Tune in today from 3:00 to 4:00 PM to listen to the last installment of the current run of , the progressive talk radio show on 1350 AM hosted by Eric Griego and Suzanne Prescott. They'll be talking about legislative successes and failures, heroes and devils, talk radio and the progressive movement, and where to go next. Should local politics abandon talk radio in New Mexico and leave it to the neo-cons? Call in during the broadcast with your questions and comments: 338-4090.
A number of Dem legislators have been invited to call in with their assessments of the 2007 Legislative Session, which ended today at Noon. They include Senators Pete Campos (Las Vegas), Dede Feldman (Albuquerque) and Jerry Ortiz y Pino (Albuquerque), and Representatives Thomas Swisstack (Rio Rancho) and Peter Wirth (Santa Fe). Everything depends on whether they can stay awake for the interview given the hectic, almost 24:7 pace of the last week at the Roundhouse.
Insight New Mexico aired for 10 weeks during the Legislative Session and may return in the future if all goes well. We hope so -- Eric, Suzanne, Chris and Mikey did a terrific job -- and we want more! Podcasts of all their shows will remain available here, so check out what you may have missed.
March 17, 2007 at 01:53 PM in Media, NM Legislature 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0)
At the last minute, and following Majority Leader Michael Sanchez's stalling on the votes, Sen. John Grubesic's bill to limit gifts (SB 931) passed the Senate and will go to the Governor for signature, while Sen. Dede Feldman's limitations on campaign contributions (SB 800) failed by one vote. The only other major ethics bill passed this session was one sponsored by Rep. Cervantes (HB 823) that added judges to those covered by the Government Conduct Act.
I'll once again quote Steve Terrell's blog report from the Senate Floor on this (below), but you should also read Heath Haussamen's countdown post tracking last minute action leading to the Noon finish of our 60-day Legislative Session.
By a vote of 21 to 20, Senate Bill 800 went down in flames about five minutes before the close of the session. The Senate was voting on concurring with House amendments on the bill. It would have passed by one vote, but Sen. Joe Carraro changed his vote from yes to no. Democratic senators who voted no were Shannon Robinson, Tim Jennings, John Arthur Smith and Linda Lopez. Since you can’t buy state officials expensive gifts anymore, you’ll just have to give them bigger campaign contributions.
Remember when Sen. Lopez was considered a progressive? Why did she keep all the ethics bills passed by the House (along with the Senate versions) stalled in the Senate Rules Committee, which she chairs, for weeks? Why did she vote against a bill that would match federal laws on campaign contributions? We'll have to ask her.
March 17, 2007 at 12:31 PM in Ethics & Campaign Reform, NM Legislature 2007 | Permalink | Comments (1)
The final bill (SB 324) passed by the SNM enate 22-20 today would raise the minimum to $6.50 an hour on January 1, 2008 and $7.50 an hour on January 1, 2009. It has no provision for the rate to rise according to inflation. It doesn't cover agricultural workers. It doesn't allow communities to adopt a higher rate until 2010. I guess that last part is considered a House victory over the Senate plan to freeze the ability of communities to raise it until 2013.
March 16, 2007 at 11:12 PM in Economy, Populism, NM Legislature 2007 | Permalink | Comments (1)
UPDATE 2:30 PM: See news from EQNM in my later post. The bill's still alive!
UPDATE 3.17.07, Noon: The Domestic Partnership bill reportedly was debated in the House for three hours late last night but got nowhere as far as I can tell.
UPDATE 11:00 PM: Here's what Steve Terrell says: "Earlier tonight the Senate amended — and basically gutted — the domestic partners bill. Four Democrats — Tim Jennings (Roswell), John Arthur Smith (Deming), Lidio Rainaldi (Gallup) and Carlos Cisneros (Questa) joined the Senate Republicans to do this. Advocates of the bill said they were especially surprised at Cisneros’ vote. There’s an effort to get the House to reject the new version and send it back to the Senate. Not sure if they’ve got the votes to change it back."
Recall that Cisneros was also one of the Dems who voted to stop the impeachment bill from getting to the Senate Floor. I also wonder who wasn't there to vote. That's always a nice dodge too....
UPDATE 10:30 PM: Equality New Mexico resports: "HB603 in limbo ... amended by the Senate late this evening and is headed back to the House. We're working hard to resolve the differences between the House and Senate versions." KOAT-TV news reported the bill had been "gutted," whatever that means. Sounds like the usual Democratic suspects in the NM Senate were bound and determined to stop any meaningful bill from getting through. More will be revealed and names will be named.
