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.
In the legislative redistricting process, the Republican-leaning west side of Albuquerque will likely gain seats while eastern and north-central New Mexico will lose them, according to Brian Sanderoff of Albuquerque-based Research & Polling Inc., a longtime consultant to the legislature.
Former Lt. Governor and 2010 Democratic nominee for governor Diane Denish endorsed State Auditor Hector Balderas for U.S. Senate Wednesday.
Former Rep. Heather Wilson announced Tuesday that Bryce Dustman, her former chief of staff, will manage her campaign for U.S. Senate to replace retiring Democratic Sen. Jeff Bingaman.
Former Rep. Heather Wilson is considering a run for Senate next year, according to Roll Call. Wilson told the Washington, D.C., publication yesterday that now that her job heading Susana Martinez’s transition team has ended she can begin thinking about her future.
Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) is “weighing retirement” for 2012, according to a report from Politico.
This week, Senate Democrats will attempt to push through a jobs bill that has stalled in the chamber for seven weeks. If Congress does not pass the bill, hundreds of thousands will lose their federally extended unemployment insurance. Doctors will take a 21 percent cut in Medicare reimbursement rates, and states will see less money for Medicaid.
The U.S. has 5 percent of the world’s population but a quarter of its of its prisoners, according to a new report on the economic impact of the corrections industry released to lawmakers Tuesday by the Congressional Research Service (CRS). Few facets of the national economy are untouched by the burgeoning prison industry, the report concludes.
Lively debate preceded the Senate’s Wednesday vote in favor (23-15) on SB 148, which prohibits insurance companies from using gender as a factor in determining health insurance rates.
Sen. Keller
On Tuesday Senator Tim Keller (D-Albuquerque) introduced a motion to revive SB 531, a transparency bill that was unanimously passed by the Legislature last year only to be pocket-vetoed by Governor Bill Richardson.
Keller’s recall motion passed with unanimous consent. It was the first step toward a legislative override of Richardson’s veto.
“This was just the first step in a two-step process – recalling the bill to the Senate floor,” Keller explained. “It’s a totally arcane process. You can’t just move for an override. Vetoed bills go to the Secretary of State’s for a year in case they are recalled to the Senate for an override.”
Another motion will be required for an up-or-down vote by the full senate. A two-thirds majority in both houses is necessary for a veto override.
SB 531, which would have forced state agencies to share Medicaid spending and other financial data with the Legislative Finance Committee, unanimously passed both houses of the Legislature last year.
“We definitely have an issue with investigating Medicaid fraud,” Keller told The Independent, referring to allegations by the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud and Elder Abuse Division that the state Human Services Department (HSD) and Health Department have repeatedly “interfered” with investigations by not sharing data with investigators.
“This is not glamorous stuff, but it’s very important,” Keller said. “We cannot address the budget crisis without getting to the bottom of this. This year’s budget has $1 to $2 billion going through these Medicaid providers – 20 percent of our budget.”
SB 531 was intended to address state agencies’ failures to share several types of data with the Legislature, Keller said.
In a March 26, 2009 letter, Attorney General Gary King urged Gov. Richardson to sign the bill, saying it “resolves an ambiguity regarding whether existing law allows the Legislative Finance Committee to keep confidential non-public records it receives from agencies” and that the bill would “facilitate the exchange of information between government agencies and the Legislative Finance Committee.”
“Other (than Medicaid), areas where we have had these problems are in education, prison system and state investment funds,” Keller said.
Keller hopes to avoid a contentious fight, he said.
“We did not do this in a controversial way but the issue has come up again with the AG’s allegations, and we need to deal with it,” he said. “We need to keep things focused on the issue and avoid territorial disputes.”
Keller began meeting with officials from the AG and HSD today, he said, though he refused to discuss details.
“The next step is to talk with the agencies,” Keller said. “Then the full Senate will decide whether to move forward with the override.”
The Governor’s office has not yet responded to requests for comment. HSD Spokeswoman Betina Gonzales McCracken refused to comment on Keller’s efforts Tuesday, saying only, “the Human Services Department will work with the AG’s office to clarify any issues that may exist.”
The override motion is evidence of how frustrated legislators have become with the executive branch, according to New Mexico Foundation for Open Government Executive Director Sarah Welsh.
“It’s amazing that we would have to explicitly legislate checks and balances like this,” Welsh said Tuesday. “Basically, they want information and they feel thwarted. This latest move might seem like inside baseball, but it really points to a larger problem that I run into nearly every day – it’s very difficult to get information out of this administration. And it’s not just reporters who get frustrated. It’s legislators and candidates and activists of all stripes. It’s a baffling phenomenon until you remember: information is power, particularly in this new digital age.”
Feds “Aware” of Allegations
Last week, The Independent revealed, in an exclusive story, that an Attorney General’s report shows the state had hindered Medicaid fraud investigations.
Those allegations were forwarded to the U.S. Center for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS), the agency that administers federal Medicaid funding to the state, Inspector General spokesman Mark Wilson told The Independent Monday.
“We alerted CMS to the issue, based on the New Mexico Attorney General’s report,” Wilson said. “Now it’s up to them to contact the state and find out what’s going on there.”
CMS officials did not respond to emails and telephone messages requesting comment. McCracken would not comment on whether CMS had contacted HSD about the allegations.
After months of debate and discussion, the United States Senate has passed a health care bill on a 60-39 vote. No Republicans voted for the bill, while no Democrats voted against the bill. The vote on the bill was the…
The U.S. Senate, early in the morning in a snowy Washington D.C., passed a vote on cloture over the health care reform bill. The vote to limit debate passed on a 60-40 vote, the smallest margin possible for successfully limiting…
The U.S. Senate appears to have reached a deal, although the New York Times reported that the agreement isn’t final, according to officials who could not speak on the record. The AP wrote that the officials said “Democrats had…
The Hill, a newspaper written for and about Congress, asked every member of the Senate “which member of the opposing party they most enjoyed partnering with on legislation.” They also asked, on a not-for-attribution basis, which member of the opposing…
Immediately after the vote in the Senate on the death penalty repeal, Gov. Bill Richardson issued a statement on the bill. The bill passed 24-18.
“This is an extremely difficult issue that deserved the serious and thoughtful debate…
While there will still be a massive drop in seniority from Pete Domenici, who served six terms in the Senate, to freshman Sen. Tom Udall, at least Udall will not have to start at the very bottom of the pecking…
New Mexico’s soon-to-be senior senator will preside over the final pro forma session of the Senate in the 110th Congress on Friday morning.
Jeff Bingaman, a Silver City Democrat, will wield the gavel during a session in which neither the…
According to The Associated Press, U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici is riding off into the sunset after serving as New Mexico’s senator for 36 years. When Domenici began serving in 1972, New Mexico only had two congressional districts and the…
While much of the attention was on the presidential election during the past few months, all political eyes are now on Minnesota, Alaska and Georgia’s U.S. Senate races. Alaska and Minnesota are still counting ballots, while Georgia is readying itself for a special election next month. Here in New Mexico, there was not as much drama in the race for Senate or even, ultimately, any of the open House seats.
A poll by SurveyUSA conducted on Sept. 29 and Sept. 30 shows that Barack Obama has maintained his lead over John McCain in the presidential race, while Tom Udall has extended his lead over Steve Pearce in the…
