Senate tempers flare; House Dems meet in secret

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Tempers are flaring in the Senate, but the rest of the Roundhouse is eerily quiet today as House Democrats continue a secret caucus meeting that has lasted more than two hours already. A few moments ago, during a debate of a bill relating to the U.S. Border Patrol, Sens. Joe Carraro, R-Albuquerque, and Michael Sanchez, D-Belen, got into it. I wasn’t there to witness it (a sergeant-at-arms for some reason locked the door to the Senate media gallery and kept me out) but apparently Carraro threw a fit after Sanchez called him a liar. Lt. Gov. Diane Denish had to call the sergeant-at-arms and threaten to remove Carraro. Continue Reading

Opponents might be swayed on housing overhaul bill

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The House Business and Industry Committee didn’t take up this morning a bill that would remake the state’s troubled housing authority system, but shortly after the meeting, two committee members who have previously opposed the proposal said they might be willing to change their minds. The committee plans to meet again later today. Senate Bill 519, sponsored by Sen. Mary Kay Papen, D-Las Cruces, would fund an investigation to determine the extent of mismanagement that led to the housing authority system crumbling in scandal last year, and would also replace the authorities with a new system overseen by the New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority. The committee recessed at about 9:30 a.m. so its Democratic members could attend a caucus meeting. Before the caucus meeting started, Papen spoke with the committee’s vice-chair, Rep. George Hanosh, D-Grants, and asked him to consider changing his vote. Continue Reading

Foley says he has the votes to blast out housing bill

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House Minority Whip Dan Foley, R-Roswell, says House Republicans have enough votes to blast a bill that would remake the state’s troubled housing authority system out of the Business and Industry Committee if its members don’t OK the proposal when they meet at 8:30 a.m. Friday morning. Senate Bill 519, sponsored by Sen. Mary Kay Papen, D-Las Cruces, would fund an investigation to determine the extent of mismanagement that led to the housing authority system crumbling in scandal last year, and would also replace the authorities with a new system overseen by the New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority. The committee earlier killed its mirror bill, House Bill 997, sponsored by Rep. Janice Arnold-Jones, R-Albuquerque, and has left Papen’s bill in limbo, but Foley noted that a number of Democrats, including Speaker of the House Ben Lujan and the committee’s chair, Rep. Debbie Rodella, D-Ohkay Owingeh, signed on to Arnold-Jones’ bill before the committee killed it. It would take all Republicans and eight House Democrats to bring the bill out of committee and to the House floor. “Judging by the number of Democrats who signed on to House Bill 997, we believe we have ample votes to bring it to the House floor if we have to,” Foley said this evening. Continue Reading

Richardson leaves capital outlay bill intact

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Gov. Bill Richardson left intact a $622-million capital outlay package approved by lawmakers in signing it this evening. The decision to not veto any funding in the bill might offset some of the vetoes I wrote about earlier this evening that might upset some lawmakers. Richardson did chop some words from funding items, but left the funding intact. “I have signed this capital outlay package without any vetoes as a sign of good will, and I urge the Legislature to move quickly to pass the remaining priorities, including minimum wage, tax cuts, ethics reform, GRIP II and the housing authority reform bill,” Richardson said in a news release. Here’s a copy of the governor’s message to the Senate: March 15, 2007 SENATE EXECUTIVE MESSAGE NO. Continue Reading

Committee won’t hear housing overhaul bill tonight

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Following a day of tense negotiations in which it appeared at one point a deal might have been struck, the House Business and Industry Committee won’t meet tonight to reconsider approval of a bill that would remake the state’s troubled housing authority system. Senate Bill 519, sponsored by Sen. Mary Kay Papen, D-Las Cruces, might still be heard when the committee meets Friday morning. But House Republicans and others who are pushing the proposal are growing increasingly frustrated. Earlier today, they were told the committee would hear the bill tonight. Talk of blasting the bill out of committee is becoming louder, and lobbying for the votes to do it has been heavy. Continue Reading

Richardson vetoes might lead to override attempt

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Gov. Bill Richardson signed today the state’s $5.6 billion budget, but not before vetoing about $57 million in spending. You can read the version of the budget submitted by Richardson today by clicking here. Lawmakers have until noon on Saturday to override his vetoes. Richardson returned from a presidential-campaign trip to the East Coast late Wednesday, and sources say he worked through the night on the budget. It was submitted to the secretary of state’s office at 6:57 a.m. – not long before it would have taken effect without his signature. Continue Reading

GOP lawyer: Iglesias failed to probe voter fraud claim

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A lawyer representing U.S. Rep. Heather Wilson, R-N.M., asked former U.S. Attorney David Iglesias last year to investigate allegations that a Bernalillo County elections worker added fraudulent ballots that benefited the congresswoman’s re-election bid. Iglesias did nothing with the allegations, Wilson’s attorney, Patrick J. Rogers, said. If that’s true, it could be interpreted, in light of other complaints about failed investigations and prosecutions, to suggest that Iglesias was ineffective as U.S. attorney, and could be used to bolster defense of his ouster. It could also be interpreted as evidence that Iglesias ignored the allegations because they involved a fellow Republican and someone who he considered, at the time, a friend. In a Nov. Continue Reading

Richardson optimistic about some ethics bills

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Gov. Bill Richardson says he’s optimistic that four of his ethics reform proposals will be approved before the end of the session. He said at a news conference today that he is most optimistic about three proposals: • Limitations on gifts. Senate Bill 931, sponsored by John Grubesic, D-Santa Fe, and House Bill 819, sponsored by Rep. Gail Chasey, D-Albuquerque, have passed their own chambers but are awaiting approval in the other. • Campaign contribution limits. The Senate has approved Senate Bill 800, sponsored by Sen. Dede Feldman, D-Albuquerque, which places limits on campaign contributions to candidates for offices and political action committees. Continue Reading

