Legislative scorecard Feb. 19, 2010
| The New Mexican
Posted: Thursday, February 18, 2010 - 2/12/10
     
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A look at what the Legislature passed and sent to the governor, and what failed in the 30-day session that ended Thursday:

PASSED

Government
  • SB 207, sponsored by Sen. David Ulibarri, D-Grants, which would prohibit "double dipping" by public employees, who retire and then return to work with a government salary while also receiving retirement benefits. The bill doesn't affect current "double dippers."
  • SB 182, which would kill some $150 million in inactive capital outlay projects and revert the money to the general fund.
  • HB 237, sponsored by Rep. Luciano "Lucky" Varela, D-Santa Fe, which would set up a task force to study the possible consolidation of state agencies and other government restructuring.
  • SB 18, sponsored by Sen. Tim Keller, D-Albuquerque, would change the State Investment Council's membership.
  • HB 25, sponsored by Rep. Nate Cote, D-Las Cruces, and SB 137, sponsored by Sen. Phil Griego, D-San Jose, would allow New Mexicans to renew their driver's licenses online or over the phone.
Ethics & Transparency
  • SB 195, the Sunshine Portal Act, sponsored by Sen. Sander Rue, R-Albuquerque, would publish all the state's financial information online in an up-to-date, free, searchable public database.
  • Two "whistle-blower" bills, SB 96, sponsored by Sue Beffort Wilson, R-Sandia Park, and HB 165, sponsored by Rep. Joe Cervantes, D-Las Cruces, are designed to protect people who report wrongdoing in state government. The governor said Thursday he was happy they passed.
  • Early in the session the House passed three rules changes aimed at creating more transparency. The first, sponsored by House Republican Whip Keith Gardner, mandates video webcasting of House floor sessions. (The House already had audio webcasting.) Next was a measure sponsored by Rep. Jeff Steinborn, D-Las Cruces, which called for audio webcasting House committee meetings. Finally, there was a rule change proposed by Rep. Zach Cook, R-Ruidoso, which requires the House to publish roll-call votes in the House on the Legislature's Web site within 24 hours, as the Senate already had been doing.
Health
  • HB 201, sponsored by Rep. Rhonda King, D-Stanley, would require the Department of Health to adopt more disease screening tests for newborns.
Education
  • HB 150, sponsored by Rep. Rick Miera, D-Albuquerque, and SB 132, sponsored by Sen. Bernadette Sanchez, D-Albuquerque, would establish a liaison within the Public Education Department who would focus on Hispanic students. It also would create an advisory council that would work with families and communities in an effort to close an achievement gap.
Other
  • SB 40, sponsored by Sen. George Muñoz, D-Gallup, would allow holders of concealed-carry licenses to take their guns in restaurants that serve beer and wine.
  • Natural Heritage Conservation Act: The Senate on Tuesday passed a bill that would set up a fund in hopes of attracting federal funds, private donations and other money to pay for conservation projects.
  • SB 186, sponsored by Sen. Carlos Cisneros, D-Questa, would set up a fund in the Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department that eventually would protect and restore working farms and ranches, forests and watershed, outdoor recreation areas (including hunting and fishing) and cultural and historic sites.
  • HB 93, sponsored by Rep. Al Park, D-Albuquerque, and SB 58, sponsored by Sen. John Sapien, D-Corrales, would require auto manufacturers to have contracts with dealers that protect dealers in case of a closing. Under the proposed bill, contracts between manufacturers and dealerships would include defined reimbursements and compensations to dealers who perform at an acceptable level of success.
FAILED

