{"id":2741,"date":"2008-01-15T16:13:00","date_gmt":"2008-01-15T22:13:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/2008\/01\/guv-lays-out-agenda-topped-by-universal-health-care\/"},"modified":"2008-01-15T16:13:00","modified_gmt":"2008-01-15T22:13:00","slug":"guv-lays-out-agenda-topped-by-universal-health-care","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2008\/01\/guv-lays-out-agenda-topped-by-universal-health-care\/","title":{"rendered":"Guv lays out agenda topped by universal health care"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>There weren\u2019t a lot of surprises in Gov. Bill Richardson\u2019s<\/a> 2008 state of the state address, which he delivered earlier today. <\/p>\n

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

Home following an unsuccessful presidential bid, the governor thanked those who supported him and named a handful of proposals \u2013 most with national significance \u2013 that he will push during the 30-day session. He said he wants the Legislature to focus on universal health care, energy efficiency, ethics reform, domestic partner benefits and combating domestic violence.<\/p>\n

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

The proposals he named were expected. Before the Senate and governor entered the House chambers for the state of the state address, Speaker Ben Lujan<\/a> spoke about the full agenda the governor will try to squeeze into the short session.<\/p>\n

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

\"\"<\/a>\u201cI need to remind you that a 30-day session is very short,\u201d Lujan told House members. \u201c\u2026 To achieve our goals, it will mean that all of us must be working together.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

At the top of Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city>\u2019s agenda is health care. The governor is proposing a plan he says would provide coverage to all New Mexicans though both government and private programs.<\/p>\n

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

It\u2019s a plan the governor called \u201cpragmatic,\u201d but he signaled that he knows what\u2019s to come on the contentious issue.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cThere will be competing legislation this year. From one side, we will see legislation that would place health care totally under government-control. This is unacceptable,\u201d Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> said. \u201cFrom the other side, there will be voices calling for the status quo, who prefer an unchecked, unregulated health-care system dominated by HMOs and health insurance companies, a system that covers only those who can afford it, leaves the most vulnerable behind and values profits over patients. Let\u2019s agree that the status quo is also unacceptable.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cSome may say we cannot afford to take on this task in a 30-day session,\u201d Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> said. \u201cI ask, how can we afford not to? The time for universal health-care coverage is now.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

On energy conservation, Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> called for a tax credit for New Mexicans who install energy efficient cooling and heating systems and for mandatory energy-efficiency requirements for utility companies.<\/p>\n

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

On drunken driving, Richardson<\/st1:city><\/st1:place> wants tougher penalties for tampering with ignition interlock devices. On domestic violence, he wants to increase penalties for repeat batterers. He wants the state to grant the same rights and benefits for domestic partners that are given to married couples. Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> didn\u2019t specify which ethics reforms he will propose, but said such reform is \u201cunfinished business\u201d from the 2007 session.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cAs public officials, we know that holding the highest ethical standards is not a privilege, but our moral responsibility,\u201d Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> said.<\/p>\n

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

You can watch Richardson<\/st1:city><\/st1:place>\u2019s speech by clicking here<\/a> and read it here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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

Meanwhile, House Republicans laid out their own agenda for the session in an audio recording you can listen to by clicking here<\/a>. And the state GOP sent out a mock Richardson state of the state address<\/a>:<\/p>\n

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

\u201cMy fellow New Mexicans, I\u2019m here today to talk with you about the state of our state. Unfortunately, I don\u2019t know what that is. I\u2019ve been a little busy,\u201d the mock speech states. \u201cSomeone told me that we\u2019ve bankrupted our transportation fund. Anyhow, I\u2019m back now, though, in the job that I love, the greatest job on the face of the earth\u2026 except for the one I spent the last year chasing. And now, I look forward to pushing a legislative agenda of government-run health care and domestic partnerships, and maybe we\u2019ll raise a few taxes in the process. But one thing\u2019s for sure, New Mexico, I\u2019m back and here to stay\u2026 unless, of course, I\u2019m asked to do another job, like run for vice president, which would be much better than this job, which is the greatest job on the face of the earth.\u201d <\/p>\n

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

Welcome to the 2008 Legislature.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There weren\u2019t a lot of surprises in Gov. Bill Richardson\u2019s 2008 state of the state address, which he delivered earlier today. Home following an unsuccessful presidential bid, the governor thanked those who supported him and named a handful of proposals \u2013 most with national significance \u2013 that he will push during the 30-day session. He […]<\/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-2741","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2741","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=2741"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2741\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2741"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2741"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2741"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}