I am writing today to announce the closure of the New Mexico Independent. After three and a half years of operation in New Mexico, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news…
While environmental activists played their part yesterday during demonstrations at the capitol building, going so far as to dress up as solar panels and to sing the tune of “You Are My Sunshine,” their counterparts, the anti-cap-and-trade contingency who has…
Roughly one quarter of University of New Mexico students are unimpressed with the state’s flagship public school, according to a survey that questioned college students about their higher education experiences.
The state Senate, by a vote of 29-12, just passed a bill (pdf) that would give a court judge the discretion to impose a fine on a public official convicted of corruption.
The legislation, sponsored by Sen. Minority Whip William Payne, R-Albuquerque, would allow a judge to value the fine up to the value of the official’s salary and benefits.
In other words, a public official who is convicted or pleads guilty to corruption could have his or her pension payments go toward paying the fine. Unlike a pension forfeiture, which would mean the individual would not get a pension at all, a judge could, through a process, determine when the criminal act began during the individual’s career, say, for example, the last five years of service. Then the judge could determine the value of an official’s pension during that five-year period and impose a fine based on that, Payne said.
The bill passed after a short debate on the Senate floor and now heads to the House of Representatives.
