Democracy for New Mexico

Impeachment Vigil Begins Monday at NM Legislature

This message is being circulated via email from several sources. Pass it on: There will be a vigil in support of Impeachment Resolution before the New Mexico Legislature.

• When: Every day, Monday through Friday, beginning this Monday, Feb. 12 from 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM
• Where: East side of Capitol Building in Santa Fe, Paseo De Peralta and Old Pecos Trail.
• What: We will display banners and signs along the street and intersection supporting Impeachment and SJR 5. We will collect signatures on petitions supporting SJR 5 from lunch time pedestrian traffic coming to and from the Capitol. Blank Petitions, clipboards, and extra signs are available.

A dignified vigil and one on one contacts through the petition efforts will help move this important legislation forward. Please help as much as possible and pass the word to others.

Editor's note: As of now SJR 5 is scheduled to be heard by the Senate Rules Committee on Friday, February 16, 2007 at 8:30 AM. Remember that this schedule is subject to change at any time so check back often. To contact members of the Committee, click here.

Same Day Voter Registration Passes NM House Consumer & Public Affairs

From the NM House Leadership:
Two bills that would allow same-day voter registration were presented in House Consumer & Public Affairs yesterday. HB 394, introduced by Rep. Joseph Cervantes (D- Las Cruces), was tabled at his request. The second bill (HB 346) introduced by Rep. Mary Helen Garcia (D-Las Cruces) received a do pass recommendation with a vote of 4 to 3.

House Bill 346 permits same-day registration in primary and general elections at the polling place for the precinct in which the voter resides. The qualified voter would be allowed to complete a certificate of registration and cast a ballot with the presentation of a valid photo identification card, utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, student identification card or other government document, including identification issued by an Indian nation, tribe or pueblo.

Rep. Garcia said, “I would like to thank Rep. Cervantes for requesting that his bill be tabled. It was a coincidence that we both introduced bills that were almost identical. Rep. Cervantes is a true gentleman and I consider him a full partner in this same-day voter registration effort.”

In support of HB 346 Rep Cervantes said, “I believe that it is time to move beyond our outdated attitudes towards voting. Decades ago it took days and weeks to accurately maintain voting records. Today that work can be done in seconds. We must embrace technology because it makes it easier for a person to vote while ensuring the integrity of the system.”

Rep. Garcia said, “There are many groups who would benefit from same day voter registration. This includes our young people who move around so much and people with disabilities who often confront barriers to transportation. Many new citizens, people of color, or low-income voters are forced by circumstances to move frequently and they should not be disenfranchised by the system.”

Eight states allow registration and voting on the day of an election. Supporters say that the process increases voter turnout. In New Mexico a voter must be registered 28 days before any type of election to qualify to vote in that election.

“We can bank instantly at an ATM or on-line. Why should voting registration be less secure using the same type of technology?” concluded Rep. Cervantes.

Editor's Note: United Voters of NM, Vertified Voters NM and other election reform activists are supporting the same day voter registration bill. The bill goes next to the House Voters and Elections Committee. To contact members of that committee, click here.

Update on NM Ethics Reform Bills

I was going to reseach and report on what's going on with the ethics reform package at the NM Legislature, but Las Cruces blogger Heath Haussamen has already done a great job on that today. Check it out. Where there's life, there's hope. Let's put the pressure on our legislators to get these bills passed. Contact information is available at the official website of the NM Legislature. If not now, when? Click for our previous post on this issue.

Grant County Dem Party Passes Resolution Supporting NM Impeachment Effort

From Jim Fridinger, Gila Regional Community List:
On February 7, 2007, the Grant County Democratic Party, by an overwhelming majority, passed the resolution as written below:

After informed debate and discussion, the Grant County Democratic Party wholly endorses the New Mexico Senate Joint Resolution 05 calling for the immediate instigation of impeachment proceedings against George W. Bush and Richard B. Cheney for the crimes detailed in the resolution, acknowledging our responsibility under the Constitution of the United States, and that the result of this vote be forwarded by the Grant County Democratic Party secretary of record to Sen. Ortiz y Pino of the New Mexico State Senate.

Calls, polite and considerate, to Senator Ben Altamirano's office to let him know that this is his constituency speaking, and that we hope he will represent us well in the coming weeks regarding this issue. Perhaps calls to other representatives in the NM legislature would also be in order.

Senator Ben Altamirano:
Capital office phone: 505 986 4733
Home phone (Silver City): 505 538 3525

Contact info for other members of the NM legislature can be found here.

UPDATE: The Silver City Sun-News covered the story on February 10, 2007.

Hearing on Domestic Partner Retirement Insurance Set for Today

From Equality New Mexico:
Senate Bill 502, Senator Grubesic’s Bill to amend the Retiree Health Care Act in order to provide health insurance benefits to domestic partner’s of state employees after the employee retires, is now scheduled for public hearing on Friday, February 9th at 1:30 PM in the Senate Judiciary Committee. It is the first Bill on the agenda.