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I've been anxiously waiting to hear if HB 603, New Mexico's Domestic Partnership Rights and Responsibilities Act, passes the Senate. Still no word. It was originally scheduled on the NM Senate agenda yesterday, then delayed until today. If it passes, Gov. Richardson has said he will sign it and history will be made in New Mexico.
As always in the last hours of a legislative session, there will be a crush of last minute votes on bills, frantic deal making and heated exchanges. Many important pieces of legislation will be abandoned and left to die, some due to neglect, others by design. A chosen few will be pushed through like magic as the hours count down to the end time. Our 2007 Session is over at Noon tomorrow, so push has come to shove.
I have a personal and emotional interest in the domestic partnership bill. My partner and I have been together going on 18 years, through thick and thin, through sickness and in health, through laughter and tears, through good times and bad, through problems and successes, through easy times and couples therapy. We have worked hard to create a strong, stable, statisfying, enduring relationship that is, after all, the family we nourish and celebrate. As we grow older -- with the accompanying health risks, growing financial challenges and knowledge that, day by day, we're reaching a time in our lives when things may change abruptly -- we're forced to think about the dreary realities that partnerships like ours face in our dealings with a legal system that doesn't recognize our union. With a democracy that hasn't yet seen fit to grant us full citizenship.
Eric Griego, in his latest column for the Albuquerque Tribune, communicates the human side of situations like ours (and his uncle's) as well as anyone has in this community of late. Read it and consider emailing a copy to your State Senator (and your friends and colleagues). We can only hope New Mexico's Senators will understand what is really at stake when and if they get to vote on the bill between now and Noon on Saturday. Families and futures are in the balance. They hold such power in their votes.
March 16, 2007 at 04:57 PM in Civil Liberties, GLBT Rights, NM Legislature 2007 | Permalink | Comments (4)
Was it Gov. Bill Richardson, Sen. Jeff Bingaman, Rep. Tom Udall or someone else in a leadership role in the Democratic Party who ordered SJR 5, the New Mexico impeachment resolution, killed before it got to the floor of the NM Senate? David Lindorff examines the odd parliamentary manueuver used to preclude debate of the measure on the floor of the NM Senate, "Democrats Kill Democracy and Protect a Criminal Presidency in New Mexico". The article also ponders who may have called the shots on the strategy. His piece has been published on BuzzFlash and other progressive national news outlets and blogs.
As far as I know, it's unprecedented to have a measure that's been approved by three Senate committees blocked from having a floor debate in the NM Senate. It certainly appears that something anti-democratic and underhanded happened between the time SJR 5 was passed by the Senate Judiciary Committee and it was killed by a refusal to accept the Committee's "Do Pass" report. Speculation continues here and nationally as to just exactly what that was and who was behind it.
Editor's Note: To access our previous coverage of the New Mexico impeachment issue, visit our impeachment post archive.
March 15, 2007 at 10:38 AM in Democratic Party, Impeachment, NM Legislature 2007 | Permalink | Comments (4)
UPDATE 3.15.07: The Senate debate on this bill has been postponed until sometime after 11:00 AM on Friday, March 16.
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From Equality New Mexico:
By a vote of 5-1, HB 603, the Domestic Rights and Responsibilities Act, passed out of Senate Judiciary last night. Over 50 people showed up to support HB 603. The opposition only had about 8 people in the room.
Rep. Mimi Stewart presented the bill. Sen. Cisco McSorley, Chair of Senate Judiciary, asked how many people were there to oppose the bill, and asked them if they wanted to testify. One man, who most of the opposition seemed to believe was their best spokesperson, spoke in opposition. His statement claimed that if they passed HB 603, it would lead to people marrying children, relatives, and sheep. The testimony was over.
Sen. McSorley asked how many people were there to support the Bill. Our 50+ people raised their hands, but offered no testimony. The committee went immediately into the vote. Voting in favor of HB 603 were Senators McSorley, Grubesic, Martinez, M. Sanchez and Lopez. Sen. Adair opposed the Bill. Senators Rainaldi, Cravens, Harden and Payne were not in the room.
HB 603 will be heard tomorrow, March 15th on the Senate Floor. This is our last hurdle. If the Bill passes tomorrow, the Governor will sign it, and Domestic Partners will have rights in New Mexico.
We need to pack the Senate Gallery! The Senators all need to see how many people are there to support this legislation.
There is no way to predict when this Bill will be heard. The Senate will go into session at 10:00 AM, and will most likely remain in session all day and late into the night. The Senate does not follow their agenda, so tomorrow will likely be a very long day.
YOUR HELP NEEDED!!
