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.
Andy Nuñez, D-Hatch, the most outspoken supporter of a bid to unseat Speaker of the House Ben Luján, D-Nambe, had his committee chairmanship taken away and is now considering switching parties to the Republicans.
Ben Luján, D-Nambe, remained Speaker of the House, defeating Tom Taylor, R-Farmington, in a Tuesday morning vote. An expected challenge from Rep. Joseph Cervantes, D-Las Cruces, based on a support of a coalition of Republicans and southern New Mexico Democrats, did not materialize.
The state legislature and Gov. Susana Martinez will begin the 2011 session today with some big ticket items — including, most notably, a state budget deficit that’s estimated to be anywhere from $200 and $400 million. Martinez has vowed to fill the gap without raising taxes or making cuts to either classroom education or Medicaid.
How chaotic is the leadership battle in the state House of Representatives at the moment? Have you got a hour or so to run through all the scenarios?
Here goes:
Attorney General Gary King would get extra muscle to go after taxpayer money lost to fraud under a state budget the Legislature passed last week. The budget earmarks $150,000 for King to hire a full-time attorney to focus on court complaints filed by citizens who believe that the state has been defrauded, resulting in the loss of taxpayer money. A full-time attorney dedicated to so-called qui tam lawsuits could represent a financial boon to the state.
Gov. Bill Richardson was in Las Cruces Saturday to sign into law the Whistleblower Protection Act, funding for the Las Cruces downtown tax increment development district and colonias, and a spaceport-related bill.
State Rep. Joseph Cervantes’ Whistleblower Protection Act, House Bill 165, passed Tuesday on a vote of 67-1. The legislation would allow government employees to sue their employers if they’re retaliated against for reporting government corruption, testifying before a public body…
House Speaker Ben Lujan’s bill to implement a temporary half-cent hike in the state’s gross receipts tax would presumably not have passed earlier today if two Republican members hadn’t missed the vote.
Attorney General Gary King has yet to act on nearly 100 cases filed under the state’s Fraud Against Taxpayers Act — and that could discourage potential whistleblowers from coming forward, the legislative sponsor of the law says.
“Denial.”
State Rep. Joseph Cervantes, D-Las Cruces, says that’s the theme of the 2009 special session of the Legislature thus far.
“Few here are willing to discuss, much less confront, the fact that we now have recurring expenditures which are…
Attorney General Gary King plans to push a number of ethics-reform proposals during the 30-day session of the state Legislature that begins in January. At the top of his list is the creation of an independent ethics commission.
Despite what he calls its “flaws,” Gov. Bill Richardson signed today a bill that will open conference committees and other legislative meetings to the public.
By any measure, the 60-day session of the New Mexico Legislature that just ended was the most successful in recent memory for ethics-reform advocates who have been pushing for years to fundamentally change the way state government does business.
Though he previously pledged to sign a bill that would open conference committees and many other currently closed legislative meetings to the public, the governor’s office now says Bill Richardson is concerned about “loopholes in the bill” and isn’t certain he’ll sign it.
Two bills that would require government agencies in New Mexico to accept requests for public records via e-mail and fax have been approved by the Legislature and sent to the governor for action.
The New Mexico Senate voted late Thursday to open conference committees and other legislative meetings to the light of day — and the public. The bill now goes to Gov. Bill Richardson, who has said he will sign it.
Senate Majority Leader Michael Sanchez, D-Belen, says a proposal to open conference committees and other legislative meetings to the public will be the last item the Senate will hear tonight. Interestingly, it’s Sen. Linda Lopez, D-Albuquerque and chair of the Senate Rules Committee, who will present Cervantes’ bill tonight.
Majority Leader Michael Sanchez, D-Belen, said on the Senate floor this afternoon that he plans for a debate tonight on one of the bills that would open conference committees and other legislative meetings to the public.
Sen. Dede Feldman asked to delay a hearing earlier today on a proposal to open conference committees and other legislative meetings to the public because she wants the Senate to consider another bill instead of hers.
Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee voted this morning to send to the Senate floor a second bill that would open conference committees and other legislative meetings to the public.
