Subpoena seeks records from guv’s nonprofit

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Gov. Bill Richardson’s nonprofit foundation has until Feb. 19 to release a list of donors and other information to a man who has alleged a pay-to-pay scheme involving the Richardson administration in a lawsuit filed on behalf of the state, unless a subpoena that was filed today is quashed. Frank Foy has issued a subpoena demanding that the foundation to release the records, his attorney announced today in a news release. Foy’s lawsuit alleges that the state lost $90 million in investment deals made in exchange for a little more than $15,000 in contributions to Richardson’s 2008 presidential campaign. Donors have been able to secretly give to the Moving America Forward Foundation because it’s a nonprofit. Continue Reading

Freshman Dem takes on pay-to-play culture

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Keller’s is one of at least three bills in the Legislature that would ban or require the disclosure of campaign contributions from state contractors. Freshman Sen. Tim Keller has introduced a bill that would ban the type of activity at the base of pay-to-play controversies surrounding the leader of his own political party, Gov. Bill Richardson. Senate Bill 258, sponsored by the Albuquerque Democrat, is one of at least three bills introduced in the Legislature that would ban state contractors from contributing to candidates for statewide offices or at least require disclosure of such contributions. Keller announced the introduction of his bill on Wednesday in a news release and at a public event. “This bill is very cut and dry — if you are a contractor, you cannot contribute to candidates who may be responsible for hiring your firm,” Keller said at a news conference, according to a Wednesday news release. Continue Reading

Senate debate doesn’t resolve webcasting issue

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The New Mexico Senate had a passionate debate but ultimately took no action today on the issue of webcasting its proceedings. The debate began during consideration of a bill that would address this year’s budget shortfall when Sen. Mark Boitano, R-Albuquerque, proposed an amendment that would have appropriated $7,000 for the purpose of setting up a Web site to broadcast Senate proceedings over the Internet. The Senate has already spent more than $30,000 to purchase the necessary equipment and installed it, but legislative leaders had the equipment taken down recently, arguing that the budget crunch prevented any further expenditures for webcasting. Ultimately, Boitano withdrew his amendment after others stressed the need to approve the emergency budget fix without a controversial issue bogging it down. That was preceded, however, by an interesting debate. Continue Reading

A great article on NM’s freshmen in D.C.

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Want to see how New Mexico’s three new members of the U.S. House are settling in? Check out today’s fantastic article from Gwyneth Doland of the New Mexico Independent. The article is packed with interesting observations and blunt, witty commentary. Check out this portion from her interview with the 3rd District’s Ben Ray Luján: “He is a quick thinker, adept at responding to questions with answers that sound as polished as those in his press releases. Unfortunately, that means he’s also hard to quote … because everything he says sounds like a press release,” Doland wrote. Continue Reading

Guv says report about special envoy job is false

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A spokesman for Gov. Bill Richardson says a report that the governor might be tapped for a special envoy job in the Obama administration is false. “It’s not true. The governor is not interested, and he hasn’t discussed it with anyone,” spokesman Pahl Shipley said this evening. The report from U.S.-run Radio Free Asia and relayed by the Korea Herald in South Korea states that the Obama administration is considering making Richardson a special envoy assigned to deal with the issue of North Korea’s nuclear weapons program. The report said former U.S. Ambassador to Korea Stephen Bosworth is also under consideration for the job. Continue Reading

Cervantes proposes same-day voter registration

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State Rep. Joseph Cervantes introduced a bill today that would allow people to register to vote on Election Day in New Mexico. Under Cervantes’ House Bill 395 (which isn’t yet available online), New Mexico residents who are eligible to vote could register on Election Day at polling locations by showing photo identification and then vote immediately. Currently, the deadline in New Mexico to register and be eligible to vote in an election is weeks before Election Day. “Unfortunately, the history of voter registration in the United States is a history of exclusion,” Cervantes said in a news release. “We have made great strides in providing access to all Americans to vote, and this bill is another step in ensuring that New Mexicans have every opportunity to participate in the electoral process. Continue Reading

Should an ethics panel have subpoena power?