The hearing was originally scheduled for Wednesday, but the Senate had to reschedule the committee hearing, due to a long floor battle over cock fighting. Equality New Mexico has extended our online campaign to contact members of the committee to ask them to support SB 502. You can contact them by clicking on the link below.

Contact the Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee and Tell Them to Support Senate Bill 502!

We still need people in the committee room who support this legislation to send a message to the legislators that our families deserve protection. If you are able to attend, try to arrive a little bit early as parking is often difficult.

Editor's Note: See our previous post on this issue.

--UPDATED -- IMPORTANT: Hearing on NM Impeachment Resolution Postponed!

UPDATE 3:34 PM: The intrepid Terry Riley just called in from the Roundhouse in Santa Fe where he spoke with Leland Lehrman of Mother Media, who has been a main force behind the NM impeachment effort. Leland reports that the Senate Rules Committee hearing on the impeachment resolution originally scheduled for February 9th has been postponed until next Friday, February 16th, at 8:30 AM in Room 321 of the Roundhouse.

The disturbing news, however, is that Republican members of the Senate Rules Committee are reportedly threatening to boycott the commitee meeting if the impeachment resolution is considered. If they do that, it would be impossible to reach quorum, and the hearing couldn't be held, holding up other committee business as well as consideration of impeachment. Talk about cowardly, undemocratic tactics on the part of the committee's Republicans! Of course their threatened behavior is matched by similar reluctance to discuss realities in the U.S. Senate, where Republican maneuvers continue to stop consideration of a resolution against Bush's plan for troop escalations in Iraq.

Leland and other supporters of the impeachment effort are reportedly planning to go ahead with a rally on the East side of the Roundhouse on Friday, February 9, at 9:00 AM, when the resolution was originally scheduled to be heard by Senate Rules. With so many people set to converge on Santa Fe in support of SJR 5 on that day, many probably won't get word of the postponment and be there anyway. All supporters are encouraged to attend!

More official notification from the office of Sen. Ortiz y Pino and Leland Lehrman should be coming soon. Stay tuned to what's an increasingly fluid situation with this bill.
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ORIGINAL POST 11:23 AM: We're getting word that the NM Senate Rules Committee hearing on SJR 5, New Mexico's impeachment resolution, has been cancelled for this Friday, February 9th. The rumor is that it may be rescheduled for Monday, February 11th, but nothing is official yet. Please help get the word out on this as a large turnout is expected. We'll keep you posted.

UPDATED: Bill to Abolish the Death Penalty Moves to NM House Floor

UPDATE 2/9/07: HB 190--Abolish the Death Penalty Will Have a Floor Vote on Monday, February 12th. The House usually convenes at 10:30 AM and bills begin to be voted on at about 11:30 AM. At this point  it is impossible to be more precise about the schedule.

Please contact the Representatives below. Call their office today and Monday (starting at 8:00 AM) or send them an email over the weekend. Please make the emails very short--2 to 3 sentences are plenty. Calls and emails should always be extremely polite and respectful.

Rep. Thomas Garcia is new so has never voted on the issue. The other Reps voted against repeal in 2005 but are thoughtful legislators who value hearing from their constituents. Thanks for your help and support.

Kathleen MacRae, Director
NM Coalition to Repeal the Death Penalty
PO Box 8552, Santa Fe, NM 87504
505-986-9536 x22 or 505-681-3920
kmacrae@nmrepeal.org

Contact these Reps:
Rep. Joseph Cervantes, 986-4249   
cervanteslaw@zianet.com
    
Rep. John Heaton, 986-4432
jheaton@caverns.com
    
Rep. Dona Irwin, 986-4249   
donagale@zianet.com

Rep. Kathy McCoy, 986-4214
katrina@swcp.com

Rep. Jane Powdrell-Culbert, 986-4467
jpandp@comcast.net
    
Rep. Thomas Garcia, 986-4242
ocate@hotmail.com

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From the NM House Leadership:
Santa Fe, NM – A bill to abolish the death penalty received a do pass recommendation from the House Judiciary Committee yesterday with a 9 to 3 vote. House Bill 190 will now move to the House floor. The measure had previously passed the House Public Affairs Committee by a 4-3 margin. An almost identical bill to repeal the death penalty and institute the sentence of life without parole, passed the House of Representatives in 2005 with a bi-partisan vote of 38 to 31.

Rep. Gail Chasey has sponsored similar legislation since 1999. During testimony she said that the death penalty discriminates against people of color and those who live in rural areas or are poor. According to the Death Penalty Information Center, 53% of men and women on death row are African American or Hispanic.

Rep. Chasey emphasized that the state spends millions of dollars a year on the capital punishment system even though New Mexico has had only one execution since 1960. Andrea Vigil, whose husband was murdered in Santa Fe seven years ago, asked that state resources be used to expand services for the families who have lost a loved one to murder not to continue the death penalty system.

