A dispute between a Senate committee and the Governor's Office over background checks is holding up the confirmations of some of Gov. Bill Richardson's high-level appointees.

The flap already has delayed a Senate vote on members of the state Gaming Control Board and the Racing Commission.

Other appointees in the pipeline who could be affected include Richardson buddies Johnny Cope of the Transportation Commission and Paul Blanchard of the Investment Council.

If the disagreement is not resolved before the session ends next Thursday and the appointees are not confirmed by the Senate, they still would be able to serve.

"Right now we're in a stalemate," said Senate Rules Chairwoman Linda Lopez, D-Albuquerque.

According to Lopez, the committee — which recommends appointees to the full Senate for confirmation — decided in December to formalize its process for checking out the suitability of nominees.

All appointees have been given questionnaires to fill out, Lopez said. For cabinet secretaries and others in sensitive, policymaking positions, the committee asked the Department of Public Safety to conduct background checks.

Lopez said DPS did a series of background checks and shared them with the committee before halting the process abruptly just a few days ago, apparently at the governor's direction.

Lopez said without a background check, she cannot credibly recommend someone to the Senate.

"The whole process is at stake right now," she said.

A spokesman for Richardson, Gilbert Gallegos, said DPS "mistakenly sent over some background checks, even though the executive branch never agreed to provide such checks."

The governor's office conducts thorough background checks on its appointees, and the Rules Committee "is free to do its own evaluations," Gallegos also said. He said the committee has adequate staff to do its research.

Lopez says the committee doesn't have such resources. She said Thursday she has talked with Santa Fe city officials and plans to talk with Albuquerque officials about the possibility of their police departments doing the checks.

"I will ... find some other agency that can do background checks for us," she said.

By law, DPS conducts background checks on Gaming Control Board appointees. Lopez said those had been done, but weren't delivered to her until Thursday afternoon.

The committee earlier this week delayed action on two Gaming Control Board members, Demesia Padilla and James Peterson, as well as two Racing Commission members, Ray Willis and Larry Delgado.




© Copyright Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.