Report: Millions For Public Works Projects Go Unspent - The Associated Press
Legislative analysts say more than $1 billion in capital outlay funds remain unspent for projects that have been approved over the last several years, fueling concerns about the way New Mexico finances public works projects.
The analysts presented their report to the Legislative Finance Committee during a meeting Wednesday in Santa Fe.
The report shows almost half of the capital funds appropriated for projects in 2012 are outstanding as are more than three-quarters of funds earmarked in 2013.
In addition, the Legislature approved nearly $100 million for projects during a special session earlier this year following much political posturing.
The report spurred calls by lawmakers and government watchdogs for the state to reform the way it prioritizes and pays for water infrastructure improvements, roads and bridges and other public projects.
NM Attorney General Offers To Prosecute Road Rage Case – The Associated Press
New Mexico's attorney general is offering to help in prosecuting the man charged with murder in the road rage shooting that killed a 4-year-old girl.
Attorney General Hector Balderas says the state is underfunding criminal investigations and district attorneys' offices, while new speedy trial rules have hampered prosecution efforts.
Kari Brandenburg, the district attorney for Bernalillo County, which includes Albuquerque, says the rules have forced prosecutors to voluntarily dismiss cases based on technicalities.
In a letter to Brandenburg last week, Balderas said his office is ready to dedicate state resources to prosecute or assist in the prosecution of Tony Torrez, who has been charged in 4-year-old Lilly Garcia's death.
Balderas also proposed an intiative that would dedicate a staffer from his office to assist in Bernalillo County cases that involve repeat offenders.
New Mexico Community Moves Step Closer To Incorporation – The Associated Press & The Las Cruces Sun-News
A Dona Ana County community has moved a step closer to incorporation after county commissioners set a fee for carrying out a census of the proposed city.
The Las Cruces Sun-News reports that the county clerk's office says commissioners on Tuesday voted to charge residents $1,285 to pay for an Albuquerque demography firm to estimate the population of Santa Teresa.
Santa Teresa residents supporting the incorporation effort paied the county immediately after the commission approved the census.
County Clerk Scott Krahling says the next step is for the county to evaluate the incorporation supporters' petition to make sure it meets legal requirements. That will determine whether the county moves forward with a census.
County officials say a movement to disincorporate nearby Sunland Park is separate from the Santa Teresa incorporation.
New Mexico Denied REAL ID Deadline Extension – The Associated Press
The federal government has denied New Mexico an extension from tougher federal requirements for state driver's licenses and ID cards.
The decision means New Mexico driver's licenses will no longer be accepted at federal facilities like Kirtland Air Force Base starting Jan. 10. And eventually, state IDs won't be allowed to board commercial flights.
The letter from the Department of Homeland Security, obtained by The Associated Press, was sent last week to the state Department of Taxation officials about the decision.
REAL ID Act requirements require proof of legal U.S. residency for holders who want to use them to access certain areas of federal buildings.
New Mexico state law allows immigrants suspected of being in the country illegal to obtain driver's licenses.
Republican Gov. Susana Martinez has tried to get the state law repealed.
Bernalillo County Metropolitan Detention Center Chief Quits – The Associated Press
The Bernalillo County Metropolitan Detention Center's chief of corrections has tendered his resignation after 10 months on the job.
In a letter dated Wednesday, Phillip Greer wrote that he's resigning due to undisclosed personal reasons.
His resignation is effective Thursday.
Greer previously served as the executive director of corrections for Tri-County Corrections in northwest Minnesota.
Deputy county manager Tom Swisstack with serve as the interim chief of corrections.
District Attorney At Odds With State High Court Over Rule – Albuquerque Journal, Associated Press
Bernalillo County's district attorney is blaming the New Mexico Supreme Court and its new speedy trial rules for allowing accused criminals to return to the streets and commit more violent offenses.
Tha includes the convicted felon accused of shooting Albuquerque Police Department Officer Daniel Webster last week.
The Albuquerque Journal reports that District Attorney Kari Brandenburg over the weekend said the high court's speedy trial rules have forced prosecutors to voluntarily dismiss cases based on technicalities.
The Supreme Court responded in a statement on Monday, calling Brandenburg's criticism misplaced and misleading.
The court rule in question was adopted in February and essentially requires prosecutors to provide defense lawyers with evidence upon which the charge is based at the time of arraignment, which is within 48 hours of arrest.
New Mexico Prisons See Severe Understaffing – The Associated Press
According to New Mexico Corrections Department Secretary Gregg Marcantel state prisons have too many inmates and not enough guards.
Marcantel told the Legislative Finance Committee on Tuesday that vacancy rates for corrections officers at three of the state's prisons are running more than 40 percent.
Marcantel says that low staffing a low pay are causing problems, with New Mexico paying corrections officers the second worst salaries in the country.
According to the Corrections Department website, cadets are paid $12.35 an hour and corrections officers start at $13.65. That works out to $25,688 and $28,392 a year before any overtime pay or shift differentials.
The Corrections Department will be requesting a $12 million budget increase, Marcantel says the bulk of which will go to handling inmate population growth even as staffs shrink.
