Winners and losers from the legislative session

By Diane Denish

The Legislature holds 112 lawmakers. Add in one governor and one lieutenant governor, and you can get 114 officials’ viewpoints of what was or wasn’t accomplished in any particular legislative session.

One thing we’ll all agree on is this: The work can be tough and frustrating, but the goal is always to do what’s right for New Mexico.

Even so, there are bound to be winners and losers, and our just-completed session was no different. Here are just a few:

Winner: Pre-K. The voluntary Pre-Kindergarten program I have actively supported received a $5.6-million expansion above its $14-million budget, so that 1,300 more 4-year-olds can take advantage of early-childhood education.

These programs are largely in under-served areas of the state, and the majority of participants are Hispanic or Native American, making this a key component of shrinking the “achievement gap” between children of different ethnicities. Early research indicates that participants chart gains in reading and math well beyond those whose parents don’t or can’t enroll them.

As of next year, 5,000 New Mexico schoolchildren will get this boost toward becoming part of a productive workforce.

Loser: Kindergarten Plus. In 2003, the Legislature expanded the kindergarten school year by 25 uninterrupted days. It worked so well that, last year, legislators extended it through the third grade to nearly 7,000 children. This year, teachers told us the program deserved to reach even more students.

So legislators tucked $3 million into their budget to reach another 3,000 children. Unfortunately in this tight budget year, the money was vetoed. Investing in Pre-K only makes sense if we continue the investment in subsequent grades. We’ll keep pushing for this program in future sessions.

Winners: Urban Indians. A new Off Reservation Native American Health Commission will be created in Bernalillo County to work on getting medical services to people who’ve left their tribal lands. The goal is to reverse some of the worst health outcomes in the nation and help people remain productive citizens.

This bill is a historic first step to improving access to health care for tribal members living away from the reservation.

Losers: Domestic partners. Governor Richardson and I both supported extending legal protection to adults in relationships who either cannot or choose not to be married. This effort has failed in years past, but that won’t discourage supporters. It’s a simple matter of equality for all.

Winners: University of New Mexico athletics. University Stadium, where the championship New Mexico Bowl football game has been played the last two years, will get a $2-million upgrade, while The Pit gets a $1-million facelift. Go Lobos!

Losers: Small farmers. A veto of $150,000 stopped the expansion of a pilot program that puts New Mexico farmers’ produce onto schoolchildren’s cafeteria trays. Not only do the farmers lose a stable buyer, but students lose out on the fresher and healthier fruits and vegetables the program provides.

Winner: Senate President Tim Jennings. Taking the reins of Senate leadership after the passing of our beloved Ben Altamirano, Jennings had big shoes to fill and a sometimes unruly session to oversee. With his many years of experience and a healthy dose of good humor, the Roswell Democrat managed his duties with the sort of fairness that typified his successor.

That he did so during his wife Patty’s struggle against cancer heightens his commitment to this state and its people.

Losers: 400,000 uninsured people. I entered this session with a vow to reform our health-coverage system after a year-long study and innumerable negotiation sessions. Regrettably, the effort proved too much for the 30-day session.

We cannot give up. People who lack insurance end up costing every one of us in higher premiums, rising co-payments, backed-up emergency rooms and untreated health problems that keep children from learning and workers from sustaining our economy.

Health care is a basic human right, and our humanity calls on us to care for one another.

You can help. I encourage you to call the governor and your legislators and ask them to work together on a plan that will address this problem – most likely in the special session that Governor Richardson has vowed to call.

For whatever this legislative session did not accomplish, the good news is this: There’s always another one headed your way.

Denish is the state’s lieutenant governor. This is the last of weekly columns she wrote during the 2008 legislative session. You can reach her office at (505) 476-2250.