We have one more obstacle to overcome. In an attempt to kill this legislation, it is likely that our opposition will try to amend this bill on the floor. We cannot allow HB603 to be amended in any way.
We have only one day left, so please, if you live in any of the targeted Senator’s Districts listed below, contact your Senator by phone and by clicking the link below and ask them to support HB603 as is and to vote against any amendments which would change or delay this Bill.
If you don't know who your Senator is, click here and search by zip code.
Editor's Note: Let's see if our Senators are as concerned about human civil rights as they are about the health and welfare of roosters during this Session. We can only hope.
To check on the final outcome of this bill, visit our archive of GLBT posts.
March 14, 2007 at 05:17 PM in Civil Liberties, GLBT Rights, NM Legislature 2007 | Permalink | Comments (1)
This is a guest blog from Joe Thornton of Carizozo, NM:
Good Morning Governor Richardson:
I just finished reading over the vast amount of information in regards to your biography that was superbly presented by Thomas Cole and Leslie Linthicum, in the five part series presented in the Albuquerque Journal. Many events caught my eye while reading over the information.
For example, “Former house speaker Foley says Richardson’s personality was a major asset during his years in Congress.” “He’s outgoing and makes friends easy,” Foley says, “Politics is an interactive, personal business.”
“Richardson also likes to give people nicknames and tease those who work for him.”
“The nicknames he chooses are often incomprehensible – he has called several aides Joseph over the years – and always chosen to especially annoy their recipients.”
I like nicknames as well, Governor. After reading over your resume, and realizing the number of goals that you have accomplished in your short lifetime, probably the nickname I would give to you would be Bill “Get Results” Richardson.
“A former senator says Richardson has an “enveloping energy and enthusiasm.” A longtime friend calls him a “Force of nature.”
It seems to me, that by being a fast moving and high energy type individual that you would almost have to be a prankster type while attempting to associate yourself around people that has a hefty sense of humor in order to stave off some of the stress of the job. For example: “When Richardson arrived in Congress, Rep. Claude Pepper, D-Fla, was an esteemed member of the House. He also was elderly and had a hearing problem.” “Richardson would approach Pepper on the floor and frustrate him by mouthing but not speaking his words, causing Pepper to fiddle with a hearing aid before catching on to Richards’s prank.” I’m smiling while writing this, and if you have read this far, then you are probably grinning while you are reading this. That was very funny to me, when I first read it.
Another thing I noticed in the Journal series was: “Former Rep. David Bonior, D-Mich, says, Richardson is more than book-smart.” “He’s street-smart, too,” Bonior says. “He knows what’s important to people.”
We The People and SJR5
At this point I would like to change gears, and share with you what I believe to be important to We The People. For several weeks, we have traveled from Lincoln County to the Roundhouse to support other grassroots American We The People, in regards to the committee hearings in Room 321 of the Roundhouse. We were in attendance at the Rules Committee hearing where Senator Linda Lopez, Chair of Rules conducted the hearing. There was a great host of We The People at that hearing, and probably just as many people out in the hallway. The Rules Committee passed SJR5, by a vote of 5-0 out the committee hearing. Several days later, some of the same We The People plus others (both Democrats and Republicans, and other persuasions) were in attendance at the Public Affairs Committee Hearing where Senator Dede Feldman, Chair conducted the hearing. Probably more We The People present at this meeting both inside and out of Room 321, than at the Rules hearing. The Public Affairs Committee passed SJR5 by a vote of 3-2.
Then it went to the Judiciary Committee where Senator Cisco McSorley, Chair conducted the hearing late in the evening on Monday, March 5, 2007. We didn’t get to make that meeting, because we were there all day on Saturday, March 3, 2007, waiting for the hearing to take place that day. The vote in favor of passing the Committee hearing out of the Judiciary passed by 5-1, with Senator Rod Adair voting against. From shortly after the passage of the Senate hearing report to be sent to the Senate Floor for acceptance and debate, apparently things were happening behind the scenes, I don’t know this for sure, because the big surprise happened on Wednesday, March 7, 2007, when the Republicans used a procedural maneuver to stall the Impeachment Resolution and prevent a full debate on the Floor.
On Wednesday, March 7, 2007 something major happened on the Senate Floor that has thus far destroyed the rights of We The People. The Republicans decided to block "adoption" of the Judiciary Committee report, by using a procedural move not to adopt the committee report from the Senate Judiciary Committee. They were successful in a voice vote largely because the Democrats were not on hand in number to oppose the motion.
