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.
A political battle over control of New Mexico’s dominant party played out on the Senate floor Tuesday over an unexpected issue: an Albuquerque woman’s nomination to a state board. Confirmations in the Senate are usually uneventful and state lawmakers usually speak…
An attempt to define marriage as between on man and one woman failed in the Senate Rules Committee Monday by a vote of 5-2. Sen. William Sharer, R-Farmington, had proposed a constitutional amendment that would have added the phrase…
A bill that would oppose any mandate that New Mexicans buy a specific type of health care coverage failed Friday in the Senate Rules Committee on a 4-3 vote after very little debate. The sponsor, William Sharer, R-Farmington, said the…
Public school teachers and state workers would pay more toward their retirement while several, but not all, state agencies would get fewer dollars next year under a state budget plan approved by a powerful Senate committee on Thursday.
Also roughly 250 more state jobs across state government would disappear than in a House-approved state budget plan that served as the starting point for the Senate proposal. Many of those targeted state government positions are already vacant, legislative officials said.
House members debated The Hispanic Education Act for well over two hours before voting 44 to 25 to pass the bill to the Senate, where members had another lengthy debate before passing it 24 to 16. Much of the debate…
The Senate Rules Committee gave its approval Wednesday to legislation that would expand the number of cameras used in webcasting from the Senate floor.
The Senate Rules Committee tabled a bill Wednesday that would have banned people who have contracts with the State Land Office from giving campaign contributions to the land commissioner or candidates for that office.
Sen. Tim Jennings, D-Roswell said Tuesday that broad-based cuts are a ‘very possible’ step to balancing the budget. But Sen. Eric Griego, D-Albuquerque, disagreed, saying ”When you say ‘across the board’ you balance the budget on the backs of…
If the state establishes an ethics commission, how many members should it have? Who appoints them? And how much of the commission’s work should be made public? Legislators are grappling with those decisions as three bills are combined into one.
More than 10 tax credits, including some for film and green energy, could face some changes if a bill brought by Senator Tim Jennings, D-Roswell, passes. While the film credits are just a part of Senate bill 248, it…
To settle a bet he lost–over a high school football game–Senate Majority Leader Michael Sanchez carried Senate President Pro Tem Tim Jennings around the Senate chambers in a wheelbarrow on Tuesday.
A week after Gov. Bill Richardson said publicly he would propose a bill to reform the State Investment Council, a powerful Democratic lawmaker on Wednesday essentially said put your money where your mouth is.
“In the state of…
Reforming a state law that allows landowners to kill wild game that cause property damage will be a priority issue for environmental groups at the state Legislature this year.
A controversial bill that would have authorized issuance of “sponge bonds” as a way to free up capital outlay money failed in the Senate Thursday evening after a long and heated debate. But immediately after the 19-20 vote, which…
During a discussion on the Senate floor Wednesday about whether lawmakers should voluntarily reduce their per diem as the Legislature addresses a massive budget shortfall, Sen. Richard Martinez, D-Española, spoke out heatedly about colleagues who he said abuse the…
The resignation of New Mexico State University Interim President Waded Cruzado is in the works, a move that has angered some powerful state legislators who believe the Board of Regents and the Richardson administration are forcing the change.
The cabinet secretary for the New Mexico Human Services Department is taking issue with the Senate president’s assertion that she hasn’t been honest with lawmakers.
There was a somewhat contentious exchange in the Senate Rules Committee today when Senate President Pro Tem Tim Jennings demanded that a cabinet secretary promise to always tell the Legislature the truth even if it would cost him his job.
If you haven’t checked out the letter former Senate President Manny Aragon has written to a federal judge seeking leniency in the imposing of fines and restitution for his role in the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Courthouse scandal, you should.