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Supporters of creating a state ethics commission want it to have that critical investigatory tool, but some fear the legislation may not have a chance at approval unless that authority is instead given to the attorney general. Can a state ethics commission be truly independent if it has to ask the attorney general for help when it wants to conduct an investigation? That’s the question public officials and activists are grappling with as they try to find a way to gain approval of the creation of such a commission from a Legislature that is skeptical of the proposal. At least 36 states have ethics commissions that have subpoena power, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. But proposals to create an independent, nonpartisan ethics commission in New Mexico have fallen short in recent years despite the support of the governor and other political leaders. Continue Reading

Domestic partner benefits hearing to be webcast

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This article has been updated. Two New Mexico Senate committees will meet together this afternoon to discuss whether to grant domestic partner benefits in New Mexico and consider an alternative plan from a GOP lawmaker. The good news for those who want to listen in but can’t travel to Santa Fe is that the joint meeting of the Judiciary and Public Affairs committees will be webcast by KUNM-FM. Jim Williams, the station’s news director, confirmed that audio of the hearing will be webcast. The hearing is tentatively scheduled to begin at 2:30 p.m., but the schedule in Santa Fe is so loose that the time could easily be moved. Continue Reading

Another day, another newspaper casualty

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I wrote recently that the economic downturn was going to push a newspaper industry that was already struggling to the brink. In New Mexico, there’s another casualty. The Las Vegas Optic announced today that it’s going to end its “long history” as a daily and begin publishing only three days a week starting March 2. The Monday-Friday paper, which has published since 1879, will become a Monday, Wednesday and Friday paper. “Economic circumstances necessitate the change. Continue Reading

A Domenici photo essay that’s worth a look

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Mark Bralley has posted a photo essay on his blog containing nearly 100 images recapping the long and distinguished career of former U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici. Included in the essay are some fantastic photographs going back to Domenici’s early days as an Albuquerque city commissioner. Some of the photos are more intimate, while others capture some fascinating political moments. It’s really worth your time. Check it out on Bralley’s blog — What’s Wrong With This Picture? Continue Reading

House subcommittee to study webcasting

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The House Rules and Order of Business Committee decided today to create a subcommittee to study the issue of whether to allow webcasting of House proceedings. The vote to do that followed discussion of House Resolution 2, a proposal from Majority Leader Ken Martinez, D-Grants, and Minority Leader Tom Taylor, R-Farmington, that would explicitly allow webcasting of committee meetings — but only if the chair of the committee in question allows it. The Rules Committee gave no timetable for its subcommittee to report back on webcasting, so the move effectively stops the Martinez/Taylor bill in its tracks for the time being. The move comes after Rep. Janice Arnold-Jones webcast live audio and video from the House Taxation and Revenue Committee on Monday. Today’s creation of the subcommittee, according to The Santa Fe New Mexican’s Kate Nash, came after an hour of debate, with some members arguing that webcasting creates openness and others saying the video could be used for political purposes. Continue Reading

KUNM webcasting live from the Senate floor

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This article has been updated. KUNM-FM is webcasting audio live from the floor of the New Mexico Senate right now. Click here to listen to the audio feed. It’s the next step in the push for video and audio webcasting from the House and Senate — something Democratic and Republican leaders in both chambers have rejected for years. A posting on the radio station’s Web site explains the reason for the audio webcast: “New Mexico remains one of only five states that do not offer some type of webcasting of legislative proceedings,” the posting states. Continue Reading

Arnold-Jones allowed to webcast meeting

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State Rep. Janice Arnold-Jones was asked to stop webcasting live from the House Taxation and Revenue Committee this afternoon, but no one forced her to turn off her camera, and she rejected the request. As a result, Arnold-Jones successfully webcast today the first of several House committee meetings she plans to broadcast live over the Internet each week during the 60-day legislative session that’s underway. It was committee Chairman Edward Sandoval, R-Albuquerque, who twice made the request to Arnold-Jones at the start of this afternoon’s meeting to turn off her camera. He did so in the context of informing Arnold-Jones of House rules that might be pertinent to her rogue attempt to bring greater transparency to the House, but Sandoval said he isn’t opposed to greater transparency. “This is probably something that is the future of legislatures and government as technology progresses. Continue Reading

AG’s stance on conference committees is wrong

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Speed is more important than transparency? Even considering the scandal-plagued culture in Santa Fe? You’ve got to be kidding me. Once upon a time, a newly elected New Mexico attorney general named Gary King told me he wasn’t going to jump into the fight over whether legislative conference committees should be open to the public. King said during an interview in February 2007, a little more than a month after he took office, that he had no position on whether conference committees should be open to the public because it’s a legislative, not an executive, issue. Continue Reading

Webcasting revolution begins this afternoon

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When the House Taxation and Revenue Committee meets this afternoon, we’ll learn whether Speaker Ben Lujan and other House leaders are ready to enter the 21st Century and allow more openness. That’s when Rep. Janice Arnold-Jones, R-Albuquerque, plans to initiate her own webcast of the meeting, armed only with a laptop and webcam. The idea was born out of her frustration at the Legislature’s refusal to begin its own webcasting. The committee is scheduled to meet at 1:30 p.m., but the Legislature is notoriously loose with its schedule. The committee meeting could start later, especially since the House convened later than planned this morning. Continue Reading