{"id":27502,"date":"2011-03-19T14:48:53","date_gmt":"2011-03-19T20:48:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/?p=27502"},"modified":"2011-03-22T06:12:43","modified_gmt":"2011-03-22T12:12:43","slug":"session-ends-with-meltdown-capital-outlay-bill-dies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2011\/03\/session-ends-with-meltdown-capital-outlay-bill-dies\/","title":{"rendered":"Session ends with meltdown; capital outlay bill dies"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

The Roundhouse in Santa Fe (Photo by Heath Haussamen)<\/p><\/div>\n

Two behind-the-scenes battles exploded in public view and consumed the final hour of the 2011 legislative session today, causing the $240 million capital outlay bill to die as time expired.<\/p>\n

A bill that would have ended so-called \u201csocial promotion\u201d in schools died as well. But instead of going quietly, both bills went down in flames.<\/p>\n

In the House, Rep. Patricia Lundstrom<\/a>, D-Gallup, prolonged debate on the capital outlay bill<\/a> in the session\u2019s final hour with a lengthy series of questions. Meanwhile, there were intense, behind-the-scenes negotiations between House and Senate members over which projects would be funded.<\/p>\n

In the Senate, Republicans John Ryan<\/a> of Albuquerque and Rod Adair<\/a> of Roswell hijacked a bill that would have amended the Fraud Against Taxpayer\u2019s Act<\/a>, talking about topics ranging from the various St. Piuses to the sounds Ryan made while he spoke because his mouth was dry.<\/p>\n

Their filibuster was an attempt to force Senate Majority Leader Michael Sanchez<\/a>, D-Belen, to hear the social promotion bill, which was being pushed heavily by Gov. Susana Martinez<\/a>. Sanchez didn\u2019t back down, and after being on the Senate calendar for days, the bill died without a floor hearing.<\/p>\n

As the delays played out in the House and Senate, other lawmakers watched the death of bills they were hoping to pass.<\/p>\n

The Senate filibuster<\/h3>\n
\"\"<\/a>

Sen. John Ryan during today\u2019s filibuster. (Screenshot taken from official Senate webcasting stream)<\/p><\/div>\n

Ryan and Adair began their filibuster in the Senate began as soon as the House started debate on the capital outlay bill. The filibuster came with a behind-the-scenes threat that they would not leave time for the capital outlay bill to be heard in the Senate unless Sanchez agreed to also call up the social promotion bill for debate.<\/p>\n

House Bill 21<\/a>, sponsored by Mary Helen Garcia<\/a>, D-Las Cruces, would have required that students read at grade level before being passed on to the fourth grade. It was a key part of Martinez\u2019s education reform plan. Earlier in the session it passed the House on a vote of 62-5.<\/p>\n

The reason for the Senate filibuster became clear when the Senate GOP caucus sent out a news release complaining about the apparent death of Garcia\u2019s bill.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn essence, one person and only one has stopped the legislative process for\u00a0a very good bill,\u201d Sen. Vernon Asbill<\/a>, R-Carlsbad, said in the release. It was a pointed shot at Sanchez.<\/p>\n

The fact that the news release included a quote from Asbill may have been indicative of Martinez\u2019s involvement in the last-minute wrangling. In the final weeks of the session, Asbill was one of Martinez\u2019s go-to lawmakers in the Senate.<\/p>\n

During the filibuster, Adair and Ryan took some pointed shots as well. Adair said if a certain bill that he didn\u2019t directly name became law, \u201csomeone who can read by the time they\u2019re finishing the third grade and then subsequently improve their reading\u201d would recognize \u201cgood procedure from bad procedure, listening to the voters and not listening to the voters.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sanchez, who, as I highlighted earlier this week, controls the Senate calendar<\/a>, didn\u2019t budge. But in a speech at the end of the session, he said he \u201creally enjoyed Laurel and Hardy<\/a>. I appreciated that.\u201d<\/p>\n

The capital outlay fight<\/h3>\n

Meanwhile, the battle between the House and Senate over capital outlay ended in a stalemate. The Senate had waited until late in the session to send the bill to the House, and representatives were infuriated that no money was left for them to appropriate.<\/p>\n

Friday, the House Taxation and Revenue Committee added two projects<\/a> to the bill – $1 million for the health science education building at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, and $184,000 to chip seal Superman Canyon Road in McKinley County, which is located in the district<\/a> of Rep. Sandra Jeff<\/a>, D-Crownpoint. The House Appropriations and Finance Committee later added more changes<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Senate wanted the House to recede from its amendments and send the Senate version of the bill to the governor. The House instead kicked the bill back to the Senate.<\/p>\n

Martinez\u2019s threat to kill the capital outlay bill if she didn\u2019t get the social promotion legislation came true. Ryan and Adair gave up their filibuster moments before the end of the session. Sanchez then called up the capital outlay bill for a vote, but it became clear there wasn\u2019t time to resolve the dispute between the two legislative chambers.<\/p>\n

Senate President Pro Tempore Tim Jennings<\/a>, D-Roswell, complained about the House changes. Sen. Lynda Lovejoy<\/a>, D-Crownpoint, explained that the House had added \u201cpet projects for certain House legislators.\u201d<\/p>\n

Referring to the smaller amount of capital outlay money available this year, Lovejoy said, \u201cWe all know that we could not put any personal, pet projects in this bill.\u201d<\/p>\n

With only a couple of minutes left in the session, Sanchez withdrew the capital outlay bill from consideration and went on to other legislation. The $240 million bill included funding for all sorts of projects including water rights settlements, buildings at colleges and universities and state highway improvements.<\/p>\n

Other projects included $1.9 million to upgrade security equipment at district and magistrate courts and to furnish a courthouse in Taos, $1.4 million for a water and wastewater system in Roswell, and $4.3 million for the state to purchase school buses.<\/p>\n

What happens to those projects isn\u2019t clear. It\u2019s possible the governor will put the capital outlay bill on the call for the special session that will be held later this year for redistricting.<\/p>\n

Video of Ryan\/Adair filibuster<\/h3>\n

Here\u2019s video of part of the Ryan\/Adair filibuster. I regret that I didn\u2019t record the entire thing.<\/p>\n

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