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If the Senate won’t start webcasting, this guy will…

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Blogger, photographer and videographer Mark Bralley has some insightful observations in a new posting about webcasting on his blog, but there’s also a big piece of news: If the Senate doesn’t start official audio and video webcasting, he’s going to do it for them. In writing about the “poison pill” amendments added to the Senate webcasting proposal this weekend by John Sapien, D-Corrales, Bralley had this to say: “Sapien and those who do not want video webcasting, are going to get it anyway,” he wrote. “The defeat of a reasonable bill will become a full employment act for video webcasting. Next year, instead of attending college classes, I will be lugging my video equipment to the Senate press box and provide webcast coverage of the floor.” That won’t necessarily be something senators will like, as Bralley points out. He makes his own editorial decisions. Continue Reading

Balderas expands audit of State Land Office

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Auditor won’t say what information led his office to consider whether there has been wrongdoing related to the land office’s dealings. Meanwhile, related legislation passes the House. State Auditor Hector Balderas has decided to expand his special audit of the New Mexico Land Office beyond reviewing policies and procedures to also consider whether there has been any wrongdoing in the office’s dealings related to state trust land. “New Mexico has been plagued with recent scandals that have exposed fraud, waste and abuse at every level of government,” Balderas said today in a news release. “We have come across information during our special audit of the land office that compels us to expand the scope.” The news release stated that the auditor had identified “areas of risk” that will be reviewed, including “related-party transactions,” “instances of financial benefit in exchange for land transactions” and “transactions executed between government employees and officials.” “My goal is to determine whether or not there was misappropriation and mismanagement of New Mexico’s trust lands that harms New Mexico taxpayers,” Balderas said in the release. Continue Reading

Feldman leaps over hurdle on conference committees

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Sen. Dede Feldman, D-Albuquerque, will try a procedural move on Thursday to push through legislation that would open conference committees and other legislative meetings to the public. With the proposal languishing in the Senate Rules Committee, Feldman hopes to bring the bill to the Senate floor for a vote by bypassing the Rules Committee and hearing the proposal instead in the Senate Public Affairs Committee, which she chairs, a source with knowledge of the situation confirmed. Feldman will make that happen using what is called a “dummy bill” — one that contains no actual legislation but is introduced before the deadline for new bills passes so it can later be replaced with a committee substitute. Feldman’s dummy bill is Senate Bill 737, and it was assigned only to her committee, so if she can convince the committee to accept the substitute bill on Thursday, the legislation will move directly to the Senate floor. There it would have to be scheduled for a vote by Majority Leader Michael Sanchez, D-Belen and an opponent of open conference committees. Continue Reading

Hyde takes issue with Jennings’ accusation

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The cabinet secretary for the New Mexico Human Services Department (HSD) is taking issue with the Senate president’s assertion that she hasn’t been honest with lawmakers. Sen. Tim Jennings’ Monday accusation was “totally inappropriate” and “a personal attack that should not be tolerated,” Pamela Hyde wrote in a letter she sent to members of the Senate Rules Committee late Tuesday. “I am disappointed in his comments and even more disappointed that he would make such comments without having ever asked to talk with me specifically about his concerns,” she wrote in the letter. It was during a Rules Committee hearing on the confirmation of Taxation and Revenue Secretary Rick Homans that Jennings asserted that the HSD secretary had not been honest with the Legislature. He said, in response to Hyde’s dishonesty, he would begin asking every secretary who came up for confirmation, starting with Homans, for a promise to be honest even if it would cost them their jobs. Continue Reading

Senators propose webcasting compromise

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This article has been updated.Two senators introduced compromise webcasting legislation late Tuesday, keeping alive the hopes that live audio and video of the Senate’s proceedings could become available online before the end of the session. Senate Resolution 4, sponsored by Mark Boitano, R-Albuquerque, and John Sapien, D-Corrales, must pass the Senate Rules Committee before it reaches the Senate floor. Boitano said in an interview he expects that to happen by Friday. The resolution isn’t yet available online, but Boitano said it adopts, with a few tweaks, amendments Sapien proposed to Boitano’s first webcasting resolution, Senate Resolution 3, which led to the legislation being left in limbo on the Senate floor on Saturday. The Rules Committee had already approved SR3, which would have implemented webcasting utilizing three cameras. Continue Reading

An opportunity to change our schools

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By Rep. Larry Larrañaga The Legislature’s ongoing debate about whether the state should adopt a new public school funding formula, and increase taxes to pay for it, has failed to address the most important issue facing New Mexico’s educational system — how to improve accountability and educational results. While there is a fierce lobbying effort underway to enact a $350-million annual tax increase because proponents claim schools need more money, many policymakers and taxpayers are asking a key question that must be answered before any tax increase is approved. The question is, since state funding for education has already increased by 57 percent over the last eight years, have statewide student performance and graduation rates increased significantly? Unfortunately, the answer is no. In turn, I believe most New Mexicans recognize that in order to improve our state’s educational system, more money is not the solution. Continue Reading

