NM Legislature passes more bills this year

The New Mexico Legislature approved more bills this year than it did during the last 30-day session. 

However, nearly all of the legislation was passed late in the session shortly before lawmakers adjourned. Records of the Legislative Council Service show that the House and Senate passed 91 bills - all but two of those during the final three days of the session. Also approved were three resolutions proposing constitutional amendments.

 In the 30-day session in 2012, the Legislature approved 77 bills and four constitutional amendments. This year's proposed constitutional amendments will be placed on the November general election ballot for voters to decide. 

One of the proposals is to give the state more flexibility in making international investments with permanent fund assets. 

The Legislature's 30-day session ended on Thursday.

Information from The AP. 

NM Legislature passes more bills this year

New Noise on Climate Change—a winning issue for Republicans

Commentary by Marita Noon - The Democrats think that climate change is going to be a winning issue for them in 2014—and, if they handle it correctly, this could be a winning issue for the Republicans. You know, nothing comes out of the Obama White House by mistake. Everything is planned, analyzed, and focus group-tested. Last June when President Obama presented his Climate Action Plan at Georgetown University, some environmentalists hailed it. In response, Frances Beinecke, the then-president of the Natural Resources Defense Council, said: “The president nailed it.” The Huffington post reported that some environmental groups were wary that “Obama would follow through on the ambitious goals he laid out. Bill Snape of the Center for Biological Diversity described it as too little, too late.”
     But, environmentalists haven’t been “thrilled with the administration’s record.” In January, 18 groups sent Obama a strongly worded letter telling him that he “needs to address climate change more aggressively.”
     Obviously, Obama heard the complaints—making clear which group of constituents holds sway: billionaire environmentalist donors who believe Democrats have wavered on climate issues rather than the economically hard-hit middle class he claims to champion.
     Earlier this month, the Obama Administration announced the creation of 7 “climate hubs”—which the New York Times called: “a limited step” but said it “is part of a broader campaign by the administration to advance climate policy wherever possible with executive authority.” It is unclear what these “hubs” are or will do, but the stated goal is “to help farmers and rural communities respond to the risks of climate change, including drought, invasive pests, fires and floods.”
W     ashington Examiner columnist Ron Arnold calls the new hubs “propaganda spigots” and cites Steven Wilmeth, a southern New Mexico rancher, who said: “It’s another one of those ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help’ deals. All I can say is, ‘Don’t help me.’ We hear the talk, but they’re not telling us what regulatory burdens these climate hubs will add to the overwhelming load we already carry.”
     Then on February 14, President Obama announced a new $1 billion “climate resilience fund” that “would go to research on the projected impacts of climate change, help communities prepare for climate change’s effects and fund ‘breakthrough technologies and resilient infrastructure.’” read full column

New Noise on Climate Change—a winning issue for Republicans

Gov. survey shows more farms and ranches in NM

A new government survey shows New Mexico has more farms and ranches than it did five years ago. 

The survey also shows the state has seen significant increases in the number of young farmers and minority farmers in recent years. 

State Agriculture Secretary Jeff Witte says he's glad to see a wider diversity of people getting into farming and ranching across the state. He says that diversity will help create more opportunity. Witte also says the younger farmers will help ensure agriculture remains a viable part of the economy for years to come. 

The 2012 agriculture census shows there are more than 24,700 farms and ranches in New Mexico, an 18 percent increase since 2007. That bucks a long-term national trend that has seen the number of U.S. farms drop.

Gov. survey shows more farms and ranches in NM

Boy shot in Roswell school shooting returns home

Nathaniel Tavarez

A 12-year-old boy who was seriously injured in a shooting at a Roswell school last month has returned home. 

The Roswell Daily Record reports that hundreds of people lined the city's streets, cheered and held up signs Friday in support of Nathaniel Tavarez. The boy suffered wounds to his head and stomach in the Jan. 14 shooting at Berrendo Middle School. 

A seventh-grader is accused of taking a shotgun to school and opening fire on Tavarez and a 13-year-old girl. 

Tavarez's mother says doctors were unable to remove the shots in his brain and he still cannot see, but may regain some sight in his right eye. She says her son holds no grudges and just wants to go back to school because he loves his teachers and friends.

Boy shot in Roswell school shooting returns home

Amtrak still in question after legislative session

The New Mexico legislative session has failed to make any commitment to fund the state's share of costs to keep Amtrak's Southwest Chief on its current route.

 The session ended Thursday with none of the five bills seeking ways to maintain the passenger train line passing. 

Amtrak has proposed that New Mexico, Colorado and Kansas all chip in to improve and maintain more than 600 miles of track through their states. The company says the Southwest Chief's route might change otherwise, causing some communities to lose passenger service. The rail operator would need to reach a deal with Burlington Northern Santa Fe, which owns the track Amtrak uses. 

