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 of "state agency" to include all branches of state government and would require that the names and salaries of almost all state employees are posted on the Sunshine Portal site.

Gov. Susana Martinez last year issued an executive order requiring state employees to be listed on the website. Rue's bill would make it law, so that a future governor couldn't reverse the order.

But Sen. Eric Griego, D-Albuquerque, offered an amendment that also would add the names and salaries of employees of companies contracting with New Mexico to the state website. Griego and others argued that it's not fair to require the names and salaries of public employees but not those of workers and managers of companies being paid by the state.

"I don't know if it's a poison pill to kill the bill altogether, or if it was political posturing," Rue told a reporter after the vote.

"I don't agree with every name of every [private sector] employee," he told a reporter, "but the corporate officers, great." He also said he agrees that the Sunshine Portal should indicate whether a corporation doing business with the state is based in New Mexico or out of state.

But he said the issue should be thoroughly studied by a committee in the months between legislative sessions.

The Senate passed Griego's amendment, with Republicans voting no and most Democrats voting yes. The bill passed by a 25-16 vote, with Rue the only Republican supporting it. It goes now to the House.

Senate serves up bartender bill: Bartenders and other liquor servers would have to go through more training under a bill passed unanimously Monday by the Senate. But under SB 111, sponsored by Sen. Bob Burt, R-Roswell, the crime of serving alcohol to a minor would be reduced from a fourth-degree felony to a misdemeanor for the first offense.

"We need to understand that many of our servers in the hospitality industry are hard-working people who take their jobs seriously," Burt said in a written statement. "I do not think they should be penalized so harshly by being charged with a felony if they mistakenly accept the fraudulent identification a minor might hand them. By charging a misdemeanor rather than a felony on an honest mistake, we are giving servers one more chance."

The bill goes on to the House.

Trujillo's education amendment fails: A House Committee last week voted down a constitutional amendment proposed by Rep. Jim Trujillo, D-Santa Fe, that would have made permanent the rate at which the state taps money from a state fund for education.

Trujillo's House Joint Resolution 2 would have kept the 5.8 percent annual distribution from the Land Grant Permanent Fund to public schools and other beneficiaries. That rate is scheduled to begin decreasing next year, eventually going down to 5 percent in 2017.

In a 2003, special election, state voters by a slim margin approved constitutional amendments that increased the percentage of interest on the permanent fund. Then-Gov. Bill Richardson spearheaded that move.

The measure mainly was opposed by many Republicans, who called it a "raid" on the fund.

Lawmakers target metal theft: Senators unanimously passed legislation Monday to help curtail the theft of metal. SB 67, sponsored by Sen. Steven Neville, R-Aztec, would require secondhand or scrap-metal dealers to register with the New Mexico Department of Regulation and Licensing, a news release said. It also would tighten requirements when dealing in metal materials such as electrical transmission wire, transformers and bronze. The dealers would have to record any transactions involving those regulated materials and to upload them to a department database accessible to law enforcement.

"This bill is intended to go after the thieves who are ripping off metal such as copper, brass, steel and aluminum off of buildings, transformers, and even manhole covers," Neville said in the release.

The bill goes to the House now.

Looking ahead: The annual Legislative Basketball Game between the House and Senate is scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday night in the Santa Fe High School gym. All proceeds from the game will benefit the UNM Cancer Center. Last year, the event raised $20,000 for the center. Tickets cost $5 per person and may be purchased in advance in Room 125 of the Capitol or at the door on game night.

Quote of the day: "Sometimes it's funny down here making sausage." -- Senate President Pro Tem Tim Jennings of Roswell during a debate Monday on the Senate floor.

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