DOT: Lujan’s illegal billboard must come down

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The New Mexico Department of Transportation says House Speaker Ben Lujan has been maintaining an illegal billboard for years on land he owns and has ordered him to take it down, The Santa Fe New Mexican is reporting. In a story authored by reporter Kate Nash, the newspaper reports on a letter the department sent to the speaker stating that it “has determined that the billboard structure is non-conforming and illegal and was maintained in violation of the outdoor advertising statute and regulations.” The letter states that the billboard must be removed in advance of an upcoming highway project along U.S. 84/285 near Pojoaque. “Nobody had ever notified me that there’s even a permit required in all these years that it’s been there,” the newspaper quoted Lujan as saying. He added that he will talk to his lawyer and respond to the department’s letter. Continue Reading

Meet the House’s webcasting heroes

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This article has been updated.You’ve heard a lot about them, and maybe you’ve watched their webcasts of House committee hearings. But how often do you get to see the webcasting heroes of this session in action? Here they are. First is Rep. Janice Arnold-Jones, R-Albuquerque and the woman whose courage started the webcasting movement in the Legislature. Here she is in action this morning, webcasting live from a meeting of the Voters and Elections Committee. Continue Reading

Sanchez blames Boitano for webcasting debacle

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The Senate didn’t vote today on whether to allow live webcasting of audio and video of its proceedings, and Majority Leader Michael Sanchez appeared to blame the sponsor of the bill that would allow webcasting for its possible failure. On Saturday, The Senate accepted two amendments to Senate Resolution 3, sponsored by Mark Boitano, R-Albuquerque, ensuring that it needs an unlikely two-thirds vote of approval to pass, instead of the simple majority it would have needed had it not been amended. The amendments, proposed by Sen. John Sapien, D-Corrales, restrict allowable camera angles and create an oversight body to handle webcasting. It’s not clear when the Senate will vote on the bill, but it’s essentially up to Sanchez. During today’s meeting of the Senate Rules Committee, Sanchez, a webcasting opponent, said he wanted to “remind the committee” that, when it considered Boitano’s resolution, Sanchez brought up the fact that Sapien would be proposing amendments. Continue Reading

Erasing criminal pasts is a bad idea

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By Michael Corwin Women could be shot dead in cold blood because some legislators think that giving convicted criminals the legal authority to lie about their criminal pasts and conceal the facts of their crimes from public scrutiny is more important than public safety. To prevent this from happening, New Mexico’s legislators should vote no on criminal record expungement bills sponsored Antonio “Moe” Maestas (House Bill 866) and Michael Sanchez (Senate Bill 649). Failing that, Gov. Bill Richardson should wield his mighty veto pen and end this misguided legislation. Domestic abuse and murder in NM The New Mexico Female Intimate Partner Violence Death Review Team was established in 1997 “to review female homicide deaths that resulted from intimate partner violence against women.” Each year, the team publishes its findings in a publication called “Getting Away with Murder.” The study clearly shows the dangers to women involved in relationships with domestic abusers. Almost two-thirds (63 percent) of New Mexico women murdered each year by an intimate partner died from gunshot wounds. Continue Reading

House OKs title insurance reform

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Title insurance reform is an issue that many in New Mexico have been working on for years, and one that gained some momentum on Friday when it was approved on a vote of 59-0 by the House. The Business and Industry Committee substitute for House bills 488 and 357, sponsored by House Speaker Ben Lujan, D-Nambé, now heads to the Senate. “Friday’s unanimous, bipartisan vote in favor of the speaker’s bill is a big step toward lowering title insurance costs for homebuyers and homeowners seeking to refinance a mortgage. It is especially urgent given this challenging economic environment,” said Fred Nathan, executive director of Think New Mexico, which has led the charge for title insurance reform. New Mexico has the eighth-highest closing costs in the nation. Continue Reading

Jennings’ strong words heat up hearing

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There was a somewhat contentious exchange in the Senate Rules Committee today when Senate President Pro Tem Tim Jennings demanded that a cabinet secretary promise to always tell the Legislature the truth even if it would cost him his job. Legislators have complained in the past that some cabinet secretaries in the Richardson administration have been dishonest or, at least, not forthcoming with information. Rick Homans was before the committee today to be confirmed as head of the Taxation and Revenue Department. Homans has been running the department on an interim basis for months. Jennings spoke at length about what he said was a lack of honesty by some cabinet secretaries, and specifically mentioned the secretary of the Human Services Department. Continue Reading

Housing audits ‘didn’t uncover all of the facts’

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As most of the state’s affordable housing system headed toward a scandalous collapse, Meyners + Company audits gave the housing authorities clean bills of health. Why the discrepancy between the audits and reality? Five independent audits of the state’s affordable housing system turned up none of the widespread problems that led to its scandalous and nearly total collapse in 2006, a review of public documents reveals. The five audits, completed by the firm Meyners + Company, didn’t flag any of the major problems that preceded the Albuquerque-based Region III Housing Authority’s default on $5 million in bonds it owed the state. Meyners’ attorney says the company became aware of problems in early 2006, but by the time Meyners says it first notified the state auditor in writing of troubles on May 31, 2006, two newspapers had already reported on alleged misconduct and the attorney general was investigating possible fraud. Continue Reading