Minimum wage resolution falls short in NM legislature

From New Mexico Watchdog.org - by Rob Nikolewski - SANTA FE – It took three hours of debate and even a phone call from Vice President Joe Biden to one Democratic member with an iffy record of voting with her colleagues but in the end, it wasn't enough.
       A resolution that called for changing the New Mexico constitution in order to take the minimum wage in the state to about $8.40 an hour and have it tied to cost of living adjustments met its legislative demise Wednesday when it didn't get the required 36 votes in the House of Representatives. The vote was 33-29 in favor but it needed 36 ”yes” votes in the 70-member House to move forward.
     Democrats placed a tactical bet at the start of the session by trying to raise the wage through constitutional amendment, which would have bypassed Republican Gov. Susana Martinez and gone to voters across the state on the November ballot if it passed both chambers of the Legislature.
     Senate Joint Resolution 13 passed the Senate without much trouble but fell short in the House.
     New Mexico House Democrats also lost the vote of Rep. Dona Irwin, D-Deming, who sided with Republicans in voting ”no.” Irwin said she supported raising the minimum wage but opposed doing it by constitutional amendment. More
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