U.S. attorney scandal continues to spread as watchdog group files complaint against Domenici

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A day after Sen. Pete Domenici apologized for calling former U.S. Attorney David Iglesias last fall to inquire about an ongoing investigation, the scandal continues to spread, both for the senator and the Bush Administration. A watchdog group is urging a Senate committee to investigate whether Domenici violated Congressional ethics. The Bush Administration is trying to explain the resignation of the director of the office of U.S. attorneys in the Justice Department. And two House members leading the investigation in that chamber of Congress have stepped up their rhetoric and issued new subpoenas. Meanwhile, the Justice Department confirmed today at least some of what Domenici said on Sunday: that the senator called four times in 2005 and 2006 to complain about Iglesias. Continue Reading

Lujan moves to kill affordable housing overhaul bill

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In a move that can only be interpreted as an attempt to kill it, Speaker of the House Ben Lujan, D-Nambé, has taken a bill that would remake the state’s troubled affordable housing system off the calendar in one committee and moved it to another committee that killed a similar bill on Sunday. Senate Bill 519, sponsored by Sen. Mary Kay Papen, D-Las Cruces, had been assigned to the House Judiciary Committee. Lujan moved the bill today from judiciary to the Business and Industry Committee. That’s the committee that on Sunday tabled, on a vote of 6-5, House Bill 997, sponsored by Rep. Janice Arnold-Jones, R-Albuquerque, which was a mirror of Papen’s bill. Arnold-Jones’ bill was tabled after Lujan spoke with at least two members of the committee privately during the public hearing. Continue Reading

Richardson signs clean energy bills into law

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Gov. Bill Richardson signed today what he called in a news release “two major cornerstones” of his clean energy agenda. Senate Bill 418 requires that 15 percent of an electric utility’s power comes from renewable energy sources by 2015, which increases to 20 percent in 2020. House Bill 188 creates a state Renewable Energy Transmission Authority to help the state develop clean energy resources and sell clean electricity to other states. The proposals are a cornerstone of Richardson’s presidential campaign. Richardson’s government staffers and campaign both sent out an announcement of today’s bill signing. Continue Reading

Former LCPS Superintendent Diaz gets a new job

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Former Las Cruces Public Schools Superintendent Sonia Diaz, who is still appealing her firing in district court, has been given a top job at one of the nation’s largest school districts. The Baltimore County Board of Education in Maryland approved Friday of the selection of Diaz to be the new associate superintendent of curriculum and instruction for the Baltimore County Public Schools. She will direct the division of curriculum and instruction for the district’s 169 schools, which serve 106,000 students, according to a news release from the district, which is the 24th largest in the nation. “In adding Dr. Diaz to my administrative team, I am bringing to our school system an individual with more than 30 years experience in K-12 education,” Baltimore Superintendent Joe Hairston said in the release. “Dr. Diaz has demonstrated the capacity to address the types of challenges and opportunities we face in delivering quality curriculum to our children in Baltimore County.” Diaz will begin her job April 1. Continue Reading

In Iowa, Richardson continues pledge to focus on first four primary states and grassroots campaigning

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During a visit to Iowa this weekend, Gov. Bill Richardson said the first four primary contests will decide who becomes the Democratic Party’s 2008 nominee for president, the Associated Press is reporting. Those are contests held in January in Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire and South Carolina. Richardson’s statements buck the thinking of many that other, larger states will be more important in the selection process. California, Florida, New Jersey, Illinois and other states are considering moving their primaries all up to the same day in early February, and many campaigns are remaking their strategies to shift resources to those larger states that include more influential media markets. Richardson, who was instrumental in getting the Democratic National Committee to move up Nevada’s contest to January, says he’s sticking to his four-state strategy and a pledge to run a grassroots campaign win with fewer resources than the better-funded candidates. Continue Reading

Senate wants to limit governor’s veto time on budget

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The Senate, which has been playing hardball with Gov. Bill Richardson this session, approved the state budget in a surprise move on Friday night in what appears to be an attempt to limit the time the governor has to exercise his line-item veto authority. House Bill 2 was approved on a vote of 33-5, but significant changes mean it goes back to the House for concurrence before it can go to the governor. The bill provides for a $5.65-billion budget, with about $5 million in changes made by the Senate after the House approved it. The Senate also approved $106 million in tax cuts. Last year, the governor vetoed a number of projects, upsetting the Senate. Continue Reading

Bill to protect surface owners heads to governor

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A bill that would require oil and gas companies to pay landowners for damage to their property caused by drilling became this weekend the first House bill of the session to head to the governor for a signature. House Bill 827, sponsored by Rep. Andy Nuñez, D-Hatch, was approved Saturday by the Senate on a vote of 25-0. The bill was approved Wednesday by the House on a vote of 62-5, and moved through two Senate committees and the full Senate in three days. The proposal has been contentious for years, but compromises this year have earned it the endorsements of the oil and gas industry and ranchers. Under the compromise, the bill would protect landowners who don’t own the mineral rights below their land, which is common in New Mexico. Continue Reading