Taxes & Revenue
  • HB 119 sponsored by House Speaker Ben Luján, D-Nambé, which would have raised the gross receipts tax, passed the House but got stuck in the Senate Corporations & Transportation Committee. That also was the fate of Albuquerque Rep. Ed Sandoval's HB 9, which would have imposed a surtax on upper-income New Mexicans.
  • SB 10, which would have reinstated the gross receipts tax on food items not approved under the federal Women, Infants and Children nutrition program, passed the Senate but was killed in a House committee.
  • HB 62, sponsored by Rep. Ray Begaye, D-Shiprock, which would have closed loopholes that allow out-of-state corporations to avoid paying New Mexico corporate taxes, stalled in the House Business & Industry Committee.
  • HB 34, which would have increased tax on alcoholic beverages and HB 35, which would have raised the taxes on tobacco, both were tabled — which means effectively killed — in the House Business & Industry Committee. Both bills were sponsored by Rep. Brian Egolf, D-Santa Fe.
  • A bill that sought to impose gross receipts taxes on Internet sales, HB 50, sponsored by Rep. Eleanor Chavez, also was tabled by Business & Industry.
  • HB 184, which would have imposed a 25 percent excise tax on medical marijuana, sponsored by Rep. Bill Rehm, R-Albuquerque, was tabled by a 14-1 vote of the House Taxation & Revenue Committee.
  • HB 52, sponsored by Rep. Dennis Kintigh, R-Roswell, would have repealed tax credits for film productions. It was tabled by the House Labor Committee.
Domestic Partnerships
  • SB 183, which would have established a legal right for unmarried couples to enter into domestic partnerships, was tabled in Senate Finance Committee.
Ethics & Transparency
  • HB 118, sponsored by Rep. Joe Campos, D-Santa Rosa, would have prohibited campaign contributions from lobbyists and state contractors. It passed the House but died in the Senate without being heard in committee.
  • Two bills to establish ethics commissions, SB 43, sponsored by Sen. Linda Lopez, D-Albuquerque, and HB 43, sponsored by Rep. Mary Helen Garcia D-Las Cruces, failed to pass. The House passed Garcia's bill early Thursday, but neither got a Senate vote.
  • SB 28, sponsored by Sen. Dede Feldman, D-Albuquerque, would have required state contractors and prospective state contractors to disclose all campaign contributions within the past two years and post those contributions on the state General Services Department Web site. It passed both chambers but the Senate ran out of time before it could approve the conference committee report.
  • HB 279, sponsored by Rep. Janice Arnold-Jones, R-Albuquerque, would have prohibited public officials from appearing in taxpayer-funded public service announcement television spots. It got stuck in the House Business & Industry Committee.
  • HB 130, sponsored by Rep. Bill O'Neill, D-Albuquerque, would have prohibited former legislators from becoming lobbyists for one year after leaving office. It died in the House Business & Industry Committee.
  • Several bills expanding webcasting in the Legislature failed to pass. SR 1, sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Michael Sanchez, would add more cameras to the Senate chambers for its webcasts, giving online viewers more to look at than the backs of a few senators' heads. It was on the Senate floor calendar for several days but never got heard. SR 4, sponsored by Sen. Eric Griego, D-Albuquerque, which called for webcasting of Senate committees, died in the Senate Rules Committee. HJM 15, sponsored by Rep. Jeff Steinborn, D-Las Cruces, passed the House but died in the Senate.
Crime
  • SB 3, sponsored by Sen. Peter Wirth, D-Santa Fe, was tabled by the Senate Judiciary Committee. It would have imposed a minimum mandatory jail term of 72 consecutive hours for a first driving while intoxicated conviction and 120 consecutive hours for an aggravated DWI conviction. As an alternative, the bill would have allowed an offender to serve 30 days (50 days for aggravated DWI) in a "community corrections" program — which means the offender would have to wear an electronic monitoring device or have a 24-hour surveillance system in the home.
  • HB 17, sponsored by Rep. Nate Cote, D-Las Cruces, would have made it unlawful for a person convicted of domestic violence to be certified as a law-enforcement officer for three years, and officers convicted of such a charge would lose their certification. The bill cleared the House but not the Senate.
  • HB 178, sponsored by Rep. Moe Maestas, D-Albuquerque, would have allowed people facing drug possession charges to have the option of substance abuse treatment rather than jail time. The bill passed the House but was being debated in the Senate when the session ended.
Government
  • HB 66, sponsored by Rep. Brian Egolf, D-Santa Fe, would have given preference to small community banks for depositing state funds. It passed the House unanimously and made it through Senate committees. But it never got heard by the full Senate.
  • Several bills to consolidate government agencies were ruled not germane to the budget session. Other bills combing state cabinet departments languished in committee.
  • SB 269, sponsored by Senate President Pro-tem Tim Jennings, D-Roswell, would have created an office of special counsel in an attempt to recover funds lost by the State Investment Council, Educational Retirement Board and the Public Employee Retirement Association. It passed the Senate but died in the House.
  • Two bills that would have allowed voters to register at early-voting sites — HB 123, sponsored by Rep. Jim Trujillo, D-Santa Fe, and SB 161, sponsored by Sen. John Sapien, D-Corrales — died in committee.
Other
  • SB 212, sponsored by Senate Republican Leader Stuart Ingle, R-Portales, sought to do away with a requirement for people with concealed-carry gun licenses to take a refresher course every two years. It passed the Senate and was pending in the House Consumer & Public Affairs Committee.






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