Richardson signs whistleblower protection bill

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Gov. Bill Richardson signed today a bill that would give citizens, including government employees, protection and incentive to expose government officials and contractors who defraud taxpayers. “This bill sends a strong message to those who would try to cheat the taxpayers and the state of their money,” Richardson said at today’s ceremony. “Crime doesn’t pay.” House Bill 770, sponsored by Rep. Joseph Cervantes, D-Las Cruces, protects those who opt to sue the state in an attempt to expose government corruption. Such a lawsuit, when filed, would remain sealed and would be presented to the state agency with authority to prosecute or file civil suit – the attorney general or district attorney, in most instances. Under the provisions in the bill, the agency could prosecute or sue, and the citizen would be compensated. Continue Reading

Heavy negotiating could resurrect housing bill

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House Republicans, the lieutenant governor and others are putting heavy pressure on Speaker of the House Ben Lujan to allow approval of a bill that would remake the state’s troubled housing authority system. In the meantime, Senate Bill 519, sponsored by Sen. Mary Kay Papen, D-Las Cruces, remains in limbo in the House Business and Industry Committee. At this point, all options are on the table, and there’s a lot of uncertainty. House Republicans spent much of Wednesday evening working on getting commitments that at least eight House Democrats would vote with them to bring the bill directly to the House floor for debate. I’m told several have agreed, but the exact number isn’t certain. Continue Reading

Ethics reform bills slowly progressing as time runs out

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It looks like the push to approve a series of ethics reform bills will come down to the wire. On Monday, the Senate approved Senate Bill 931, sponsored by John Grubesic, D-Santa Fe, which would place limits on gifts to elected officials and candidates. On Tuesday, it approved Senate Bill 800, sponsored by Sen. Dede Feldman, D-Albuquerque, which places lifts on campaign contributions to candidates for offices and political action committees. But the two bills haven’t yet made their way on to the calendar in the House, and the Senate hasn’t approved any other bills – House or Senate versions – in the ethics reform package. However, three House ethics bills are on the Senate calendar today, along with 112 other bills. Continue Reading

Bush defends Gonzales, but says he’s ‘not happy’

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President George W. Bush says he is troubled that the Justice Department misled Congress on why it fired eight U.S. attorneys, but defended Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and said he will fix mistakes. “Mistakes were made, and I’m frankly not happy about them,” Bush told reporters at a news conference in Mexico, where he is visiting. “Any time anybody goes up to Capitol Hill, they’ve got to make sure they fully understand the facts and how they characterize the issue to members of Congress. And the fact that both Republicans and Democrats feel like there was not straightforward communication troubles me.” Bush also pointed out that Gonzales has apologized and taken responsibility for making mistakes. Gonzales has also refused calls for his resignation. Continue Reading

Richardson lays out plan for oil independence

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Gov. Bill Richardson outlined today his plan for weaning the United States off foreign oil if elected president. At an oil and gas conference in New York, Richardson, the keynote speaker, said he would, if elected president, set a goal of reducing oil imports by 40 percent, replacing liquid fuels with biofuels by 2025 and reducing greenhouse gasses by 75 percent by 2050, the Associated Press is reporting. He called foreign oil America’s “Achilles heel,” the news service reported. “Our ability to drain the swamps of terrorism depends in part on our political will to change how we produce, distribute and consume energy,” the news service quoted Richardson as saying. “In the West, it’s not just liberal college kids who ask what we are doing about global warming – it’s the conservative farmers and ranchers whose way of living is at risk.” Richardson is scheduled to participate in a presidential candidate forum sponsored by the International Association of Firefighters this afternoon in Washington, D.C., and will hold a fundraiser in Cleveland tonight before returning to Santa Fe to finish out the 2007 Legislature. Continue Reading

Denish wants reconsideration of housing overhaul

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Lt. Gov. Diane Denish isn’t happy that a proposal to overhaul the state’s troubled affordable housing system wasn’t approved Tuesday night by the House Business and Industry Committee. On a split 6-6 vote, the committee failed to take any action on Senate Bill 519, sponsored by Sen. Mary Kay Papen, D-Las Cruces, so it remains in limbo. The committee had previously tabled the House version, House Bill 997, sponsored by Rep. Janice Arnold-Jones, R-Albuquerque. The bills would fund an investigation to determine the extent of mismanagement that led to the system crumbling in scandal last year, and would also replace the authorities with a new system overseen by the New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority. “This legislation was drafted and introduced as part of the systemic ethics reform package I’ve been pushing hard for, and was a governor’s bill,” Denish said in a news release. Continue Reading

Committee OKs housing probe, but not restructuring

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A bill that would fund a widespread investigation into the problems with the state’s regional housing authority system was approved by members of the House Business and Industry Committee this evening, but another bill that would remake the state’s affordable housing system did not receive approval. House Bill 1321, sponsored by Minority Whip Dan Foley, R-Roswell, was approved unanimously after significant changes suggested by committee members were made. It must still be approved by two committees and the House before it can head to the Senate for consideration. With 3.5 days left in the session, that’s a rough road. On a vote of 6-6, the committee members couldn’t agree to either approve or table Senate Bill 519, sponsored by Sen. Mary Kay Papen, D-Las Cruces, so it remains in limbo. Continue Reading