Sen. Eric Griego

It was only supposed to be an informational meeting Saturday. But while Senators heard presentations on the state’s budget gap deep divides arose over how to close it.

Republicans and conservative Democrats on Tuesday used a Senate Committee viewed as a friendly forum to seriously endanger domestic partnership legislation. Before sending the legislation on to Senate Judiciary Committee a 5-4 vote, the Senate Public Affairs Committee approved sending the 816-page bill to a third committee, the kiss of death during a 30-day session.

A Senate Committee viewed as a friendly forum for domestic partnerships may have killed the bill Tuesday.
The Senate Public Affairs Committee approved the legislation but voted to give the 816-page bill a third committee referral.
A bill that must be heard by three committees in either chamber – the House or Senate – during a 30-day [...]

By a 31-5 vote, Jamie Koch survived a bruising debate in the state Senate Monday to win another term on the University of New Mexico Board of Regents. But the lopsided vote belied strong opposition presented from faculty and student representatives, as well as some state lawmakers. Among opponents’ biggest gripes was the amount of money spent on top administrators over the last few years as funding for some academic programs has languished. The cost of administration at UNM had jumped to $8.2 million in 2008, up from $2.6 million in 2002, Dr. Tim Lowery, a UNM professor, told lawmakers sitting on the Senate Rules Committee Monday morning.

Gov. Bill Richardson on Thursday said he would order nearly 20,000 state workers to take five furlough days. He also pledged to axe 1,000 vacant state jobs and make cuts at the agencies under his control. But state lawmakers said he could have averted some of the pain by taking action earlier this year.

A budget that largely protects K-12 education, while cutting deeply into most state agencies, won approval from the Legislature Friday evening. The bill, which trims more than $200 million in spending, now goes to Gov. Bill Richardson.