Committee last night. 

House Resolution 2 (HR2), sponsored by Rep. Jeff Steinborn, D-Doña Ana, would require that all webcasts of committee meetings and floor proceedings during the legislative session be archived. Currently, session webcasts can only be watched live which Read More

Brewery District Memorial Passes Senate Floor

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STATE News:

SANTA FE–Senate Memorial 81 (SM81), which officially calls to establish a brewery district in Albuquerque, has passed the senate floor.

Breweries named in the memorial are Nexus, La Cumbre, Left Turn Distillery and Il Vicino because of their close proximity to one another. An amendment, which added Left Turn Distillery to the memorial, was later implemented. Many of the brewers were in attendance at the floor debate.

Senators Tim Keller, D-Bernalillo and Daniel Ivey-Soto, D-Bernalillo, co-sponsored the memorial, saying they’re both excited and happy to see that the brewery Read More

New Mexico Congressional Delegation Supports Minimum Wage Increase

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CONGRESSIONAL News:

WASHINGTON, D.C.–Wednesday, U.S. Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich, and U.S. Representatives Ben Ray Luján and Michelle Lujan Grisham announced their enthusiastic support for increasing New Mexico’s minimum wage.

The New Mexico state legislature is currently debating a measure to raise the minimum wage and provide for annual inflation increases to strengthen the economy and help lift more families into the middle class. Udall, Heinrich, Luján and Lujan Grisham also support raising the federal minimum wage.

“Increasing the minimum wage ensures families have Read More

NMFRW Hold 2014 Legislative Board Meeting

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New Mexico Federation of Republican Women Past President Elaine Miller, left, and NMFRW 1st Vice President JoAnn Johnson preparing to enter the Governor’s Mansion in Santa Fe Friday for tea and a visit with Gov. Susana Martinez. The NMFRW held its 2014 Legislative Board Meeting last weekend during which Miller and Johnson were introduced in the House of Representatives session Friday morning. Johnson, who is the Los Alamos County assessor, introduced Lt. Gov. John Sanchez at a special luncheon Saturday. Courtesy/NMFRW Read More

Officials to Welcome California Company to Rio Rancho

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Gov. Susana Martinez

 

STATE News:

 

SANTA FE—Gov. Susana Martinez will join economic development leaders at 1 p.m. today in welcoming a California manufacturer relocating to New Mexico – a move that will create up to 50 new, well-paying jobs in Rio Rancho.

 

The name of the company will be reveal this afternoon. The company cites New Mexico’s much-improved tax competitiveness, along with welcoming local and state governments, as among the reasons for its relocation to New Mexico. Read More

Bill Limiting Changes to High School Graduation Requirements Passes Senate Education Committee

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Sen. John Sapien

STATE News:

SANTA FE–Senate Bill 307 (SB307), designed to assure that New Mexico students are given a clear idea of graduation requirements over their four years in high school, unanimously passed the Senate Education Committee. The bill now heads to the Senate Public Affairs Committee.

“This bill gives students and parents assurance that the state will not keep changing graduation requirements for students in the middle of their high school careers,” said Sen. John Sapien, D-Bernalillo and Sandoval, who co-sponsored the bill with Sen. Joseph Cervantes, D-Dona Ana.

Sen. Read More

Bill Would Improve Health Care for Rural Veterans

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 U.S. SENATE News:

Bill would improve access to care by expanding transportation options, recruiting and retaining doctors and prioritizing improvements at rural clinics

WASHINGTON–U.S. Senators Tom Udall, D-N.M., and Dean Heller, R-Nev., introduced a bill to address some of the biggest barriers to health care for veterans in rural communities.
 
More than six million veterans, including a third of all Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, live in rural communities. But as many as half of those veterans may be going without care from the VA. Rural veterans too often struggle to access Read More

Party Members, Candidates and Representatives Attend GOP Pre-Primary Convention

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GOP County Party Chair Robert Gibson, right, and Vice Chair Bill McKerley who served as last month’s Pre-Primary Convention Chairman. Courtesy photo
Longtime Los Alamos GOP leader Vernon Kerr, left, chats with 3rd Congressional District candidate Steve McFall. Courtesy photo

Los Alamos County Clerk Sharon Stover and Los Alamos Board of Education President Jim Hall. County Councilor Rick Reiss is at left. Courtesy photo

GOP News:

The Los Alamos Republican Party held its Pre-Primary Convention Jan. 30 and successfully carried out its business and goals. A large number of party members, Read More

Tuesday’s House Highlights

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STATE News:

Highlights for Tuesday from the New Mexico House of Representatives:

On the Floor

●     House Joint Memorial 4 as amended, New Mexico Family Caregiver Task Force, sponsored by Rep. Tomás Salazar (D-San Miguel, Santa Fe, Torrance-70) has passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 48-0. HJM 4 requests that the Aging and Long-Term Services Department convene a New Mexico Family Caregiver Task Force to create a state plan for addressing the challenges faced by family caregivers.

●     House Joint Memorial 9 Advanced Practice Nurse Read More