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Sen. Griego hospitalized with pneumonia

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Sen. Phil Griego, D-San Jose, has been hospitalized for pneumonia and dehydration, the Santa Fe New Mexican is reporting. Griego is a champion of support for acequias and chairs the Conservation Committee. He might be best known in Doña Ana County for his opposition to the ban on cockfighting sponsored by Sen. Mary Jane Garcia, D-Doña Ana. It’s that time in the session when sickness sets in. Lawmakers move at a frantic pace in the last 2-3 weeks of a 60-day session. Continue Reading

House votes to open conference committees

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On a vote of 53-5, the House has just passed a bill that would open legislative conference committees to the public. With 10 days remaining in the session, House Bill 297, sponsored by State Rep. Joseph Cervantes, D-Las Cruces, now heads to the Senate, which has twice killed similar proposals by one vote this session. The House is set to vote later today on a second but different proposal to open conference committees, House Concurrent Resolution 1, sponsored by Majority Leader Ken Martinez, D-Grants. 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

The gloves are off: Domenici attacked by colleagues

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There was a sense of solemnity on Tuesday when members of the Senate Judiciary Committee discussed allegations that a colleague, Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., may have violated ethical rules by pressuring a prosecutor to speed a public corruption probe. That mood appears to be gone. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y. and the chair of Tuesday’s hearing, made reference at the meeting to the fact that some of the issues would be difficult to discuss because they involved Domenici. He and the others pushed David Iglesias, the former U.S. attorney for New Mexico, to fully disclose the details of his conversation with Domenici, but they did so delicately. Today, however, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, which is chaired by Schumer, sent out a news release pointing to what could be interpreted as inconsistencies in Domenici’s statements about the matter and calling into question his honesty. Continue Reading

Denish pushes affordable housing overhaul proposal

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Lt. Gov. Diane Denish has come to the defense of a bill that would remake the state’s troubled affordable housing system, a proposal that appears to be on the chopping block. A series of events on Sunday and Monday led most to believe that Speaker of the House Ben Lujan and the House Business and Industry Committee are in the process of killing Senate Bill 519, sponsored by Sen. Mary Kay Papen, D-Las Cruces. Denish, according to the Santa Fe New Mexican, met with members of the committee on Tuesday, and said they were receptive to her pleas for the bill. However, she said, “I didn’t get a commitment from the committee chair to hear the bill soon.” The chair, Rep. Debbie Rodella, D-Ohkay Owingeh, refused to speak to the newspaper, saying she was too busy. The bill, which Papen is carrying for the governor, would shut down the state’s scandal-plagued regional housing authorities and replace them with a system overseen by the New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority, whose board Denish chairs. Continue Reading

Iglesias reveals political motivation, but the truth might still mean censures for Wilson and Domenici

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It was clear during a lengthy day of testimony today that politics are at play in the investigation into the firing of eight U.S. attorneys, but there are also serious allegations being probed. Those made by David Iglesias, the former U.S. attorney for New Mexico, are among the most grave. Politics aside, one thing seems clear: Regardless of which versions of October phone calls are closer to the truth, the two members of Congress who called Iglesias to inquire about a pending public corruption probe could be guilty of ethics violations that might earn them censures. As it did Monday in the case of Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington filed a complaint today against Rep. Heather Wilson, R-N.M. It asked the House Committee on Standards for Ethical Conduct to investigate whether her call to Iglesias violated ethics rules. Many analysts say Congressional rules prevent direct contact with prosecutors about pending cases, even if no pressure is applied. Continue Reading

Former LCPS workers sue, claim they were forced out

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Two former top administrators of the Las Cruces Public Schools have filed lawsuits alleging they were improperly forced out last year by former Superintendent Sonia Diaz, who they claim was acting on behalf of the school board. Former Chief Financial Officer Jack Jenkins and former Chief Operations Officer Jerry Laws allege interference with and breach of their contracts and intentional infliction of emotional distress. They are seeking damages that include compensation for medical and psychological effects, lost wages and other benefits, damage to reputation and attorney fees. The lawsuits were filed Wednesday in the Third Judicial District Court in Las Cruces by the attorney for Jenkins and Laws, Lawrence Pickett. Read Jenkins’ complaint by clicking here and Laws’ by clicking here. Continue Reading

