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.
Government agencies can’t ask job seekers whether they’ve been convicted of a crime starting today under a new state law, the Albuquerque Journal tells us.
The new law, colloquially referred to as ban-the-box, would prohibit municipal and state governments from asking potential employees about their criminal history, the box being the area on the job application where such information is checked off. The criminal history question can be asked in subsequent interviews, according to the paper.
The statute is one of 68 new laws that go into effect today because they didn’t appropriate money, didn’t carry an emergency clause as legislation, meaning they would take effect immediately after being signed by the governor, or didn’t have a specified effective date.
The Journal lists a few of the new statutes:
• State agencies can begin charging customers a credit card processing fee, which typically ranges from 1.5 to 2 percent.
• Whistle-blower protection is enacted for state employees who report government corruption.
• New Mexicans in any branch of the military are now able to buy a combination hunting and fishing license for $28.
• A state fund is being created to help pay for conservation easements and other land acquisitions deemed environmentally sensitive.
