New Mexico OK's Trust Fund For Early Childhood Initiatives – Associated Press
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has signed legislation that she says will clear the way for a monumental investment in the health, education and well-being of the state's youngest children.
The creation of the early childhood trust fund was among the governor's top priorities for the 30-day legislative session. She signed the bill Tuesday during a ceremony at the Capitol.
The governor's office says the fund will be launched with a general appropriation of $320 million that is included in the state budget bill that has yet to be approved. It will be sustained by surplus oil and gas related revenues.
Officials say it will begin making distributions to support early childhood programs in fiscal year 2022.
Democratic Sen. John Arthur Smith of Deming was among the sponsors. He said the oil boom in southeastern New Mexico provided the state with an opportunity.
The measure had overwhelming support in the Senate, where it passed Friday, 37-1.
The state has increased its funding of early childhood programs in recent years, spending more than $500 million in fiscal year 2020 on childcare assistance, home visiting, pre-kindergarten and other early literacy and head-start programs. That marked an increase of more than $100 million over the previous year.
A report by legislative analysts last year found that pre-kindergarten programs can improve literacy and that the achievement gap was nearly eliminated by kindergarten for low-income students who participated in pre-kindergarten and the state's K-3 Plus program.
New Mexico State Senators Back Tuition-Free College Plan - By Morgan Lee, Associated Press
Revisions to New Mexico's budget plan would dial back average teacher raises to 4% instead of 5% and set aside money for the governor's tuition-free college initiative.
The Senate spending bill released Tuesday increases general fund spending by $536 million for the fiscal year that starts on July 1. Economists are anticipating a windfall linked mainly to oil production.
The Senate plan makes hundreds of revisions to a House-approved budget bill that outlined bigger raises for teachers but left out money for a hallmark proposal from Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham to provide tuition-free college to 55,000 students residing in New Mexico.
The Senate's version of the budget heads to a floor vote and then back to the House for consideration. A budget is due to the governor by Thursday.
Ex-New Mexico Majority Leader Eyes Running For Sapien Seat - By Russell Contreras, Associated Press
Former Democratic House Majority Leader Rick Miera says he is considering running for a crucial state Senate seat currently held by retiring Democratic Sen. John Sapien.
Miera told The Associated Press on Monday that he is weighing whether to seek the Democratic nomination for the swing seat that is expected to draw strong interest from Republicans.
Sapien announced Sunday he would not seek re-election this year. The district includes the affluent liberal areas of Placitas and Corrales, part of conservative Rio Rancho and Bernalillo — one of the poorest cities in the state. Miera served in the state House from 1991 to 2015.
The district includes the affluent liberal areas of Placitas and Corrales, part of conservative Rio Rancho and Bernalillo — one of the poorest cities in the state.
Republicans have long targeted Sapien to flip the seat because the district is almost evenly divided among Democrats and Republicans. Sapien won his last two races by about 1,000 votes.
With Sapien out, the 9th District almost certainly will be the focus of both parties this year amid looming battles over abortion, recreational marijuana and energy.
Recycling Business To Expand In New Mexico Border Region – Associated Press
New Mexico economic development officials say a strong business climate and transportation network in the border region has prompted another manufacturer to move some of its operations to Santa Teresa.
State officials say W. Silver Recycling will be building a new facility on 60 acres that will be home to a recycling processing plant. The business is expected to be operational later this year and will focus on materials such as aluminum, copper and brass.
The company already has nearly a dozen locations in New Mexico; California; Texas; Monterrey, Mexico, and Mexico City.
CEO Lane Gaddy said the location and incentives were among the reasons for its decision to come to Santa Teresa, where it will process metals using magnets, machines, compaction and manual labor before being sending the recycled materials to its customers.
The border region began booming several years ago and led all states in 2019 export growth at 31%, according to federal statistics. New Mexico also leads all other states in export growth to Mexico.
