Gov. Bill Richardson spoke of addressing the great issues of the state in a spirit of "bipartisanship and civility" in his State of the State speech on the first day of the 2008 Legislature on Tuesday, and everyone seemed to be in agreement.
House Republicans talked about finding "common ground" in some of Richardson's proposals. "Our caucus does not want to be a roadblock to change," said House Minority Whip Dan Foley, R-Roswell.
He and Minority Leader Tom Taylor, R-Farmington, spoke of a cordial meeting with the governor earlier in the day.
But beneath the happy talk and good cheer, there were rumblings in the Roundhouse of some unavoidable conflicts ahead in this 30-day session.
Richardson's health care package is an obvious area in which there will be certain contention. Lawmakers are questioning the cost as well as how much power the governor should have in appointing the proposed state Health Care Authority.
But there are other issues that might explode before the next verse of "Kumbayya" is sung.
For instance, Foley told reporters he believes the House should focus first on bills in which there is general agreement instead of divisive "wedge" issues, such as a domestic partnership bill, which would give same-sex couples the same responsibilities and benefits as married couples.
Minutes later, however, House Speaker Ben Luján, D-Nambé, told reporters he expects the House to move the domestic partners bill "fairly fast."
Debate on domestic-partner legislation always is one of the most emotional in the Legislature. Last year, a bill passed the House but was narrowly defeated in the Senate.
Richardson was applauded loudly by Democrats when he said, "Two people who agree to spend their lives committed to each other deserve to have the same legal protections for their families."
But Senate Minority Leader Stuart Ingle, R-Portales, said in a written statement that the calls he receives are 12-to-1 against the idea.
Another sure battle will be over ethics reform.
Most of the major proposals in this area — the creation of a state ethics board, public financing of campaigns and campaign-contribution limits — were defeated in the Legislature last year.
Richardson barely mentioned this hot topic in his speech, devoting only three sentences to the issue, which he referred to as "unfinished business."
"As public officials, we know that holding the highest ethical standards is not a privilege, but our moral responsibility," the governor said. "Once again, an ethics reform task force has laid out a thoughtful list of reforms to strengthen our weak laws. I ask this body to finish the job."
House Republicans said they will continue to oppose proposals such as public financing of campaigns.
However, Foley said the GOP would support legislation requiring tighter and more frequent reporting of campaign contributions. He also suggested a proposed Ethics Commission be composed of the state's district attorneys instead of those appointed by the governor and the Legislature, as has been posed by an ethics task force.
Matt Brix, a member of the task force, said he agrees with Foley's idea about faster campaign finance reporting, but reacted to the ethics board idea with far less enthusiasm.
He said the task force took the best parts of ethics boards programs from 40 states and has hammered out their proposal during the course of more than a year. "We believe we've incorporated the best into our proposal," he said.
It remains unclear whether a proposed fix to state election laws that would make it easier for state candidates to get on the primary ballot will raise controversy.
Richardson as well as legislative leaders back the idea of restoring a system that would allow candidates who get less than 20 percent delegate support at pre-party conventions to collect petition signatures. This bill has implications for crowded congressional races in the state.
But the hard part might be adding an emergency clause so the measure takes effect before the March pre-primary conventions. This requires a two-thirds vote in both chambers of the Legislature, which means a minority in either chamber could sandbag the bill.
Rep. Joe Campos, D-Santa Rosa, who chairs the House Voters and Elections Committee, said he has heard of no opposition to such a bill. "But I really won't know until after I introduce it," he said.
Campos said he plans to introduce the bill today. In the Senate, Majority Leader Michael Sanchez, D-Belen, and Minority Leader Ingle are co-sponsoring a similar bill.
Contact Steve Terrell at 986-3037 or sterrell@sfnewmexican.com.
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