{"id":2094,"date":"2007-08-13T16:42:00","date_gmt":"2007-08-13T22:42:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/2007\/08\/state-senator-calls-meeting-after-her-own-bar-cited-legislators-air-concerns-about-liquor-rules-and-laws\/"},"modified":"2007-08-13T16:42:00","modified_gmt":"2007-08-13T22:42:00","slug":"state-senator-calls-meeting-after-her-own-bar-cited-legislators-air-concerns-about-liquor-rules-and-laws","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2007\/08\/state-senator-calls-meeting-after-her-own-bar-cited-legislators-air-concerns-about-liquor-rules-and-laws\/","title":{"rendered":"State senator calls meeting after her own bar cited; legislators air concerns about liquor rules and laws"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>The enforcement and administration of liquor regulations and statutes is being questioned by a group of state lawmakers that includes a powerful senator whose Las Cruces<\/st1:city><\/st1:place> bar was recently cited for serving an intoxicated person. <\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

The concerns of more than 50 alcohol-industry representatives from around the state and several legislators were aired during a July 16 meeting in Mesilla that included harsh criticism of what some called \u201cGestapo\u201d tactics by the state agencies that enforce administrative rules and criminal laws governing bars. The meeting was called by Sen. Mary Jane Garcia<\/a>, D-Do\u00f1a Ana and the majority whip, and was held seven weeks after her bar, Victoria<\/st1:place><\/st1:state>\u2019s, was cited.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

The meeting, which included representatives of the state\u2019s regulation and licensing and public safety departments, was not announced to the public before it was held.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Garcia said her concerns have \u201cbeen ongoing for quite some time\u201d and have \u201cnothing to do with the citation for Victoria<\/st1:place><\/st1:state>\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

As a follow-up to the meeting, the Legislative Finance Committee<\/a> sent a letter<\/a> to the state\u2019s Alcohol and Gaming Division<\/a> last week stating that \u201cpublic concerns have generated questions from LFC members regarding the administration and enforcement of alcohol license regulations.\u201d The letter was written at the direction of Sen. John Arthur Smith<\/a>, D-Deming and chair of the LFC.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

In the letter, the LFC asks for fiscal-year 2007 data on the time it took to process liquor license applications, information about federal funds received by the Alcohol and Gaming Division and location-specific information about enforcement action during the 2007 fiscal year and alcohol-related investigations from the past two years.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

In addition to Garcia and Smith, the July 16 meeting was attended by Sens. Tim Jennings<\/a>, D-Roswell and Mary Kay Papen<\/a>, D-Las Cruces, and Reps. Joni Gutierrez<\/a>, D-Las Cruces and Candy Spence Ezzell<\/a>, R-Roswell. Several participants \u2013 most unwilling to speak on the record because of the politically sensitive nature of the topic \u2013 all said the meeting was colored by constant criticism of the enforcement and administration of the laws and regulations and included a number of stories told by people \u2013 including Garcia \u2013 who felt they or others had been treated unfairly.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Smith said that, in addition to requesting the information, he will place a review of the concerns on a future LFC meeting agenda, but he declined further comment. Sources said Smith is also scheduled to meet Tuesday with an official from the Richardson Administration to discuss the situation.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

New regulations have sparked changes<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

The situation has been growing increasingly contentious since the Richardson Administration approved new regulations<\/a> a year ago toughening penalties for serving minors and intoxicated people. Garcia and Gutierrez, whose brother owns a Las Cruces<\/st1:city><\/st1:place> restaurant that serves alcohol, were among the critics of the new rules.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Three Las Cruces<\/st1:city><\/st1:place> bars closed shortly after the new rules were adopted last year. Under the new rules the Regulation and Licensing Department is seeking the revocation of the license of a fourth, Hurricane Alley, charging that its overserving of a New Mexico<\/st1:placename> State<\/st1:placetype> University<\/st1:placetype><\/st1:place> student in 2004 contributed to his alcohol-poisoning death.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

A fifth Las Cruces<\/st1:city><\/st1:place> bar \u2013 the notorious Welcome Inn \u2013 is trying to sell its liquor license to Pic Quik Stores. To view the application for a transfer, which was filed May 4, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