House panel begins hearing on fired U.S. attorneys

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The House Judiciary Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law is about to begin its hearings on the fired U.S. attorneys. You can watch live by clicking here. I’m not going to post updates on this hearing as frequently as I did during the Senate hearing, but will report any new information and specifics about testimony provided by David Iglesias, the former U.S. attorney for New Mexico. Scroll down to read about this mornings’ Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. Update, 12:45 p.m. The House subcommittee hearing is on a bill that would repeal a provision of the Patriot Act that wasn’t known by most until the U.S. attorney scandal erupted. Continue Reading

Panel OKs bills to open conference committees

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A House committee approved Tuesday two proposals to open legislative conference committees to the public. Members of the Appropriations and Finance Committee voted unanimously to send both bills to the House floor. House Concurrent Resolution 1, sponsored by Majority Leader Ken Martinez, D-Grants, was approved without controversy. House Bill 297, sponsored by State Rep. Joseph Cervantes, D-Las Cruces, was approved after a motion to table it failed. Democratic Reps. Continue Reading

Committee holds hearing on fired U.S. attorneys

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I began coverage at 8 a.m. of this hearing, and updated the posting frequently as the hearing progressed. Below is a fairly chronological account of what happened. I’ll also be covering a House subcommittee hearing later today and will have analysis of the situation this evening or tomorrow morning. The Senate Judiciary Committee is about to begin its hearing on the Bush Administration’s firing of eight U.S. attorneys, including the former head of the New Mexico office, David Iglesias. You’ll be able to watch it live on C-SPAN 3 by clicking here. Continue Reading

Spaceport tax election early voting starts today

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Today is the first day of early voting in the Doña Ana County spaceport tax election and the last day to register to vote in the election. Early voting will be only at the Doña Ana County Government Center, 845 N. Motel Boulevard in Las Cruces, weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The site will also be open on the Saturday before the April 3 election. At issue is a 1/4 percent gross receipts tax increase that will help fund Spaceport America. A decision by the county commission last week means about 75 polling places will be open on Election Day – the same number open for the November 2006 general election. For more information, call the Bureau of Elections at (505) 647-7428. Continue Reading

Lujan says he isn’t trying to kill housing proposal

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Speaker of the House Ben Lujan, D-Nambé, said he isn’t trying to kill a proposal that would remake the state’s troubled affordable housing system.Those who claim otherwise, he said, are mistaken, and my articles on the topic have been “out of line.” On Sunday, House Bill 997, sponsored by Rep. Janice Arnold-Jones, R-Albuquerque, was tabled on a vote of 6-5 by the House Business and Industry Committee. Six Democrats on the committee voted in favor of tabling after Lujan spoke privately with at least two of them during the bill’s public hearing. Then on Monday, Lujan moved Senate Bill 519, sponsored by Sen. Mary Kay Papen, D-Las Cruces, off the House Judiciary Committee calendar and assigned it to the same committee that tabled Arnold-Jones’ bill a day earlier. In an interview conducted Monday evening, Lujan asserted that he had no influence on the votes of members of the Business and Industry Committee. He said he was at Sunday’s committee meeting only because he had his own bill to present – House Bill 924, which would make “Christmas” the state’s “official answer” and was approved on an 11-0 vote. Continue Reading

Wilson admits calling Iglesias, denies pressuring him

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Rep. Heather Wilson, R-N.M., admitted tonight that she called former U.S. Attorney David Iglesias in October to complain about the speed of public corruption scandals, but says she didn’t pressure Iglesias to issue indictments. She joins Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., in admitting to the call and has a similar explanation for how it happened. The statement was released to the Washington Post hours before Iglesias is set to testify about allegations that the two members of Congress tried to pressure him to speed indictments in a massive public corruption probe in time to sway voters in the November 2006 election. The Post also reported that the Senate Ethics Committee has begun a “preliminary inquiry” into the allegations against Domenici. Wilson, the Post reported, denied the allegations made by Iglesias. Continue Reading

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