New Mexico attorney general says fake GOP electors can't be prosecuted, recommends changes - By Susan Montoya Bryan And Morgan Lee Associated Press
New Mexico's top prosecutor said Friday that the state's five Republican electors cannot be prosecuted under the current law for filing election certificates that falsely declared Donald Trump the winner of the 2020 presidential race.
However, Democratic Attorney General Raúl Torrez is making recommendations to state lawmakers that he says would enhance the security of the state's electoral process and provide legal authority for prosecuting similar conduct in the future.
New Mexico is one of several states where fake electors attempted to cast ballots indicating that Trump had won, a strategy at the center of criminal charges against Trump and his associates. Democratic officials launched separate investigations in some states, resulting in indictments against GOP electors.
Fake certificates were submitted in the battleground states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
In New Mexico and Pennsylvania, fake electors added a caveat saying the certificate was submitted in case they were later recognized as duly elected, qualified electors. That would only have been possible if Trump had won any of several dozen legal battles he waged against states in the weeks after the election.
President Joe Biden won the 2020 vote in New Mexico by roughly 11 percentage points — the largest margin among the states where so-called fake electors have been implicated.
In December, a Nevada grand jury indicted six Republicans with felony charges of offering a false instrument for filing and uttering a forged instrument, in connection with false election certificates. They have pleaded not guilt.
Michigan's Attorney General filed felony charges in July 2023 against 16 Republican fake electors, who would face eight criminal charges including forgery and conspiracy to commit election forgery, though one had charges dropped after reaching a cooperation deal. The top charge carried a maximum penalty of 14 years in prison.
Sixteen fake electors also have been charged in Georgia, three of which were also charged alongside Trump in a sweeping indictment accusing them of participating in a wide-ranging scheme to illegally overturn the results of the presidential election. They have pleaded not guilty.
Among those accused in a Fulton County indictment is Santa Fe attorney and former law professor John Eastman.
In January 2022, then-New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas, a Democrat, had referred the false certificates to federal authorities for investigation. When Torrez took office in 2023, he ordered a state investigation to determine if the electors had committed any crimes.
Torrez's office said investigators reviewed thousands of pages of documents relating to activities in New Mexico and in the other battleground states. They also interviewed the five GOP electors.
New Mexico prosecutors contend that Trump's team provided instructions for completing and submitting the documents. Unlike the certification documents the campaign sent to other states, those used in New Mexico were hinged on Trump winning his challenges.
While saying it was disgraceful that New Mexicans were enlisted in a plot to "undermine democracy," Torrez acknowledged that the conduct by GOP electors in New Mexico was not subject to criminal prosecution.
He's asking Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and the Democratic-controlled Legislature to amend state election code to give prosecutors more latitude to pursue charges in these types of cases in the future.
Torrez's recommendations include expanding the prohibition against falsified election documents to include certificates related to presidential electors and creating a new law against falsely acting as a presidential elector.
New Mexico governor proposes 10% spending increase amid windfall from oil production - By Morgan Lee, Associated Press
New Mexico's governor is proposing a nearly 10% general fund spending increase for the coming fiscal year to shore up housing opportunities, childhood literacy and health care access, with additional payouts for electric vehicles purchases.
Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Thursday published the $10.5 billion budget plan for the fiscal year running from July 2024 through June 2025. It would increase general fund spending by roughly $950 million over current annual obligations.
The Democratic-led Legislature develops its own competing spending plan in advance of a 30-day legislative session that begins Jan. 16. Lujan Grisham can veto any and all budget provisions approved by legislators.
The nation's No. 2 oil-producing state anticipates a multibillion-dollar surplus for the coming fiscal year, driven largely by oil and natural gas production in the Permian Basin that underlies southeastern New Mexico and western Texas.
The governor has signaled affordable housing as a major priority, proposing one-time spending of $500 million to expand opportunities through down-payment assistance, and to finance affordable housing and related infrastructure. The state separately would use $40 million to launch a statewide homelessness initiative.
