Common Cause New Mexico

A group of organizations including Common Cause of New Mexico and the League of Women Voters are pushing for bills in the current session they say will modernize the legislature. One of those includes paying lawmakers.

Lawmakers are challenging current rules of the Legislature with a resolution that would require Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham to provide an explanation to all bills that are “pocket vetoed.”

New Mexico is in the middle of its 30-day session – one of the shortest in the entire nation. It also has the only unpaid lawmakers. Advocates say legislators should be compensated and sessions should be longer so there is enough time to pass bills.

New Mexico is the latest state to look to the courts to make a call on whether legislative maps were drawn fairly. A deadline is approaching for a district court here to decide whether the state’s new congressional map egregiously favors Democrats, as the state Republican Party argues. A group of non-partisan advocates and redistricting experts have submitted proposed guidance to the judge for making his decision.

The New Mexico Supreme Court this week sided with the state Republican Party in allowing its lawsuit alleging Democrats politically gerrymandered the new congressional map to be heard in district court. While it may look like a victory for the GOP, nonpartisan advocates for fair redistricting say it’s actually a win for all New Mexicans.

The 2023 legislative session is in the rearview mirror, but soon interim committee hearings will start up around the state in preparation for the 2024 session which begins next January. In this week’s show, we will talk about transparency, including several bills aimed at increasing transparency in government that recently succeeded or failed. We will also talk about the budget process and how it works, and how transparent it is – or is not. As the state continues to see record revenues, knowing how our money is spent is everybody’s business.

As some states push to roll back voting rights and election deniers work to overturn election results, democracy itself is at stake in statehouses around the country. On the next Let's Talk New Mexico, we'll discuss how legislators could reshape democracy in our state.

Election Day is upon us, and polls will open Tuesday starting at 7 a.m. and will close at 7 p.m.

On the next Let’s Talk New Mexico, we’ll discuss voters and voting. We’ll talk over the latest numbers for early and absentee voting and discuss what we can glean about voting trends through early voting, demographic changes in our region and what kinds of voting policies and voter education could help foster a stronger democracy.

In her first days in office, freshman Congresswoman Yvette Herrell, who represents New Mexico’s 2nd district, objected to the certification of President…