Senate adjourns in defiance of governor

The New Mexico Senate has just voted to adjourn sine die, meaning its members plan to go home without considering any of the legislation Gov. Bill Richardson has called them back to Santa Fe to approve.

Sen. Linda Lopez, D-Albuquerque, made the motion to adjourn, which passed on a voice vote, Kate Nash is reporting on her blog. There was a challenge, which was upheld. The final vote to adjourn sine die was 24-14.

The move puts the House in the position of siding with the governor or the Senate. House members began work this afternoon after it became clear there weren’t the votes in that chamber to defy the governor’s proclamation, so it seems likely the House will call the Senate back to work in three days if it doesn’t voluntarily come back sooner.

House members spent the afternoon in committees approving bills while Senate Democrats deliberated behind closed doors whether to stick around.

Richardson has a number of items he wants approved during the special session, including public financing of judicial campaigns, campaign contribution limits, a state ethics commission, a registry for methamphetamine laboratories, tougher penalties for domestic violence, $208 million for road projects, and domestic partner benefits.

The move by the Senate followed its brief meeting shortly after noon, then several hours of secret caucus meetings. Senate Majority Leader Michael Sanchez, D-Belen, met with Speaker of the House Ben Lujan and Senate President Pro Tem Ben Altamirano late in the afternoon, and then Senate Democrats met in secret some more before the Senate reconvened and voted to quit working.

Update, 6:15 p.m.

Sen. Mary Jane Garcia, D-Doña Ana, was one of the 14 who voted against going home. The majority whip said was trying to track down Lujan to notify him because the House has already quit working for the day. She said she doesn’t know whether the House will call the Senate back to work at the end of three days.

“I don’t have a clue,” she said.

Update, 6:20 p.m.

Richardson appears confident that the House will call the Senate back.

“Governor Richardson is encouraged that the House continues to work on this important agenda for the people of New Mexico,” spokesman Gilbert Gallegos said. “It appears the Senate will have to reconvene by Saturday to begin its work.”

Update, 6:40 p.m.

Apparently, some of the unrest in the Senate has to do with the fact that Richardson wanted to force lawmakers to be in Santa Fe working on legislation even though he is scheduled to leave the state tonight to head to Laguna Beach, Calif., where he’ll hold a fundraiser tomorrow for his presidential campaign.

It’s that whole do-as-I-say-but-not-as-I-do mentality I’ve written about before.

Interestingly, we had to find out about the fundraiser from the Orange County Register. Richardson’s campaign never sent out notice that he would be heading to California.