A legislative panel earlier this month agreed to commission a study on whether the state should pay.

Amtrak still in question after legislative session

Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman arrested in Mexico

From The El Paso Times - By Diana Washington Valdez - The world's most wanted reputed drug kingpin, Joaquin "Chapo" Guzman — who was indicted in El Paso was arrested Saturday morning in a hotel in Mazatlan, Sinaloa, Mexican and U.S. officials said.
     Guzman is the reputed chief of the Sinaloa drug cartel, which is considered among the most aggressive of the cartels in Mexico. The Sinaloa drug cartel battled violently with the Juárez drug cartel for control the lucrative Juárez-El Paso corridor. That battle was one of the bloodiest in Mexico and made Juárez one of the most dangerous cities in the world.
     The war claimed more than 10,000 people since 2008. As a result of the violence, many Juárez residents chose to flee the city and a significant number moved to El Paso.
     When former Mexican President Felipe Calderón took office in 2006, he deployed thousands of soldiers to drug hot spots, including Juárez. Since then, more than 70,000 people in Mexico have been killed in drug violence, the Associated Press reports.
     Violence in Juárez has declined because several key figures in the drug underworld were arrested — some of whom have been convicted in El Paso. The Sinaloa drug cartel has members working in the El Paso area.
     Guzman was arrested without incident just before 7 a.m. at a hotel in Mazatlán, a popular tourist area in northwest Mexico. Read more

Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman arrested in Mexico

Swickard: Who protects citizens from the police?

© 2014 Michael Swickard, Ph.D. “When you have police officers who abuse citizens, you erode public confidence in law enforcement. That makes the job of good police officers unsafe.” Mary Frances Berry
     One of the major changes in my lifetime is the plunge of public opinion about community police officers. As I a child in the 1950s police officer was one of the big four occupations young boys wanted to do when they grew up: policeman, fireman, military or cowboy.
     Today Firemen are still admired as are the military. Cowboys have a much smaller part in people’s awareness, even people who like beef. Then there are the police. Growing up like other young boys at times I wished to one day serve as a police officer.
     Andy Griffith was America’s favorite Police Chief and upheld the law with dignity, humor and intelligence. Yes, it was a fictional show. But the role was the way many old-time policemen operated. They were people I knew and respected. They held the line of the law without abusing their power.
     Now it seems most law-abiding citizens fear the police because of the news stories of the police abusing their authority. Or they themselves have been abused. Clement Freud observed, “I think our police are excellent, probably because I have not done anything that has occasioned being beaten up by these good men.” But many Americans are injured or killed by the police without good reason.
     An elderly Atlanta women had her hearing-aid off when a no-knock police swat team burst in looking for a drug seller, but they had the wrong house. She died in a hail of bullets. This happens way too often. Then there is the incredible story from Deming about a search for drugs that ended up costing taxpayers $1.6 million dollars in compensation, and, to the best of my knowledge, the perpetrators still serve in that police department.Read full column

Swickard: Who protects citizens from the police?

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

Minimum wage resolution falls short in NM legislature

House approves Navajo gambling compact

The House has approved a tribal-state gambling compact allowing the Navajo Nation to open three additional casinos.

The proposal cleared the House Monday on a 36-30 vote. It goes to the Senate with the legislative session nearing an end. Lawmakers will adjourn Thursday. 

The Navajos operate two Las Vegas-style casinos in New Mexico under a compact expiring next year and a third casino offers low-stakes gambling not subject to state regulation. 

The proposed compact would permit the state's largest tribe to phase in three new casinos over 15 years.The gambling proposal is opposed by some other pueblos and tribes, which worry that their casinos will be hurt if the Navajos open more casinos. 

The proposed compact must be approved by the Legislature and the Interior Department to take effect.

House approves Navajo gambling compact

Senate approves Gov's Environment Secretary pick

Ryan Flynn

The Senate has approved Gov. Susana Martinez's choice to run the New Mexico Environment Department despite the objections of several conservation groups.

 Lawmakers voted 30-11 Tuesday to confirm the nomination of Ryan Flynn as cabinet secretary of the agency. The governor appointed Flynn to the post last year after a retirement forced her to reshuffle leadership in two agencies. Flynn had previously served as the agency's general counsel for two years. 

Flynn's confirmation followed a two-hour hearing in which environmentalists criticized him and the department over the development of regulations aimed at groundwater and copper mining. 

Critics contend the department caved to industry interests in crafting the rules, which they say violate state law prohibiting water contamination above certain standards. 

Flynn disputed the allegations and said his responsibility is to protect New Mexico's air, water and landscapes.

Senate approves Gov's Environment Secretary pick