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Court rules in favor of governor in union dispute

ALBUQUERQUE -- Republican Gov. Susana Martinez won a court fight with labor unions Thursday over her appointee to a board that enforces New Mexico’s collective bargaining law for government employees.  State District Court Judge Nan Nash turned down a union request to remove Roger Bartosiewicz, a retired Clovis p ...

Lt. Gov. Sanchez drops bid for U.S. Senate

After eight months of campaigning for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Jeff Bingaman, Republican Lt. Gov, John Sanchez called it quits today. “I've been involved in tough primaries,” Sanchez told reporters. “The last thing we want to do, whoever becomes our nominee, is for that person to come out bru ...

'Transparency' guv declines to release schedule

ALBUQUERQUE -- Gov. Susana Martinez bills herself as the transparency governor, promoting her mandate that all state employee salaries be posted publicly, touting her support for a bill that would require agencies and elected bodies to post notices of their meetings 72 hours in advance and promising quick responses to reque ...

Legislative roundup, Feb. 9, 2012

Days remaining in session: 7 Social promotion: Two bills that would end "social promotion" of New Mexico elementary school children cleared the Senate Education Committee on Wednesday. Senate Bill 96, sponsored by Sen. John Arthur Smith, D-Deming, was amended by the committee to include provisions giving parents the rig ...

Senate confirms governor's nominee for energy post

The Senate has confirmed John Bemis as secretary of the state Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department. Bemis, an attorney with experience in oil and natural gas law, won confirmation unanimously in the Senate on Wednesday. Earlier in the day, Sen. Peter Wirth, D-Santa Fe, was the only vote against Bemis when t ...

House approves $5B state budget proposal

The House on Wednesday gave bipartisan support to a proposed budget that will spend $5.6 billion on public education and other government programs next year, and provide for higher take-home pay for educators and state workers. The measure heads to the Senate for consideration after clearing the House with the backing of al ...

Senate confirms Indian Affairs nominee

Indian Affairs Secretary Arthur Allison won Senate confirmation Wednesday despite questions about allegedly illegal cigarette sales at his family’s store on the Navajo Nation in northwestern New Mexico. The Senate voted unanimously for Allison’s nomination. He is the first Navajo to hold the cabinet-level job ...

House sends immigrant driver's license bill to Senate

The state House of Representatives on Wednesday once again voted to pass a bill that would repeal the state law that allows undocumented immigrants to get New Mexico driver's licenses. The bill, strongly supported by Republican Gov. Susana Martinez but labeled a wedge issue by some Democratic opponents, now goes to the Se ...

Senate leader: No rush on PRC reforms

Until this week, bills that would ask New Mexico voters this November to adopt reforms at the troubled Public Regulation Commission appeared to be that rarity of rarities around the state Capitol: roadblock-free legislation. Three reform measures sailed through the House of Representatives with nary a sighting of a "no" v ...

[Read chat transcript] Legislative Lunch Live Blog

Things are heating up with just a week to go in the 2012 Legislative Session. Wednesday's activities at the Roundhouse include more talk about drivers licenses and budgets, among much more.  What do you want to know about? What bills are you following? Ask any of the reporters, politicians, lobbyists or fellow reade ...

Voter ID bills again stall in committee

In what has become an annual ritual at the state Legislature, a House committee on Tuesday voted along party lines to effectively kill measures that would require voters to present photo identification before casting ballots at the polls. During a two-hour hearing before the House Consumer and Public Affairs Committee, R ...

Legislative roundup, Feb. 8, 2012

Days remaining in session: 8 Fireworks bill fizzles: The Senate Corporations and Transportation Committee tabled a bill Tuesday that would have given the governor and local governments more power to restrict fireworks during times of high fire risk. The vote was 6-4, with three Republicans and three Democrats agreeing t ...

N.M. Supreme Court hears redistricting appeal

The New Mexico Supreme Court on Tuesday waded into a political dispute over legislative redistricting that could influence elections for the coming decade and may help determine whether Republicans can win a majority in the state House of Representatives for the first time in a half century. After hearing arguments from l ...

Legislative roundup, Feb. 7, 2012

Days remaining in session: 9 A cloud over Sunshine Portal bill? A bill to expand the state Sunshine Portal website passed the Senate, but not before the body passed an amendment that killed nearly all the bill's Republican support. Senate Bill 30, sponsored by Sen. Sander Rue, R-Albuquerque, would expand the definition ...

Tax cut on retirement pay aims to keep vets in state

When he left work at Kirtland Air Force Base in 1983, Dave Coulie, a retired Air Force captain, thought about moving to a state that doesn't tax military retirement pay like New Mexico does. Coulie ended up with a lucrative second career at Honeywell, and stayed. But many veterans like him have moved to states that don' ...

Bill would provide funds to struggling drug courts

Over the past half year, Jerome Block Jr.'s very public struggle with substance abuse put a spotlight on Santa Fe's drug court. The former Public Regulation Commission member recently was sent to prison for 60 days for a psychological evaluation after he was kicked out of the program. The 34-year-old tested positive for c ...

Legislative roundup, Feb. 4, 2012

Days remaining in session: 12 Clifford confirmed: The Senate on Friday unanimously confirmed Gov. Susana Martinez's appointment of Tom Clifford as secretary of the Department of Finance and Administration. Clifford is a longtime veteran of state government who has been serving as acting secretary of the department since ...

University lobbyists among session's big spenders

It's common that lobbyists for various industries with business before the Legislature pay for parties, receptions meals and gifts for lawmakers during the session. While that's true of the current session, a noncommercial interest also has been dropping some money on parties for legislators -- state universities. Amon ...

Senate confirms governor's budget agency leader

The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Tom Clifford as secretary of the Department of Finance and Administration. Gov. Susana Martinez appointed Clifford, an economist, to the cabinet-level job last August. He runs an agency that manages the state budget and other financial matters, including payroll processing and st ...

Reading bill advances despite cost concerns

Gov. Susana Martinez's reading intervention, remediation, and retention bill ran into some snags Friday when members of the House Education Committee raised questions about the cost, the definition of proficiency and whether parents should maintain the right to decide to hold their children back a grade. Nonetheless, the ...