On Thursday, March 8, 2007, sometime after 2:15 p.m., Senate Majority Leader Michael Sanchez had held out for a roll call vote sometime that same day. The roll call vote was on this order: If you wanted “to uphold” the voice vote of the previous day (which was to block “adoption” of the Judiciary Committee Report) let your vote be known by “YES”. If you “did not want to uphold” the voice vote of the previous day (which was to block “adoption” of the Judiciary Committee Report) let your vote be known by “NO”.
The Senate did not vote on the resolution itself. Rather, it voted 26-13 not to adopt the committee report from the Senate Judiciary Committee. By refusing to adopt the committee report, senators have prevented the resolution from reaching the floor this session.
Governor Richardson, I believe the vast majority of We The People across these united States of America want the war (killing) to stop, the troops to be brought home, the corrupt administration removed from office in order to set a precedent to any and all government officials that the stealing, killing and destroying has to stop and truth has to prevail no matter who is in office.
You might say, What does all of that have to do with me, the governor of New Mexico, and my answer would be because you have a life long reputation as being an excellent negotiator. In my opinion, there is no presidential candidate in the Democratic Party that is more qualified than Governor Bill Richardson, who carried New Mexico with over 60% of the vote. As you declared your candidacy for President, something in the neighborhood of 40% stated that it would be good for New Mexico state to have you as President of the United States.
A Request
Therefore, I, Joe Thornton, am appealing to your best side to use your natural born ability to persuade the Senate to reconsider/revisit SJR5 by allowing the Senate Judiciary Report to be accepted on the Senate Floor and debated and voted upon as soon as possible. This very special Senate Floor Session should be absolutely on the up and up, with no trickery or slight of hand allowed. The Senate Floor hearing should designate a specific time so We The People would be able to attend the session and observe from the gallery the hearing. It would also be proper to allow select people in the gallery to speak to the issue, either for or against, which would require some microphones up in the Senate Gallery.
I believe you have the influence to pull this off, and I hope and pray, and trust that you will do the right thing.
Some might would say, How will this affect his run for the Presidency? It will definitely enhance your candidacy for the President of the united States, by showing the whole world that is watching via the internet that New Mexico has a very progressive action oriented Governor that likes to get the job done. On the other hand, if you so choose not to do anything, then what happened on the Senate Floor on Wednesday, March 7, 2007,and Thursday, March 8, 2007, with the action that the Republicans initiated by slipping in the procedural move to block the Senate Judiciary Committee Report, the Repub’s along with the missing Dem’s took away (stole) one of the Constitutional means to possibly right some of the many wrongs against We the People and innocent people everywhere by blocking the passing of SJR5 from New Mexico state to the U. S. Congress urging Congress to investigate and begin Impeachment proceedings for high Crimes and Misdemeanors. (Article II, Section 4)
The whole world will be watching via the internet whatever action you take. Thanks for accepting this fax that attempts to express my heart.
Thanks,
Joe Thornton
Carrizozo, Lincoln County, New Mexico
Phone: 505-648-4447
Editor's Notes: This post is a guest blog by Joe Thornton, a citizen activist supporter of SJR 5. Guest blogs provide readers with an opportunity to express their personal views on issues. The opinions expressed are not necessarily shared by this blog. If you'd like to submit a post for consideration as a guest blog, contact me by clicking on the Email Me link at the upper left-hand corner of the page.
The New Mexico impeachment effort has been followed and discussed all over the internet by tens of thousands of people across the nation and the world. It's generated blog and forum posts, articles, videos, audios, photographs and many threads of comments. It's resulted in this blog receiving up to 5,000 hits per day from people seeking information about the progress of the legislation. To read our previous coverage of this issue, visit our impeachment post archive.
March 14, 2007 at 09:54 AM in Guest Blogger, Impeachment, NM Legislature 2007 | Permalink | Comments (4)
UPDATE 3.15.07: The Senate quickly approved a House floor amendent yesterday. The House floor amendment states that medical marijuana could not be distributed within 300 feet of any church, school or day-care center. The bill now goes to the Governor.
UPDATE 3.14.07: I've since learned the bill was passed with a minor amendment so it will have to go back to the Senate before heading to the Governor for his signature. It's not anticipated this will cause any real problems. The original medical marijuana bill passed the Senate by a margin of 34-7.
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This just in from Steve Terrell's Legislative Blog. A medical marijuana bill passed the NM House today by a vote of 36-3, with 29 Democrats and 7 Repubs voting "yes." This means nine Dems voted "no" along with 22 Repubs (unless some didn't vote). The bill now goes to the Governor for his signature. Richardson has said he'll sign it. I hear there may have been some amendments to the bill, but I have no further info on that.