In November, voters signaled frustration with surging home prices in fast-growing Santa Fe by approving a tax on mansions to pay for affordable-housing initiatives.
Spending on public education would increase by $283 million, or 6.8%, to nearly $4.5 billion — the single largest chunk of annual general fund appropriations.
One goal is to bolster specialized literacy programs, while founding a state literacy institute. Additional funds would help extend annual instructional time at public schools across the state. Republicans in the legislative minority oppose the push to expand public school calendars.
The Lujan Grisham administration hopes to add 2,000 slots for infant and toddler childcare and expand early preschool by 1,380 slots through increased state spending, while also bolstering aid to children being raised by grandparents.
Legislators have expressed frustration in recent months with the results of sustained spending increases on public education. Statewide, the share of students who can read at their grade level is 38%. Math proficiency is at 24%. The state's high school graduation rate hovers at 76% — well below the national average of 87%.
Lujan Grisham pledged in a statement to "continue to spend within our means, responsibly and with an eye toward accountability."
Her budget proposal includes a 3% increase in pay for workers at executive agencies and public schools statewide — and larger increases of 8% for corrections officers and 14% for state police.
Economists for state agencies say New Mexico's income surge is slowing down, but far from over, as lawmakers wrestle with how much to spend now or set aside for the future in case the world's thirst for oil falters.
The governor's budget outline leaves as much as $500 million in leeway for legislators to approve tax cuts and tax incentives that spur the adoption of electric vehicles and other low-pollution cars and trucks.
New Mexico regulators recently adopted an accelerated timetable for automakers to nearly phase out deliveries of gas- and diesel-burning cars and trucks — amid concerns about the affordability of electric vehicles in a state with high rates of poverty.
In many other states, an era of soaring budget surpluses and cuts to broad-based taxes may be coming to a close this year as a pandemic-era revenue surge fueled by federal spending and inflation recedes.
Navajo Nation charges 2 tribal members with illegally growing marijuana as part of complex case - Associated Press
Authorities on the largest Native American reservation in the U.S. have charged two tribal members with illegally growing marijuana on the Navajo Nation, marking just the latest development in a years-long case that also has involved allegations of forced labor.
Tribal prosecutors announced the charges Thursday, claiming that Navajo businessman Dineh Benally and farmer Farley BlueEyes had operated a massive marijuana growing operation in and around Shiprock, New Mexico. The two men were expected to be arraigned on the charges in late January, prosecutors said.
Benally had previously been charged for interference with judicial proceedings after a Navajo judge granted a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction in 2020 that was aimed at halting operations at the farms in northwestern New Mexico.
David Jordan, an attorney who has represented Benally, said the interference charges were dismissed in December as those cases were set to go to trial.
"It very much feels like harassment," he said of the latest legal maneuvering.
Jordan, who is expected to also represent Benally on the new charges, said Benally maintains he was growing hemp and declined to comment further.
No telephone listing was found for BlueEyes, and the tribe's Department of Justice said no one has entered a formal appearance on behalf of him.
The marijuana operation near Shiprock began making headlines in 2020 when local police found Chinese immigrant workers trimming marijuana in motel rooms in a nearby community. Federal, state and tribal authorities then raided the farms and destroyed a quarter-million plants.
Just this week, New Mexico regulators rescinded Benally's license for another growing operation in central New Mexico, saying Native American Agricultural Development Co. had committed numerous violations at a farm in Torrance County. Inspectors had found about 20,000 mature plants on the property — four times the number allowed under the license.
Numerous other violations also were outlined in the license revocation order issued by New Mexico's Cannabis Control Division.
While state and federal authorities continue to investigate, no criminal charges have been filed in those jurisdictions.
On the Navajo Nation, President Buu Nygren said no one is above the law.
"Anyone coming into our communities who seeks to harm the (Navajo) Nation or our Navajo people will be held accountable under my administration, no matter who they are," he said in a statement.
