Foley says housing bills will be heard Tuesday

The House minority whip says the Business and Industry Committee will hear three bills related to the state’s housing authority scandal during Tuesday’s meeting.

The bills aren’t on the published schedule, which doesn’t necessarily mean they won’t be heard. Committee Chair Debbie Rodella, D-Ohkay Owingeh, and other Democrats who previously voted to table one of the bills have agreed to allow all three to be heard, according to Dan Foley, R-Roswell.

“They’ve agreed,” Foley said. “I want to thank the chairwoman, Debbie Rodella, for agreeing to hear all three tomorrow.”

Rodella could not be reached for comment. The committee will meet shortly after Tuesday’s House floor session in Room 309 at the Roundhouse.

On Sunday, the committee’s Republicans and Rep. Dona Irwin, D-Deming, made a failed attempt to bring back House Bill 997, sponsored by Rep. Janice Arnold-Jones, R-Albuquerque, for consideration. The bill was tabled last week on a vote of 6-5.

Also awaiting hearings in the committee are House Bill 1321, is sponsored by Foley, and Senate Bill 519, sponsored by Sen. Mary Kay Papen, D-Las Cruces.

The Papen and Arnold-Jones bills would replace the scandal-plagued authorities with a new system overseen by the New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority. They would also fund a probe by the Legislative Finance Committee to determine the extent of the mismanagement of money that led to the system crumbling last year in scandal.

Foley’s bill, which was introduced last week because of concerns that the others were being stonewalled, only proposes funding for the LFC probe.

Speaker of the House Ben Lujan is a close ally of Vincent “Smiley” Gallegos, a lobbyist, former lawmaker and former director of the Albuquerque-based Region III Housing Authority, which defaulted last year on $5 million in bonds it owed the state. Lujan was tenuously tied to the scandal last year when it was reported that one of his top aides, who may not qualify for low-income housing, was living rent-free in a home owned by the Region III authority.

Papen’s bill was approved last month by the Senate on a vote of 36-1.

Update, 4:10 p.m.

There’s apparently some question as to whether Foley is right about what will be considered on Tuesday. Rep. Jose Campos, D-Santa Rosa and a member of the Business and Industry Committee who opposes the bills, said it’s his understanding that only Foley’s bill will be heard. Rodella has not returned a call seeking comment.

Gov. Bill Richardson said today that Lujan told him “he’s going to bring it up on Tuesday” in the Business and Industry Committee, but didn’t specify whether “it” meant a specific bill or all three.

Richardson said he has been speaking with two members of the committee who voted to table Arnold-Jones’ bill in an attempt to get them to change their votes. Arnold-Jones and Papen are carrying the bills for the governor.

“We need reform of these housing authorities,” Richardson said. “They’re important bills. They’re very high on my list.”

Richardson also said Lujan told him he supports the bills. In my conversations with Lujan, he has said he supports the broad concept of fixing some of the problems with the housing authorities, but has refused to comment on whether he supports the bills.