Jerry Pacheco with The New Mexico Partnership said connectivity to Mexico and the rest of the United States along with competitive production costs have made Santa Teresa one of the fastest growing industrial bases along the border.
The port of entry there moved up the list in 2019 to become the fourth largest exporting port on the U.S.-Mexico border and sixth for imports.
New Mexico State Turns Focus To Fraternities, Sororities – Associated Press
New Mexico State University is starting a new initiative focused on the health, safety and well-being of students involved in fraternity and sorority life.
School officials say it's based on a model used at large universities elsewhere. NMSU Dean of Students Ann Goodman says the goal is to develop strategies and common guidelines for accountability and address challenges such as alcohol abuse, hazing, sexual harassment and sexual assault that have plagued fraternity and sorority communities across the country.
About 400 students belong to the eight fraternities and six sororities at New Mexico State University.
As part of the plan, a permanent fraternity and sorority excellence committee would be created. The panel would serve as an advisory board to review and support the needs of the groups.
New Mexico Senate Panel To Weigh Utility Regulation Overhaul – Associated Press
A proposal that would reshape the administrative structure of a powerful regulatory panel that oversees New Mexico utilities and other businesses is scheduled to have its first hearing before a Senate committee Tuesday.
The House approved the bill late Sunday on a 36-34 vote, sending it to the Senate. Supporters are pushing for the measure to be considered by the full chamber since lawmakers will adjourn Thursday.
The legislation is backed by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and key Democrats who are frustrated with the Public Regulation Commission's handling of implementation of a new renewable energy law.
Republicans contend the measure wouldn't help insulate the staff from political considerations or reduce turnover as promised. They describe it as a power grab since it would grant the governor more authority over the commission.
Under the proposal, administration of the panel would be moved to another state agency and commissioners would select their chief of staff from a list of candidates provided by the governor.
Homeland Security Waives Contracting Laws For Border Wall - By Elliot Spagat, Associated Press
The Trump administration is waiving federal contracting laws to speed construction of a U.S.-Mexico border wall, moving the president closer to fulfilling a signature campaign promise in an election year but sparking criticism about potential for fraud, waste and abuse.
The Department of Homeland Security said Tuesday it'll allow 177 miles of wall to be built faster in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. A 2005 law gives the Homeland Security secretary sweeping powers to waive laws to expedite border barrier construction.
The 10 waived laws include a requirement for open competition and giving losing bidders a chance to protest decisions.
Secretaries under President Donald Trump have issued 16 waivers, and President George W. Bush issued five, but Tuesday's announcement marks the first time that waivers have applied to federal procurement rules. Previously they were used to waive environmental impact reviews.
Critics say the waivers do away with key taxpayer safeguards.
Scott Amey, general counsel at the Project on Government Oversight, said waiving a law for contractors to provide the government with certified cost data — such as how much they pay for labor or parts — could lead to grossly inflated prices.
Administration officials say providing cost data can be onerous and difficult.
The administration said the waivers will apply to contractors that have already been vetted. In May, the Army Corps named 12 companies to compete for Pentagon-funded contracts.
Those shortlisted companies are Fisher Sand & Gravel Co. of Dickinson, North Dakota, whose leader has sought publicity on conservative media; Texas Sterling Construction Co., of Houston, a unit of Sterling Construction Co.; a joint venture Caddell Construction Co., of Montgomery, Alabama, and Gibraltar Construction Co. of Annapolis, Maryland; Barnard Construction Co. of Bozeman, Montana; West Point Contractors Inc. of Tucson, Arizona; Southwest Valley Constructors Co. of Albuquerque, New Mexico, a unit of Kiewit Corp.; Bristol Construction Services LLC of Anchorage, Alaska; Randy Kinder Excavating Inc. of Dexter, Missouri; CJW Construction Inc., of Santa Ana, California; Burgos Group LLC of Albuquerque, New Mexico; Posillico Civil Inc. / Coastal Environmental Group Inc. of Farmingdale, New York; and Martin Brothers Construction Co. of Sacramento, California.