Navajo Nation Attorney General Ethel Branch on Thursday reiterated sentiments first relayed when the marijuana operation was uncovered, saying the residents of Shiprock deserved justice for the harm caused by the illegal activity.
A group of Chinese immigrant workers also are suing Benally and his associates. They claim they were lured to northern New Mexico and forced to work long hours trimming the marijuana produced at the farms on the Navajo Nation.
The lawsuit alleges that Benally, a former Navajo Nation presidential candidate who campaigned on growing hemp to boost the economy, turned a blind eye to federal and tribal laws that make it illegal to grow marijuana on the reservation. The complaint stated that he instructed his associates and the workers to refer to the marijuana as "hemp" to avoid law enforcement scrutiny.
Democrats will again push to pass New Mexico green amendment - Santa Fe New Mexican
Democratic lawmakers will once again seek to pass a green amendment in the upcoming legislative session.
The Santa Fe New Mexicanreports the idea is to create a constitutional amendment that would go before voters and ensure that a clean, healthy environment is a right in the state.
This would be the fourth time lawmakers have tried to pass a green amendment, even though Democrats have a majority in both chambers. No Republicans have supported past efforts. This year’s session is only 30 days long and only a small percentage of bills and measures are likely to pass.
Advocates say the amendment would make officials enforce current laws and also give them constitutional authority when existing regulations don’t cover threats to public health and the environment.
But opponents say it gives the government too much power and would hurt industries like oil and gas extraction and agriculture.
New York, Montana, and Pennsylvania are the only three states in the country to adopt a green amendment so far.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham would not need to approve the proposed amendment, but bill sponsor Sen. Antoinette Sedillo Lopez said her support would help the effort. The governor did not respond to the New Mexican’s request for comment. If the Senate and House approve the amendment it would go before voters in the fall election.
New Mexicans gather to protest liquefied natural gas facility - Albuquerque Journal, KUNM news
New Mexicans gathered in the freezing cold as snow fell Thursday to protest against a proposed liquefied natural gas facility in Rio Rancho
As the Albuquerque Journal reports, two dozen protesters outside the New Mexico Gas Co. headquarters delivered a petition to the company, essentially asking it to withdraw its application to the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission to set up the LNG storage facility.
With over 700 signatures, the petition highlights potential risks the facility could have to overall public health, first responders, the environment and ratepayers.
“We must prioritize the safety and wellbeing of our community, and we ask that you make the right decision,” the petition goes on to say.
The protesters are not alone, however.
In fact, several lawmakers and even the Bernalillo Board of County Commissioners have voiced their disapproval of the project.
The Public Regulation Commission is set to hear the LNG plant proposal next week.
Four cities will host gun buybacks on Saturday – Farmington Daily Times
New Mexico State Police will hold gun buybacks in four cities Saturday.
The Farmington Daily Timesreports the agency is asking residents in Albuquerque, Española, Farmington and Las Cruces to anonymously turn in firearms in exchange for Visa gift cards.
This is the second buyback since Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham issued a public health order in September to address rising gun violence following the shooting deaths of several children in Albuquerque.
Previous buybacks in Albuquerque, Española and Las Cruces brought in 279 firearms. But this will be the first event in Farmington, after an earlier event broughtpublic backlash and was canceled.
The weapons will be destroyed or recycled into other products. They do not need to in working order. Officials will offer $100 gift cards for handguns and $200 gift cards for rifles and shotguns.
The buybacks will take place between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. at these locations:
· Expo New Mexico, 300 San Pedro, Gate 8 off Louisiana Blvd. in Albuquerque
· Harriet B. Simmons Office, 101 W. Animas in Farmington
· First Baptist Church, 4201 N. Sonoma ranch Blvd. in Las Cruces
· Espanola Annex Building, 1101 Industrial Park Road in Española
N.M. counties sketch spending wish list for 2024 - By Austin Fisher,Source New Mexico
New Mexico’s county governments want state lawmakers in the upcoming legislative session to allocate an additional $188 million, to pay for a variety of local government functions like public sector workers’ health care, new courthouses, jail operations and pay raises.
