New Mexico Telegram » New Mexico House
Think New Mexico’s two year plan finishes successfully
Think New Mexico had a two-year plan to reform the Public Regulations Commission (PRC) and make it a slimmer, less bloated agency — as well as more qualified. And after this year’s session, the small not-for-profit found it had done what it set out to do. Executive Director Fred Nathan told New Mexico Telegram in an interview last week, “That’s been sort of a two-year fight if you will and sort of a ten-step process.” And the … Read entire article »
Filed under: Featured, New Mexico House, New Mexico Senate, Roundhouse
Rep. Herrell says background check bill “stupid,” still supports controversial abortion bill
Rep. Yvette Herrell, R-Ruidoso, referred to a bill to close the gun show loophole as “stupid” and said that she still supports a controversial bill that many said would originally have criminalized women getting an abortion for a pregnancy that came from rape or incest. Herrell made the comments to the monthly meeting of the Republican Party of Otero County. Herrell was a cosponsor of the original bill that incited a national firestorm over language that the … Read entire article »
Filed under: Featured, New Mexico House, New Mexico Senate, Roundhouse
Recapping the 2013 legislative session: CVNM
New Mexico Telegram will be speaking to individuals and groups that were at the legislative session about what happened with their priorities. New Mexico Telegram spoke with Liliana Castillo, the Communications and Outreach Manager for Conservation Voters New Mexico about how the legislative session went for their group. The conservation group said shortly after the end of the session that the group and its allies* had “successfully defeated 100% of the anti-conservation bills in the 2013 … Read entire article »
Filed under: Environment, Featured, Governor, New Mexico House, New Mexico Senate
Weekly Word discusses end of the session tax bill
The Weekly Word set out to recap what happened during the legislative session. But it turns out the bill that was passed with almost no discussion warranted more than half an hour of discussion among the podcasters. For the second week in a row, Sterling Fluharty joined Joey Peters and myself. This time the fourth man in the four-man pod was Andy Lyman. Both Fluharty and Lyman are independent journalists who are currently freelancing. The podcast includes … Read entire article »
Filed under: Budget, Featured, Governor, New Mexico House, New Mexico Senate, Podcast, Roundhouse
Tax package slammed through in dying moments of session
The Legislature had a Hail Mary and it was caught in the end zone. The final day’s work ended up in jamming a tax package that none of the members of the House had read — or even had the text of in front of them. The House concurred with the 35-page bill even after the clock struck noon on most observers’ watches. Here is the background. The so-called “Breaking Bad” bill came to floor in the Senate … Read entire article »
Filed under: Budget, Featured, New Mexico House, New Mexico Senate, Roundhouse
Zombie Breaking Bad bill is onto the Senate (updated)
The Breaking Bad bill isn’t dead yet. Well, it was, but it came back. The short version: A new version is out of the House and into the Senate process. Now the longer explanation: Governor Susana Martinez vetoed the bill earlier Friday. This is because she had 72 hours from when it passed to decide and her time was running out. Without an omnibus tax bill, including a lower tax corporate income tax, that she could agree with, … Read entire article »
Filed under: Economy, Featured, New Mexico House
Senate passes minimum wage bill on to governor
The Senate voted to send the minimum wage off to Gov. Susana Martinez for a likely veto 24-17. Senate President Pro Tem Mary Kay Papen, D-Las Cruces, voted with the Republicans. The bill would raise the minimum wage from the current $7.50 per hour to $8.50 per hour. The House had made changes to the legislation. These included a six month training period and a number of carve outs. House Republicans argued against the legislation by saying that … Read entire article »
Filed under: Economy, Featured, New Mexico House, New Mexico Senate, Roundhouse
House passes health care exchange bill (updated)
The House passed Health Insurance Exchange legislation that has been amended nearly every step along the way. The bill passed on a 61-7 vote — with the emergency clause. Update (8:40 pm): The Senate voted to concur with the changes the House made to the bill. The bill now heads to the governor. Post continues as originally written below. Rep. Tom Taylor, R-Farmington, said he thought they would be back for amendments at the next session. “There is so … Read entire article »
Filed under: Featured, Health, New Mexico House, Roundhouse
Bill to expand alcohol sales on Sunday clears House (Updated)
A bill that would allow bars and restaurants with liquor licenses to sell alcohol earlier on Sundays passed the House unanimously. The bill now heads back to the Senate for concurrence (see update below). The House changed it in committee to make the start time 11:00 am instead of 10:00 am, as the Senate version of the bill said. The bill is aimed at sports bars that show National Football League games and serve brunch according to … Read entire article »
Filed under: New Mexico House, Roundhouse
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Commentary: Tax bill shows need for legislative reform
March 21st, 2013 | Comments Off
As House Speaker Ken Martinez put an end to the 2013 regular legislative session on Saturday, a number of journalists and others took to Twitter to express their shock at what had just happened. Members of the N.M. House of Representatives approved a number of tax reforms that had each provoked long debates in the past. They lumped the proposals into one, complex bill that essentially shifts tax burden from corporations to cities and counties, which … Read entire article »
Filed under: Budget, Featured, New Mexico House, New Mexico Senate