Rep. Antonio Maestas (D-Albuquerque) spoke in support of repeal of the death penalty as a former prosecutor. He explained how resources are diverted away from prosecuting other violent crimes when a death penalty case takes precedence. He suggested that the state needs to scrutinize all of its expenditures very carefully when we live in a world of scarce resources. “It astounds me that the state will spend millions of dollars every year on the death penalty when we’ve had one execution in 47 years. If this money was being spent on any other program with the same result, we would be laughed out of town,” he said. “Imagine if we allocated $50 million dollars to an economic development program and they reported back to us after a year that they had created one small business.”

Rep. Elias Barela (D-Valencia) also supported death penalty repeal. He said, “I think it is inconsistent that people will see life in a stem cell, but will not recognize it sitting in a jail cell.”

Editor's Note: The New Mexico Coalition to Repeal the Death Penalty is a primary advocacy group that is fighting to abolish the death penalty in the state and provides many resources on the issue. It's organizational members include:

• Indian Bar Association
• Marketing Communications Group, Inc.
• Murder Victims' Families for Reconciliation-NM
• NAACP-NM
• National Association of Social Workers-NM
• NM Catholic Conference
• NM Conference of Churches
• NM Criminal Defense Lawyers Association
• NM Public Health Association

Medical Marijuana Bill Passed by NM Senate

Senate Bill 238, which would authorize the medical use of marijuana in certain circumstances, passed the NM Senate yesterday by a margin of 34-7. The bill, sponsored by NM Sen. Gerald Ortiz y Pino, moves next to the NM House. The measure gained passage in the Senate twice in two years, but was hung up in the House each time. See our previous posts here and here for more information on the bill and the issues it raises. The Drug Policy Alliance New Mexico is one of the primary advocates behind this bill and provides many excellent resources related to this effort.

NM Senate Judiciary Committee to Consider Health Security Act Monday

From the Health Security for New Mexicans Campaign:
The Health Security Act (Senate Bill 720) will have its first hearing this coming Monday, February 12, in the Senate Judiciary Committee. The Judiciary Committee usually starts to hear bills at 1:30 PM, or half an hour after the floor session ends, if that time is later. The Senate Judiciary Committee meets in Room 321 at the State Capitol. Please come to this important hearing!

Time to Call Judiciary Committee Senators! If your senator is on the Judiciary Committee (see list below), now is the time to call and ask him or her to support the Health Security Act.

Identify yourself as a constituent and urge your senator to support Senate Bill 720, the Health Security Act, which will let New Mexico set up its own health plan, like a cooperative.

If your senator is NOT a member of the Judiciary Committee, maybe you have friends or relatives whose senator is on the committee. Please contact them and ask them to call their senator!!

Constituents calling their senator will have a big impact on what happens to the Health Security Act on Friday. We need your help to ensure passage of Senate Bill 720 in the Senate Judiciary Committee! Please let us know once you have made the call to your senator. We appreciate hearing from you.

Senate Judiciary Committee Members

• Sen. Cisco McSorley, Chair (D) – Senate District 16 (Albuquerque): 986-4485
• Sen. Richard C. Martinez, Vice Chair (D) – Senate District 5 (Rio Arriba County): 986-4389
• Sen. William H. Payne, Ranking Member (R) – Senate District 20 (Albuquerque): 986-4276
• Sen. Rod Adair (R) – Senate District 33 (Chaves County): 986-4385
• Sen. Kent L. Cravens (R) – Senate District 21 (Albuquerque, Placitas): 986-4391
• Sen. John T. L. Grubesic (D) – Senate District 25 (Santa Fe): 986-4260
• Sen. Clinton D. Harden (R) – Senate District 7 (Colfax, Curry, Harding, Quay, San Miguel, Taos, and Union counties): 986-4369
• Sen. Linda M. Lopez (D) – Senate District 11 (Albuquerque): 986-4737
• Sen. Lidio G. Rainaldi (D) – Senate District 4 (Cibola and McKinley counties): 986-4310
• Sen. Michael S. Sanchez (D) – Senate District 29 (Valencia County): 986-4727

Don’t Know Who Your State Senator Is? Here’s how to find out:

• Go to the legislature’s website: www.legis.state.nm.us
• Click on “Find Your Legislator”
• Under “Senate,” click on “Search by Name, District or Zip Code”
• Enter your zip code (in some areas—like Albuquerque—you may need to input the extra four digits after your zip code)

You can also call your county clerk.

And While You're at It, Call the Governor! Many thanks to all of you who have called the Governor to ask him to support the Health Security Act. The calls are rolling in. We need to keep this up, so if you have not already done so, be sure to call the Governor at 827-3000. Thank you!

If you have any questions, contact Josette at 771-8763 or jhaddad@cableone.net.

NM House Education Committee to Conduct Open Forum Saturday

From the NM House of Representatives Leadership:
The House Education Committee chaired by Rep. Rick Miera (D-Albuquerque) will be conducting an open forum 9:30 - 11:30 AM on Saturday, February 10th on the House Floor at the State Capitol in Santa Fe.

Rep. Miera said, “This open forum allows the general public, parents, and educators to be part of the legislative process since most of them work during the week when the committees are being held. The people who’ve attended in the past are passionate about education and this provides them with an opportunity to address the committee with their concerns.  The information and input we gather from them has been invaluable.”