New Mexico Counties, a lobbying group for all 33 county governments in the state, outlined that the bulk of the requested money is set to go toward covering insurance costs for state employees.
The counties are asking lawmakers to set aside $149 million to cover a shortfall in the pot of money used to pay for state employees’ health care, New Mexico Counties executive director Joy Esparsen told lawmakers on the Revenue Stabilization & Tax Policy Committee.
Esparsen said counties were blindsided last year by bills from the state General Services Department for the deficit in the Employee Health Benefits Fund.
Some counties and cities sued the state over the invoices last summer after House Bill 2, the legislation setting out the state budget, called for local governments to pay one-time fees of $10.2 million for health insurance premiums and $299,100 for life insurance premiums, according to Eastern New Mexico News.
“We recognize that funds need to be solvent but we don’t have a voice in that discussion when those premium increases were waived,” Esparsen said. “We have commitments from several legislators that this is going to be an issue that’ll be discussed early on this session.”
PAYING FOR COURTHOUSES
The counties want lawmakers to set aside $20 million each year for building and renovating state district courthouses.
Often, state district courts and county magistrate courts share space in what are called “judicial complexes,” but counties cover the cost of maintaining them, Esparsen said.
“This is something we’ve considered an unfunded mandate for many years,” Esparsen said. “We look at this as a much better approach to this as a shared revenue.”
The most recent state operating budget does have $23 million set aside by lawmakers for the Administrative Office of the Courts to cover these costs, the counties wrote.
$15 million of that was used to resolve a lawsuit between the Eighth Judicial District Court and Otero County.
The other $8 million is being distributed based on need across the state, the counties wrote. Various court officials asked AOC to use the money, but their requests totaled $22 million, Esparsen said.
PAYING JAIL GUARDS
Lawmakers passed a law directing the state to set up a special fund in 2023 called the Detention and Corrections Workforce Capacity Building Fund, to help counties recruit and retain jail guards, Esparsen said.
Now the counties are asking lawmakers to put $10 million in that fund, she said.
“We have detention centers that are operating at very concerning numbers of staff, and it’s a compounding problem — you have staff then that’s working multiple overtime,” Esparsen said.
PEOPLE IN STATE CUSTODY HELD IN COUNTY JAILS
The counties are asking lawmakers to set aside $7.5 million that will reimburse county jails that detain people convicted of felonies who are sentenced to state prison, but are actually incarcerated in county jails.
According to the counties’ presentation, lawmakers created the County Detention Facility Reimbursement Fund in 2007 with $5 million, but the pot of money “diminished to less than $2.5 million over the next decade.”
Even though lawmakers restored it to $5 million in 2022, the counties wrote that it costs an average of $7.5 million to incarcerate state prisoners in county jails each year, according to the New Mexico Sentencing Commission.
ADMINISTRATIVE FEES BY STATE
The New Mexico Municipal League wants lawmakers to eliminate a 3% fee charged to local governments by the state Taxation and Revenue Department. They want lawmakers to make it based on costs instead of a flat fee.
Esparsen said it’s also a concern for counties. That 3% is unreasonable and not based on actual costs, she said. She said counties paid $26 million last year to collect county sales taxes, she said.
FINES AND FEES BACKFILL
Mentioned in the counties’ presentation but not in Esparsen’s comments to lawmakers was a proposal for lawmakers to make up for the $1.3 million each year that was reportedly being raised by fees for traffic tickets and criminal charges imposed on top of the fines required by the state’s criminal laws.
Lawmakers tossed out those fees last year.
FIREFIGHTERS AND MEDICS
The counties are asking lawmakers to find “a more sustainable shared” source of revenue to pay for emergency medical services.
That same day, the New Mexico Municipal League suggested lawmakers put 10% of health insurance premium tax revenue into the fund to pay for local EMS services’ supplies, equipment and vehicles.
