Heath Haussamen / NMPolitics.net
A statue outside the Roundhouse in Santa Fe.
The New Mexico Legislature convenes at noon Tuesday for its 60-day session.
Highlights of the day will include:
- Republican Gov. Susana Martinez delivering her annual State of the State address to members of the House and Senate. Her speech probably will begin between 1 and 2 p.m. It will be shown live on santafenewmexican.com.
- Members of the House of Representatives will elect the speaker of the House. Rep. Brian Egolf, D-Santa Fe, is the runaway favorite to win the job. Democrats, who control the House 38-32, have designated Egolf as their candidate.
- Egolf, 40, will name his committee chairmen and chairwomen after taking over as speaker. Every chairmanship will be filled by a new face because the Republicans who held the jobs for the last two years will be replaced by Democrats. Under Egolf, the House will have 13 committees, compared to 12 when the Republicans were in charge. Democrats will restore the labor committee and combine it with economic development. Republicans had scrapped the term labor committee.
- Sen. Joseph Cervantes, D-Las Cruces, will deliver the Senate Democrats’ response to Martinez. Democratic House members do not plan a formal response to her speech.
This article comes from The Santa Fe New Mexican. NMPolitics.net is paying for the rights to publish articles about the 2017 legislative session from the newspaper. Help us cover the cost by making a donation to NMPolitics.net.