Deming Schools Superintendent Named As NMSU Regent – Las Cruces Sun-News, Associated Press
A Deming school administrator is New Mexico State University's newest regent.
The Las Cruces Sun-News reports that Deming Public Schools Superintendent Arsenio Romero was confirmed Monday for an open seat on NMSU's governing Board of Regents. Senators at the state Capitol unanimously approved his recommendation for the seat.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham nominated Romero, who served on her post-election transition team, to take over the seat after NMSU Regent Jerean Hutchinson resigned in April. Hutchinson's term will expire at the end of the year.
Romero has been superintendent of Deming's schools since 2017.
New Mexico Backtracks On Cannabis Cards For Nonresidents - By Morgan Lee Associated Press
New Mexico has moved to phase out medical cannabis cards for nonresidents starting at mid-year, under a bill approved by the Legislature on Monday and supported by the governor.
More than 600 people from Texas, Arizona and beyond have enrolled as patients in New Mexico's medical marijuana program since September based on a change in state statute signed into law last year by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham.
State health officials backtracked and said the residency requirement was dropped unintentionally from that legislation. They urged legislators this year to reinstate the requirement, arguing that opening up the program to states without legal marijuana might prompt federal intervention and tempt out-of-state patients to illegally transport marijuana across state lines.
House lawmakers voted 44-19 on Monday to restore the residency requirement, over the objections of the state's largest medical marijuana dispenser, Ultra Health.
At the same time, the state recently adopted reciprocity rules to recognize medical cannabis cards from other states at New Mexico dispensaries.
New Mexico Public Pension Reform Passes In State House - By Russell Contreras, Associated Press
The New Mexico House has approved a proposal aimed at shoring up New Mexico's overextended pension fund for about 110,000 state and local government workers and retirees.
The lower chamber voted 40-28 to send the bill back to the Senate, which is controlled by Democrats. The Senate passed a similar measure but must reexamine the proposal after it was amended.
The effort is backed by Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. The bill seeks to address concerns about $6.6 billion in unfunded liabilities that are weighing down the credit rating of the state and its largest city and driving up borrowing costs.
But Democratic Rep. Antonio "Moe" Maestas of Albuquerque expressed doubt on why lawmakers needed to act on the state's pension system when there "was not compelling" reason to get it at 100% solvency.
The vote came as House members faced pressure to approve the measure from the Koch Institute-funded Stand Together. The group promised "to hold lawmakers accountable" if the proposal failed.
Core provisions of the bill were outlined by a policy task force appointed by the governor to address pension solvency issues. That commission looked for reforms that could fully fund the pension fund within 25 years.
At legislative hearings, retired public employees have voiced divided opinions about the reform plan and whether it is necessary. The proposal would phase in new pension contributions equal to 4% of pay, divided equally between employees and taxpayers.
The second significant solvency measure would link future cost of living increases to investment returns, with a 0.5% minimum annual increase. The current automatic annual cost of living adjustments are as high as 2.5% for some retirees.
State police, adult corrections officers and low-income public employees are exempted from the changes to pension contributions.
The increases are delayed until 2023 for local government employees. The cost-of-living changes do not apply to current retirees age 75 and over.
Members of the pension fund include about 57,000 current public employees and 41,000 retirees receiving benefits.
Legislature Approves Reforms Involving State Settlements - By Morgan Lee Associated Press
AP Correction: This version corrects that Sen. Sander Rue is a Republican.
New Mexico is moving toward easing restrictions on the release of information on financial settlements involving state officials and payouts to whistleblowers.
A bill was on its way to the governor's desk Monday that would eliminate a 180-day waiting period for the disclosure of financial agreements to resolve a variety of complaints against state officials.
Final legislative approval came with a unanimous vote of the House on Sunday evening.