Rep. Liz Stefanics (D-Albuquerque) asked Esparsen if the counties agree with the cities’ suggestion, and she said “absolutely.” She said the counties have met with the municipal league about the issue multiple times, along with the New Mexico Association of Chiefs of Police.
TRANSPORTING AND EXTRADITING INCARCERATED PEOPLE
The counties are asking lawmakers to set aside $750,000 to reimburse them for moving incarcerated people around the state or extraditing them from outside the state, according to their presentation.
There’s already a fund in state law that allows the state to pay back counties for this work but lawmakers have never put money into it, Esparsen said.
SERVICES FOR INCARCERATED PEOPLE
The counties are asking lawmakers to increase funding for mental health care, medication assisted treatment, housing, job training and other services for people incarcerated in county jails.
The Reach, Intervene, Support and Engage Program is overseen by the Behavioral Health Services Division of the state Human Services Department. The group runs in a dozen counties across the state — Bernalillo, Colfax, Dona Ana, Eddy, Grant, Lincoln, Luna, Roosevelt, San Juan, Sierra, Socorro and Valencia counties, according to the group’s presentation.
Neither the counties’ presentation nor Esparsen’s comments to lawmakers specify how much money goes into the program and how much more they want. More money “would provide sustainability and enable expansion” of the program, the counties wrote.
ELECTEDS’ SALARIES
The counties are asking lawmakers to increase the salary cap for newly elected officials by 15%, and for their salaries to match the Consumer Price Index.
The counties wrote that an increase to the salary cap is imperative this year because it would affect any incoming elected officials who will take office in January 2025. The cap was last changed in 2018, they wrote.
Esparsen said 14 counties are at the cap set by state law.
“The reality is when you have a deputy that is making $40,000 to $50,000 more than the elected official, it doesn’t make it very enticing for them to run as an elected official, or to retain that institutional knowledge,” Esparsen said.
City of Albuquerque outlines winter weather supports - By Nash Jones, KUNM News
With snow falling across the state Thursday, Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller and representatives from several city departments gave an update on available winter-weather supports.
Keller emphasized preparation by city support services for the cold conditions. Namely, the recently-expanded Gateway Center’s 85 overnight beds in addition to the Westside Emergency Housing Center’s 24-hour shelter and meals.
For people stuck outside when it drops below freezing, the Albuquerque Community Safety Department now provides after-hours transportation to shelters from 8 p.m. to 7 a.m.
Additionally, the Department of Municipal Development highlighted their efforts to keep roads clear with a fleet of 40 trucks to spread salt. Keller said Emergency DMD crews “were monitoring this storm in real time and were ready to go.”
Albuquerque Fire Rescue shared safety tips, including keeping a 3-foot area clear around space heaters, getting fireplaces serviced annually, and not using gas stoves to heat homes due to the risk that carbon monoxide poses.
Tony Sanchez introduced as New Mexico State's head football coach after 2 seasons as receivers coach
New Mexico State didn't need to look far when searching for a new head football coach.
Eleven days after Jerry Kill stepped down after two seasons with the Aggies, Tony Sanchez was officially introduced Wednesday as the program's 36th head coach.
Sanchez, 49, was a wide receiver for New Mexico State from 1994-95 and coached that position the past two years.
The Aggies had a 7-6 record in 2022, winning the Quick Lane Bowl, then went 10-5 last season and played for the Conference USA championship.
It marked the school's first back-to-back bowl games since 1959-60.
"Now there's a new standard here," Sanchez told reporters Wednesday. "We don't want to win anymore, we expect to win. That's going to be our attitude moving forward. We've got a great coaching staff, a great core group of players and I know we'll continue to move this thing forward."
Sanchez was UNLV's head coach from 2015-19 and had a 20-40 record.
New Mexico State athletic director Mario Moccia said Sanchez is expected to sign a five-year contract.
"We had a lot of really good coaches that I thought might have the ability to take over," Moccia said Wednesday. "In my opinion, Tony was the most ready. And that's why we made this selection."
Moccia added that two other major projects are upcoming for the football program — a new video board and new locker rooms.