{"id":31291,"date":"2011-08-24T07:47:44","date_gmt":"2011-08-24T13:47:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/?p=31291"},"modified":"2011-10-08T22:05:06","modified_gmt":"2011-10-09T04:05:06","slug":"lujan-clears-way-for-block-impeachment-process-to-start","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2011\/08\/lujan-clears-way-for-block-impeachment-process-to-start\/","title":{"rendered":"Luj\u00e1n clears way for Block impeachment process to start"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

Public Regulation Commissioner Jerome Block Jr.<\/p><\/div>\n

House Speaker Ben Luj\u00e1n<\/a>\u00a0will appoint a subcommittee during next month\u2019s special session to begin consideration of the impeachment of Public Regulation Commissioner Jerome Block Jr.<\/a><\/p>\n

Luj\u00e1n wrote Tuesday in a letter to legislative leaders from both parties that, \u201cbecause of the seriousness of the allegations,\u201d he intends to appoint a subcommittee of the House Rules and Order of Business Committee to investigate whether the full House should consider impeaching Block.<\/p>\n

You can read Luj\u00e1n\u2019s letter here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Block faces a number of controversies that have led many Democrats to join Republicans in calling for his resignation. Block and his father are facing\u00a0felony and misdemeanor charges<\/a>\u00a0related to misusing the state\u2019s public financing system during Block\u2019s 2008 election.<\/p>\n

More recently, Block admitted to an addiction to oxycodone, a pain reliever, after a number of scandals popped up at once. The state auditor and attorney general are looking into use of Block\u2019s government-funded gas card after the public learned that it was used\u00a0more than once in a day<\/a>\u00a0on a number of occasions, sometimes minutes apart at multiple gas stations. The AG is also investigating the potential improper use of PRC employees\u2019 gas cards by Block.<\/p>\n

And Block is being investigated for potential auto theft after he allegedly took a vehicle from a Santa Fe dealership for a test drive on July 13 and never returned it. After it was reported stolen, police found the vehicle parked near downtown Santa Fe.<\/p>\n

Block was also driving a state vehicle\u00a0while his license was suspended<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Block has refused to resign<\/a> despite calls from his own state Democratic Party chairman, the chairs of eight county parties in his PRC district, and all of his colleagues on the PRC to do so.<\/p>\n

Luj\u00e1n likely came under a great deal of pressure<\/h3>\n

State Rep. Nate Gentry<\/a>, R-Albuquerque and one of the leaders of the movement to consider impeachment of Block, said called it \u201cunfortunate that we have to spend our legislative time and taxpayer money on this process.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI look forward to quickly reviewing the evidence against Commissioner Block and, if necessary, proceeding with his removal from office,\u201d Gentry said.<\/p>\n

Luj\u00e1n\u2019s move makes it more likely that the House will do just that. Earlier this week, the speaker was quoted by The Santa Fe New Mexican<\/a> as saying it was premature to form a committee to investigate whether the House should consider impeachment.<\/p>\n

What changed? Well, with that statement Luj\u00e1n became the most powerful Democrat to say something that could be interpreted as a defense of Block. Heading into an election year, many Democrats are anxious to resolve the situation and close the door on a major scandal involving a member of their party.<\/p>\n

Luj\u00e1n likely came under a great deal of pressure from within his own party to change his mind. Members of the House could have worked around Luj\u00e1n to try to empanel a subcommittee, but his support for such action makes it much easier.<\/p>\n

Subcommittee expected to \u2018work expeditiously\u2019<\/h3>\n

As Roundhouse columnist Jay Miller recently pointed out<\/a>, the most difficult issue may not be whether the political will to impeach Block exists, but the time and money the process, which has never been completed in New Mexico, will take. From Miller:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe impeachment route is a possibility, but it isn\u2019t practical. The process takes a very long time. If New Mexico had a full-time Legislature, the situation would be easier.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026 But there also are cost concerns. Everyone would have to \u2018lawyer up.\u2019 The House committee that meets to decide whether to recommend an impeachment trial will need much legal advice \u2013 about $100,000 worth.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe House will need its own legal advice for the actual impeachment proceedings. If impeached, Block then would go to trial by the Senate, which would need its legal advice.<\/p>\n

Expert witnesses and extra staff would be needed. And unless these proceedings can be sandwiched into the Legislature\u2019s other business, which is unlikely, figure on another $50,000 a day. Some warn it may take 20 days.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Luj\u00e1n wrote in his letter that he expect the subcommittee to \u201cwork expeditiously\u201d during a special session with a number of other items on the agenda, including redistricting, but he will ask the N.M. Legislative Council to give it the authority to meet in the interim if necessary.<\/p>\n

Will Block give up before then and resign, making impeachment proceedings unnecessary? That\u2019s what former State Treasurer Robert Vigil, who faced federal charges including extortion, did in 2005.<\/p>\n

Miller said Block could \u201cgive up because of a lack of funds to pay for his defense,\u201d but pointed out that Block\u2019s job earns him $90,000 a year. Miller predicted that Block is not going to resign \u201cuntil forced to do so.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

House Speaker Ben Luj\u00e1n will appoint a subcommittee during next month\u2019s special session to begin consideration of the impeachment of Public Regulation Commissioner Jerome Block Jr.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[142,217,114,107],"class_list":["post-31291","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news-and-analysis","tag-crime","tag-prc","tag-public-corruption","tag-roundhouse"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31291","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=31291"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31291\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31291"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31291"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31291"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}