Heath Haussamen
As legislation expanding webcasting sailed through the state House early in the session, there were signs that a similar expansion in the Senate was much less certain.
My first clue came when Linda Lopez, chair of the Senate Rules Committee, ignored my question about when two of three webcasting bills that needed approval from her committee would be considered.
Public officials ignoring questions from reporters is never a good sign for openness and transparency.
Lopez did allow one resolution through her committee a week ago. It would increase the number of cameras on the Senate floor.
But legislation that would expand webcasting to include Senate committees and interim legislative committee meetings languished. Only yesterday did the memorial to authorize interim committee webcasting make its way through her committee.
The other, a resolution that would authorize committee webcasting, never got a hearing.
So here’s where things stand now:
• Senate Resolution 1, sponsored by Majority Leader Michael Sanchez, is No. 11 on today’s calendar. Sanchez, who controls the calendar, has skipped over No. 11 all day.
• House Joint Memorial 15, sponsored by Rep. Jeff Steinborn, D-Las Cruces, is No. 66. It also has yet to get a hearing.
• Senate Resolution 4, sponsored by Eric Griego, D-Albuquerque, is the one that never got a hearing from the Rules Committee. Griego plans to propose that his legislation be added to Sanchez’s when it comes up for debate.
But the clock is ticking. There are fewer than 15 hours left in the session, with some of that (probably) spent in recess so lawmakers can get some sleep.
Sanchez briefly called his resolution up for a hearing on Sunday, then delayed because of a situation you can read about here. He said his resolution “could” come up again.
Here’s to hoping Sanchez calls the webcasting bills up for hearings before the clock runs out on Thursday.