The legislation came in response to financial settlements approved during the administration of former Gov. Susana Martinez, including a series of payouts that were sealed until the two-term Republican left office at the end of 2018.
State and local prosecutors are reviewing those settlements in response to a special audit by State Auditor Brian Colón, who has characterized as an abuse of power a dozen settlements that were signed without sufficient documentation or investigation.
Martinez says she was not involved in the settlement decisions by the state risk management division. She declined to elaborate on details of the process.
The reform bill from Republican Sen. Sander Rue of Albuquerque also would eliminate criminal misdemeanor penalties for improper disclosure of public records that could bar employees from state employment for five years.
In a statement, Rue said the bill “closes a loophole that could extend the release of information about a claim indefinitely.”
Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is expected to sign the bill. Under her administration, the General Services Department has begun publishing settlements terms online and has conducted an audit of settlement procedures that uncovered poor controls and the past use of outside attorneys without valid contracts.
Secrecy provisions concerning settlements appear to date back to lawsuits against the state in aftermath the deadly 1980 riot at a state penitentiary outside Santa Fe as the state sought to protect itself against coordinated financial claims, according to General Service Secretary Ken Ortiz.
Among $2.7 million in settlements flagged for irregularities by auditors, the state has acknowledged it previously paid $900,000 to three State Police officials. That payment resolved a lawsuit alleging discriminatory, lewd behavior and retaliation.
NM Senate OKs Bill To Stop Forcing Police To Erase Evidence - By Russell Contreras, Associated Press
A measure that would stop police from having to destroy seized electronic evidence that was obtained through a search warrant but wasn't the target of an investigation has passed the New Mexico Senate.
The proposal unanimously approved Sunday seeks to fix a bill passed in 2018 that required law enforcement to wipe out some digital evidence. The requirement may have affected some pending cases in Albuquerque, where crime has soared in recent years.
Democratic Sen. Daniel Ivey-Soto of Albuquerque says the change is needed because law enforcement has no choice but to eradicate this evidence after 30 days.
The new bill allows police to seal the evidence and get a court order to use it in an unrelated investigation.
The measure gained steam in the final days of the New Mexico legislative session after district attorneys and representatives from the city of Albuquerque and the American Civil Liberties Union urged lawmakers to mend the 2018 law that has sparked confusion among police and prosecutors.
The 2018 measure was passed through the "rocket docket," a bundle of bills that were fast-tracked to the governor's desk.
The latest proposal now moves to the New Mexico House, which has until Thursday to push it through committee and the full chamber.
Wholesale Prescription Import Bill Heads To Governor - Santa Fe New Mexican, Associated Press, KUNM News
A bill that might allow the state to pursue imports of prescription drugs from Canada on a wholesale basis in search of cost savings is heading to the Governor’s desk.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports the bill passed unanimously in the House Sunday. It would authorize the state Health Department to develop a future application for federal approval to import wholesale drugs from Canada.
In December, the Trump administration said it was moving forward with proposed regulations that might allow states to import many brand-name drugs from Canada with federal oversight.
It is unclear whether Canadian suppliers are capable of or interested in supplying large U.S. markets.
Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham supports the effort and is expected to sign it into law.
New Mexico Public Pension Reform Passes In State House - By Russell Contreras, Associated Press
The New Mexico House has approved a proposal aimed at shoring up New Mexico's overextended pension fund for about 110,000 state and local government workers and retirees.
The lower chamber voted 40-28 to send the bill back to the Senate, which is controlled by Democrats. The Senate passed a similar measure but must reexamine the proposal after it was amended.
The effort is backed by Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. The bill seeks to address concerns about $6.6 billion in unfunded liabilities that are weighing down the credit rating of the state and its largest city and driving up borrowing costs.
But Democratic Rep. Antonio "Moe" Maestas of Albuquerque expressed doubt on why lawmakers needed to act on the state's pension system when there "was not compelling" reason to get it at 100% solvency.