Terrell reports that Santa Fe Reps. Lucky Varela, Jim Trujillo and Peter Wirth voted yes, while House Speaker Ben Lujan voted no.
As my rather irate Friday post reported, another version of the bill, SB 238, failed in the House by a margin of 36-33 after some confusion in the voting process. In that tally, 26 Democrats and 7 Republicans voted to support the bill and 15 Democrats and 21 Republicans voted against it.
On Saturday, a bill that originally allowed only marijuana patches and ointments and known as SB 523, was revived and a substitute crafted to mimic the bill that failed in the House. This is the version that was then passed by the Senate and sent to the House, and which gained passage today. Whew. These things get complicated during the waning days of a legislative session.
Anyway, on this last vote, three more Dems voted for passage, but I don't yet know who they were. Whoever they are, I think they should be commended to changing their minds and voting for compassion in the treatment of seriously ill or dying New Mexicans who will now be able to have an additional choice for pain and nausea relief. So should the Governor, who reportedly was doing all he could to persuade a revival of a bill to permit medical marijuana.
Hats off to Governor Richardson and the three as yet unnamed Dems who changed their votes, as well as all the other Reps and Senators who voted for a common sense policy and against scare tactic spin! I know the bill will mean a lot to suffering New Mexicans and anyone who believes in patients and their doctors being empowered to make important decisions about their care.
As Terrell reports in an earlier Santa Fe New Mexican article,
For the past seven years, drug-law reform advocates have been trying to get the Legislature to adopt a medical marijuana program. The Senate has passed such bills several times, only to see the legislation die in the House.
In 1978, the Legislature passed a medical marijuana research project at the urging of Lynn Pierson, a cancer patient who died before the bill went into effect. That bill had a "sunset clause," which means it expired several years ago.
This progressive legislation has been a long time coming. Congratulations to all those who helped make it a reality.
March 13, 2007 at 09:21 PM in Healthcare, NM Legislature 2007 | Permalink | Comments (2)
From Equality New Mexico:
HB 603, the Domestic Partner Rights And Responsibilities Act, is scheduled for the Senate Judiciary Committee TODAY, March 13, 200. Last night, by a vote of 5-4 along party lines, HB 603 finally passed out of Senate Public Affairs. We have one more committee to get through before we are heard on the Senate Floor. HB 603 will be heard tonight, March 13th, in Senate Judiciary. We ABSOLUTELY need as many people there as possible to show our support for this legislation.
Unfortunately, it is impossible to tell exactly what time the Bill will be heard. Therefore, to be safe, we are asking people to show up at 4:00 PM to Room 321 at the Roundhouse for the hearing. Be prepared to wait around for a while. Only four and a half more days of this, we promise. The national news is already reporting that this legislation has a good chance of passing and that Governor Richardson has promised to sign it. We are so close!
Editor's Note: HB 603 has already passed the NM House of Representatives by a margin of 33-24. Click for contact info on members of the NM Senate Judiciary Committee, who are expected to vote on this bill sometime today, and urge them to vote yes on HB 603. You might also want to contact your Senator and urge their support should the bill gain passage and move to the Senate Floor.
March 13, 2007 at 01:08 PM in Civil Liberties, GLBT Rights, NM Legislature 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0)
UPDATE: I'm moving this up from the comments. Excellent report on Barbara Ehrenreich's appearance this past weekend in Santa Fe. Among other things, she pointed out that a real living wage is at least $13.00 an hour! Now think about Senators trying to freeze the minimum at $7.50 an hour....
From ACORN NM:
On Saturday, the NM House of Representatives passed a compromise minimum wage bill, SB 324, sending it on to the Senate for concurrance. Now there is a move in the Senate to FREEZE wages by eliminating the right of cities to pass local wage ordinances until 2013 -- meaning that wages would almost certainly be frozen at $7.50 until then. We would oppose such a wage freeze and opt to support the Congressional wage increase instead of a state bill that freezes wages until 2013.
The amended House bill offers a compromise by raising the wage to $7.50 by January 1, 2009 and eliminating local control of wage increases (other than in Albuquerque and Santa Fe) until 2010, thereby allowing cities to consider new wage increases the year after the state and the City of Albuquerque reach $7.50.
Call your Senator today: 505-986-4600. Ask them to support the compromise minimum wage bill and oppose removing local control until 2013. We expect a close vote, so call your Senator today.
March 12, 2007 at 04:33 PM in Economy, Populism, NM Legislature 2007 | Permalink | Comments (4)