The owners of the Welcome Inn \u2013 Garcia\u2019s brother-in-law and nephew \u2013 were indicted in 1999 in a racketeering case that quickly turned political. While other defendants pleaded guilty to lesser charges, Miguel O. \u201cMike\u201d Gonzales and his son, Michael Gonzales Jr., disputed allegations that they were running a crime ring out of the bar and accused District Attorney Susana Martinez of having a personal grudge against them.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Martinez<\/st1:city> worked in the district attorney\u2019s office with the Gonzaleses under then-District Attorney Greg Valdez in the mid-1990s, but Valdez<\/st1:city> fired Martinez<\/st1:place><\/st1:city>. She sued for wrongful termination, won a settlement from the state worth more than $100,000, switched her political affiliation to Republican and used the money to beat Democrat Valdez in 1996.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\n

After a long fight, the New Mexico Supreme Court ordered Martinez<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> off the Welcome Inn case last year. When no other prosecutor\u2019s office in the state would take the case, Martinez<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> hired a special prosecutor, who later dropped the charges.<\/p>\n

\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Are the rules necessary or unfair?<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

While many believe the new regulations are necessary to combat drunken driving, binge drinking and other problems, some say they are unreasonable and place too much responsibility on bar owners and bartenders instead of on those who are drinking. That complaint was cited as the reason for the closure of at least three Las Cruces<\/st1:city><\/st1:place> bars.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Ezzell said the concerns expressed at the Mesilla meeting included \u201cprofiling – there is that going on, especially in the southern part of the state, and continued harassment.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Ezzell said she was \u201ca little frayed around the edges\u201d during the contentious meeting, but said that\u2019s because the administration is \u201cbeing tyrant in my opinion. They are making up policy just because they can.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

The new rules were discussed, prior to approval, during a number of public meetings last year before the Richardson Administration made them official. The administration has created new rules on more than one occasion either instead of seeking statutory changes or after attempts to secure legislative approval failed. That has concerned a number of lawmakers.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cI think there is an awful lot of regulation being made that just skirts the process of putting it into statute,\u201d Papen said.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

In response to the recent meeting and the LFC request, Regulation and Licensing Department Superintendent Edward Lopez Jr. said his agency welcomes \u201cthe opportunity to continue the public dialogue.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s important to review our ongoing war on DWI with input from all interested parties \u2013 industry, legislators and anti-DWI advocates alike,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Garcia said she is interested in more discussion because unfair regulations and enforcement have led to the closing of a number of bars.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Details of the Victoria<\/st1:state><\/st1:place>\u2019s citation<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Garcia\u2019s bar and a bartender working there were cited on May 25 for serving an intoxicated person. The bartender has pleaded not guilty<\/a> to the misdemeanor charge, and the case is pending. The bar could be fined up to $10,000, but the Regulation and Licensing Department is proposing a $1,000 fine and a one-day suspension of alcohol sales on a Friday. You can read Page One of the department\u2019s letter to Victoria<\/st1:place><\/st1:state>\u2019s by clicking here<\/a> and Page Two here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Garcia and her sister Elodia, owners of the bar, have not yet responded.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

It was Elodia Garcia who was present at the bar the night the citation was issued. According to the report from the Special Investigation Division of the Department of Public Safety (read Page One by clicking here<\/a>, Page Two here<\/a> and Page Three here<\/a>), an officer conducted a walk-through of the bar as part of a special underage enforcement operation. He noticed a man who was \u201cobviously intoxicated\u201d sitting at the bar with a beer in front of him. The man\u2019s blood-alcohol level was 0.18. The legal limit to drive is 0.08.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

A security guard at the bar, when asked why the man had a beer in front of him when he was obviously intoxicated, said it was his \u201clast one,\u201d the report states.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Elodia Garcia became \u201cvery upset\u201d when she was notified about the citation, the report states, adding that she \u201cstated that her sister was a state senator. She then demanded a business card from me, which I then gave her.\u201d As the officer left, the report states, he apologized to Elodia Garcia \u201cfor the inconvenience\u201d and tried to shake her hand, but she refused and \u201cmumbled something under hear breath.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Senator Garcia called the meeting shortly thereafter. She told me she was not in town when the citation was issued and said she could tell me nothing except to say that her arranging of the July 16 meeting was not related to the citation.<\/p>\n

\n

A prior version of this posting incorrectly stated that Martinez<\/st1:place><\/st1:city>, not a special prosecutor, dropped the charges against the owners of the Welcome Inn.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The enforcement and administration of liquor regulations and statutes is being questioned by a group of state lawmakers that includes a powerful senator whose Las Cruces bar was recently cited for serving an intoxicated person. The concerns of more than 50 alcohol-industry representatives from around the state and several legislators were aired during a July […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2094","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2094","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2094"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2094\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2094"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2094"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2094"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}