The Senate has approved the new version of a bill that would overhaul the state’s scandal-plagued regional housing authorities. The bill now heads to the governor for a signature.
Senate Bill 519, sponsored by Sen. Mary Kay Papen, D-Las Cruces, was approved on a unanimous voice vote. It was approved earlier this morning by the House on a vote of 64-0.
During the brief Senate hearing, Papen thanked those in the House who made the compromise possible.
“It’s going to be a much tougher go for the regional housing authorities than it has been in the past,” Papen said. “… I think it’s a much tighter bill, it’s a much stiffer bill on the housing authorities.”
The new version of the bill would keep the regional housing authorities in existence, but puts in place extensive oversight: Bonding and eminent domain authority would belong to the New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority, not the housing authorities; the Department of Finance and Administration and state treasurer would have roles in administering finances; and the authorities would be required to submit quarterly audits – most agencies have to submit them annually – to the DFA.
The bill would also appropriate $200,000 to the state auditor to fund audits of the seven regional housing authorities to determine the extent of mismanagement that led to the system crumbling in scandal last year. That work must be complete by Dec. 1.
The compromise was reached following more than a week of tense negotiations when the bill stalled in the House. The prior version of the bill, which had been approved by the Senate on a vote of 36-1 several weeks ago, would have abolished the housing authorities and replaced them with a system overseen entirely by the MFA.
Several House Democrats fought the proposal, saying they didn’t believe the problems justified killing the authorities.
Sen. Stuart Ingle, R-Portales, questioned the audit process in the new bill. Papen assured him there will be strong oversight.
“I hope so,” Ingle said. “… I think there have been some things done here that were just really, really unethical and, so far, nothing seems to happen.”
Sen. Clinton Harden, R-Clovis, said he was pleased with the bill.
“Thank you for your diligent and hard work on this,” he told Papen.
In a news release, Gov. Bill Richardson praised the Legislature’s work on the bill.
“This is a major victory for ethics, fairness and reform,”