House conference committee bills to be heard today

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The House proposals to open legislative conference committees to the public, the last chance this session for such a change, are scheduled to be heard by a House committee today. House Bill 297, sponsored by State Rep. Joseph Cervantes, D-Las Cruces, and House Concurrent Resolution 1, sponsored by Majority Leader Ken Martinez, D-Grants, are scheduled to be heard by the Appropriations and Finance Committee this afternoon. If they’re approved there, the proposals go to the full House for a vote, and would then go to the Senate, which has twice killed similar proposals this session, each time by one vote. Cervantes’ proposal would amend the New Mexico Open Meetings Act to require that conference committees be open meetings, unless the House and Senate provide for exemptions in their joint rules. It specifically exempts caucus meetings and meetings of panels investigating ethical conduct of members. Continue Reading

Most voters in poll say state government is corrupt

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The vast majority of those who voted in last week’s non-scientific poll on this site think state government in New Mexico is corrupt. Of 150 voters, 67, or 45 percent, said state government is very corrupt, while 47, or 31 percent, said it’s somewhat corrupt. That adds up to 76 percent of those who voted. Ten voters, or 7 percent, said state government is neither ethical nor corrupt, while 23 voters, or 15 percent, said it’s somewhat ethical, and three voters, or 2 percent, said it’s very ethical. Don’t forget to vote in this week’s poll, located at the top of the right column on this page. Continue Reading

Committee tables housing authority overhaul bill after Lujan privately speaks to members during hearing

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A bill that would remake the state’s troubled affordable housing system was tabled by a House committee today, but a second bill that’s already been approved by the Senate remains alive. House Bill 997, sponsored by Rep. Janice Arnold-Jones, R-Albuquerque, was tabled by the House Business and Industry Committee on a vote of 6-5 this afternoon. Six Democrats voted to table. Four Republicans and Rep. Dona Irwin, D-Deming, voted against the motion. The bill’s demise came after Speaker of the House Ben Lujan, D-Nambé, entered the committee room during the hearing and spoke privately with the committee’s chair, Rep. Debbie Rodella, D-Ohkay Owingeh, and freshman Rep. Thomas Garcia, D-Ocate, sources tell me. Continue Reading

Domenici admits call but says there was no pressure

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U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici has admitted calling former U.S. Attorney David Iglesias “late last year” to ask about the status of a pending public corruption probe, but said he did not pressure him to speed indictments. Domenici released the statement after several days of refusing to comment on Iglesias’ allegations that two members of Congress called him shortly before the November 2006 election and tried to pressure him to speed indictments in order to sway voters. The case involves an alleged kickback scheme related to the construction of government buildings in Bernalillo County, and could implicate some high-level Democrats. “My call had been preceded by months of extensive media reports about acknowledged investigations into courthouse construction, including public comments from the FBI that it had completed its work months earlier, and a growing number of inquiries from constituents,” Domenici said. “I asked Mr. Iglesias if he could tell me what was going on in that investigation and give me an idea of what timeframe we were looking at. Continue Reading

Madrid says Domenici and Wilson may have also interfered in probe of state treasurer scandal

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October 2006 was a rough month for U.S. Rep. Heather Wilson, R-N.M. The situation was becoming desperate in her re-election campaign against Democratic challenger Patricia Madrid, at the time the state’s attorney general. Following Madrid’s gains in the polls throughout September, on Oct. 4 the first of three polls by national companies found that Madrid had taken the lead in the race. The third came out on Oct. 17. Continue Reading

Governor signs controversial capital outlay bill

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Gov. Bill Richardson has signed a bill that would restore capital outlay money he vetoed in 2006. Senate Bill 710, sponsored by Michael Sanchez, D-Belen, provides $82 million for capital outlay projects around the state, including $27 million for Senate projects, $26 million for House projects and $29 million for the governor’s projects. The bill was controversial because it was an attempt by the Senate to overturn the governor’s veto without actually going through the formal process, making it more like a bargaining chip. Richardson said he would sign the bill once some of his proposals were approved, but his bills have moved more slowly than he wanted. On Thursday, he signed the bill anyway, the Associated Press reported. Continue Reading

Secret negotiations likely on minimum wage increase

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It’s likely that attempts to work out a compromise on the particulars of raising the state’s minimum wage will be made in secret. The House approved on Thursday a different version of the proposal than the one already approved by the Senate, which will be asked to concur with the House version. The Senate president says that’s not likely. If he’s right, the dispute will be debated in a secret conference committee – the same place where the proposal died last year. The bill in question is Senate Bill 324, sponsored by Senate President Pro Tem Ben Altamirano, D-Silver City, but there are now two significantly different versions. Continue Reading