The vote came as House members faced pressure to approve the measure from the Koch Institute-funded Stand Together. The group promised "to hold lawmakers accountable" if the proposal failed.
Core provisions of the bill were outlined by a policy task force appointed by the governor to address pension solvency issues. That commission looked for reforms that could fully fund the pension fund within 25 years.
At legislative hearings, retired public employees have voiced divided opinions about the reform plan and whether it is necessary. The proposal would phase in new pension contributions equal to 4% of pay, divided equally between employees and taxpayers.
The second significant solvency measure would link future cost of living increases to investment returns, with a 0.5% minimum annual increase. The current automatic annual cost of living adjustments are as high as 2.5% for some retirees.
State police, adult corrections officers and low-income public employees are exempted from the changes to pension contributions.
The increases are delayed until 2023 for local government employees. The cost-of-living changes do not apply to current retirees age 75 and over.
Members of the pension fund include about 57,000 current public employees and 41,000 retirees receiving benefits.
Legislature Approves Reforms Involving State Settlements - By Morgan Lee Associated Press
AP Correction: This version corrects that Sen. Sander Rue is a Republican.
New Mexico is moving toward easing restrictions on the release of information on financial settlements involving state officials and payouts to whistleblowers.
A bill was on its way to the governor's desk Monday that would eliminate a 180-day waiting period for the disclosure of financial agreements to resolve a variety of complaints against state officials.
Final legislative approval came with a unanimous vote of the House on Sunday evening.
The legislation came in response to financial settlements approved during the administration of former Gov. Susana Martinez, including a series of payouts that were sealed until the two-term Republican left office at the end of 2018.
State and local prosecutors are reviewing those settlements in response to a special audit by State Auditor Brian Colón, who has characterized as an abuse of power a dozen settlements that were signed without sufficient documentation or investigation.
Martinez says she was not involved in the settlement decisions by the state risk management division. She declined to elaborate on details of the process.
The reform bill from Republican Sen. Sander Rue of Albuquerque also would eliminate criminal misdemeanor penalties for improper disclosure of public records that could bar employees from state employment for five years.
In a statement, Rue said the bill “closes a loophole that could extend the release of information about a claim indefinitely.”
Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is expected to sign the bill. Under her administration, the General Services Department has begun publishing settlements terms online and has conducted an audit of settlement procedures that uncovered poor controls and the past use of outside attorneys without valid contracts.
Secrecy provisions concerning settlements appear to date back to lawsuits against the state in aftermath the deadly 1980 riot at a state penitentiary outside Santa Fe as the state sought to protect itself against coordinated financial claims, according to General Service Secretary Ken Ortiz.
Among $2.7 million in settlements flagged for irregularities by auditors, the state has acknowledged it previously paid $900,000 to three State Police officials. That payment resolved a lawsuit alleging discriminatory, lewd behavior and retaliation.
NM Senate OKs Bill To Stop Forcing Police To Erase Evidence - By Russell Contreras, Associated Press
A measure that would stop police from having to destroy seized electronic evidence that was obtained through a search warrant but wasn't the target of an investigation has passed the New Mexico Senate.
The proposal unanimously approved Sunday seeks to fix a bill passed in 2018 that required law enforcement to wipe out some digital evidence. The requirement may have affected some pending cases in Albuquerque, where crime has soared in recent years.
Democratic Sen. Daniel Ivey-Soto of Albuquerque says the change is needed because law enforcement has no choice but to eradicate this evidence after 30 days.
The new bill allows police to seal the evidence and get a court order to use it in an unrelated investigation.
The measure gained steam in the final days of the New Mexico legislative session after district attorneys and representatives from the city of Albuquerque and the American Civil Liberties Union urged lawmakers to mend the 2018 law that has sparked confusion among police and prosecutors.
The 2018 measure was passed through the "rocket docket," a bundle of bills that were fast-tracked to the governor's desk.
The latest proposal now moves to the New Mexico House, which has until Thursday to push it through committee and the full chamber.