AP Review: Zuni, Mora Saw Big Drops In Graduation Rates – The Associated Press
Some rural New Mexico school districts saw around a 20-percentage point drop in high school graduation rates over three years while others experienced a 15 percentage point decline in just a year.
A review of state Public Education Department data by The Associated Press found the small Zuni Public School District saw its rate fall by a quarter from 2011 to 2014. Records show the four-year graduation rate decreased from 79.5 percent to 54.9 percent.
Meanwhile, scandal-plagued Mora Independent Schools saw a 15 point slip last year. Last week, Mora superintendent Charles Trujillo was put on paid administrative leave after allegations surfaced he fabricated his resume.
The U.S. Department of Education says New Mexico was one of only five states that saw declines in graduation rates last year.
Ruling Goes Against State On Special Education Funds – Santa Fe New Mexican
The nation’s top education official sided with a judge over $34 million in federal special education funding New Mexico could lose.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports that U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan in a letter affirmed a ruling that the state violated mandates on funding for 46,000 special education students. States are required to allocate funds for special education in order to receive federal funds.
The New Mexico Public Education Department didn’t meet funding requirements in 2010, 2011 or 2012, falling short by more than $110 million in total. State officials cited a decline in state revenues and also argued that they followed a flexibility provision under the law. Duncan rejected those arguments.
New Mexico spends about $440 million on special education. Robert McEntyre, spokesman for the state Public Education Department, said Duncan’s letter is not a final determination and will not affect federal funding. He added that PED is confident about the strength of its merits in the case.
New Mexico AG, Tribal Leaders Talk Law Enforcement – Associated Press
New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas and leaders from a dozen Native American communities are looking for ways to improve public safety and bolster partnerships among law enforcement agencies.
Balderas and the tribal leaders met Tuesday in Santa Fe.
The attorney general says the gathering was critical to increasing awareness regarding the challenges faced by tribal law enforcement. He says working together will be key to ensuring the safety of all New Mexico children and families.
The agenda included domestic violence, a task force aimed at curbing Internet crimes against children, court costs, gambling compacts and the cross-commissioning of police officers.
Albuquerque Police Dismiss Officer Charged In Shooting – Associated Press
An officer charged in the on-duty shooting death of a homeless man last year has been fired from the Albuquerque police force.
Officer Dominique Perez's dismissal was largely expected under a city policy that indicates the department can take disciplinary action upon indictment of an officer or a formal criminal charge.
Police spokeswoman Celina Espinoza said Tuesday that Perez's employment with the force has ended after a hearing was held regarding his employment.
Perez and now-retired detective Keith Sandy were arraigned last month in the March 2014 shooting of James Boyd. They pleaded not guilty to assault and second-degree murder charges.
A jury trial is scheduled for August 2016.
Defense attorneys say the officers shot Boyd because he posed a danger to police.
Since the shooting, Perez has remained on administrative leave amid protesters' calls for his firing.
New Mexico Lawmakers Worried About Climbing Medicaid Costs – Associated Press
The price tag for providing health care to hundreds of thousands of low-income New Mexican is on the rise, and state lawmakers are concerned future costs will be unsustainable.
New Mexico is one of the states that opted to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. Enrollments have surged and federal aid will soon be scaled back, putting more pressure on states to come up with the difference.
Republican Rep. Jason Harper of Rio Rancho described it as a ticking time bomb.
Harper and other members of the Legislative Finance Committee discussed the program's costs during a meeting Tuesday in Santa Fe.
State officials are requesting nearly $1 billion from the general fund for the program for the 2017 fiscal year. Included is money to cover a shortfall this year.
PED Chief: Mora School Board Must Stop Paying Superintendent – Associated Press
State Education Secretary Hanna Skandera has notified Mora Independent Schools that's it's illegal to pay an administrator who doesn't have a license.
Mora school superintendent Charles Trujillo was put on paid administrative leave last week while New Mexico officials investigate allegations that he fabricated his resume to get his $100,000-a-year job.
The 43-year-old Trujillo was hired in May after he served a brief stint as an assistant superintendent in the Pecos school district.
Tuesday's letter from Skandera to acting Mora superintendent Loretta Griego notes that Trujillo gave up his education licenses on Oct. 20.
Skandera says an administrator's license is required to serve as superintendent, so it's illegal for the school district to pay Trujillo after he surrendered his licenses.
Skandera says the district must recoup the money Trujillo received.
Hundreds Mourn Girl Killed In Albuquerque Road Rage Shooting – Associated Press
Hundreds of people have joined the parents of a 4-year-old Albuquerque girl to mourn her death last week in a road rage shooting.
About 300 friends and relatives filled a Catholic church for Lilly Garcia's funeral Mass on Tuesday, a few wearing T-shirts with "Justice for Lilly" written on the back. "Love for Lilly" was scrawled on many vehicles.
Deacon Michael Illerbrun described her as a happy child who laughed often.
Her father had picked up Lilly and her brother from school Oct. 20 when he got into an argument on a highway with another driver, who opened fire on the family's pickup truck. Lilly was shot in the head. She had just finished her second day of preschool.
Authorities have charged 31-year-old Tony Torrez with murder in her death.
