Kevin Wilson Area legislators are optimistic that capital outlay requests will be spared the fate of Gov. Susana Martinez’ veto pen, with a March 7 deadline to approve or veto pieces of the $137 million bill. Martinez said last week that vetoes were a distinct possibility for the budget and for capital outlay if it […]
Bill tracker
February 13, 2012
Tonjia Rolan Local area legislators have introduced 14 new bills since Jan. 26. The deadline for filing legistlation was Feb. 1. House and Senate bill progress has been updated to reflect information available 5 p.m. Monday.
Legislators seek input through advertising
February 2, 2012
Kevin Wilson It’s a long road from eastern New Mexico to Santa Fe, and it’s a tough process once a citizen gets to the New Mexico Legislature. A quartet of local legislators have tried, to noted success, to make the process a two-way street of communication by simply asking, “Tell us what you think.” The […]
Parents should have option to pick schools
January 24, 2012
Freedom Newspapers National School Choice Week started Monday, focusing attention on efforts of parents, activists, legislators, students and grass-roots networks to promote school choice programs throughout the United States. Legislators should take heed and this year expand choice programs for all students in an effort to fix the country’s ailing public education system. School choice, […]
Capital outlay wish list cut
January 21, 2012
Robin Fornoff It was back to the drawing board Saturday for Curry County Commissioners, who said they were told by state legislators to trim their wish list or face possibly getting no money from the state. Commissioners had submitted a $21 million capital outlay request to the state in September. The request was trimmed to […]
Local legislators share priorities
January 14, 2012
Kevin Wilson The New Mexico Legislature begins noon Tuesday in Santa Fe. The Legislature has two different types of sessions. In odd years, the session runs 60 days and is full of legislation that encompasses nearly everything one could imagine. In even years like 2012, the session is 30 days long and is limited mostly […]
Government has no place to rule on marriage
October 16, 2011
The unemployment rate in Cleveland County, N.C., hovers just under 12 percent. In North Carolina, the rate is at 10.4 percent. When a major problem affects thousands in North Carolina and Cleveland County, legislators are expected to work for solutions. Instead, ours went looking for another problem. With the state’s economy in peril, legislators decided […]
State spending cuts badly needed
June 15, 2011
There has been considerable interest from a few Democratic legislators regarding “line-item” or partial vetoes by Gov. Susana Martinez to bills appropriating money during the last legislative session. In one case, the governor vetoed a $128 million tax increase on New Mexico businesses. In the other, she trimmed $100,000 from a housing oversight program. These […]
Don’t let bureaucrats set premiums
May 16, 2011
Freedom New Mexico State legislators are considering yet another unnecessary, counterproductive law to regulate the health care industry. As last year, with legislation passed in California and the Obamacare health law passed by Congress, this year’s Assembly Bill 52 seeks to control health care costs by using government’s heavy regulatory hand. It approaches the problem […]
Legislative session ends with some gains, some setbacks
March 21, 2011
Kevin Wilson New Mexico legislators left Santa Fe this weekend, and they are assuming they’ll be gone until September. “But we never know,” said Sen. Gay Kernan, R-Hobbs. The 60-day session closed Saturday, with some legislators touting local gains and bemoaning statewide disappointments. Legislators did send a $5.4 billion budget with more than $150 million […]
Legislators need to rethink laws
March 3, 2011
Freedom New Mexico The results of a poll conducted on the Portales News-Tribune website concerning the individuals charged with the “crime” of gambling at the Portales Country Club gives me hope. It showed that a substantial percentage of those who took the poll recognize that laws can be wrong. A third of the respondents took […]
Area entities asked for capital outlay priorities
February 15, 2011
File photo Curry County administration submitted capital outlay requests for Curry County roads, the Curry County Adult Detention Center and the Curry County Courthouse. Kevin Wilson and Argen Duncan Eastern New Mexico entities sent capital outlay priorities Monday at the request of local legislators. But there’s no indication there will be capital outlay available, or […]
Lawmakers make ready for upcoming bills
February 12, 2011
Kevin Wilson New legislators for eastern New Mexico report a steep learning curve in their first state legislative session. But, as sessions go, this year’s 60-day affair is the best one to learn from, as budget woes mean there’s little extraneous legislation coming. “All sessions are defined by how many dollars there are and where […]
Legislators must focus on budget
January 29, 2011
Budget cuts seem to be foremost in everyone’s mind these days — everyone it seems but our elected officials. Budget cutting seemed to get short shrift during the President’s State of the Union address this week. The words investment came up quite a bit, which I’m sure is political code for “spending.” Federal lawmakers aren’t […]
Wednesday morning briefing: “Born in the USA,” New Mexico legislators off and running
January 18, 2011
Good morning, and welcome to Freedom New Mexico’s Wednesday morning briefing.
Legislators re-elected to caucus positions
November 13, 2010
CNJ staff Two local Republican legislators were re-elected to their caucus positions Saturday, according to information from the House Republican Caucus. Keith Gardner of District 66 was re-elected as Republican whip, and Anna Crook of District 64 was again chosen as caucus chairwoman. The House Republican Caucus held the leadership elections Saturday at the Albuquerque […]
Legislators say tone of session unusual
February 20, 2010
Different, unusual, fatalistic. Those are some of the words used by area legislators to describe the tone of this year’s 30-day legislative session. Pending elections, the strain of having no money to work with, little guidance from the executive branch and a growing moderate platform are some of the reasons local leaders have come up […]
Bill delays agency mergers to 2011
February 12, 2010
By Steve Terrell: The New Mexican While legislators have been slow to act on governor’s task force proposals to consolidate state agencies, the House of Representatives on Thursday unanimously passed a measure to set up another task force to make specific recommendations for next year’s Legislature. Gov. Bill Richardson’s efficiency task force, headed by former […]
Read their lips: There is no state money
December 9, 2009
CNJ staff photo: Sharna Johnson Rep. Dennis Roch, of Tucumcari, brought comic relief to an otherwise somber legislative breakfast in Clovis Wednesday morning. Legislators told attendees there is no money in state coffers for local projects. By Sharna Johnson: CNJ Staff Writer There is no money. The message was plain and simple Wednesday morning as […]
Legislators to hear requests from city, county officials
December 2, 2009
By Kevin Wilson: CNJ staff writer Legislators may be hearing a few requests for the upcoming session. But there’s little hope they’ll be able to grant them. A rough financial forecast has legislators pessimistic capital outlay will be available for needs city and county organizations will have during Friday’s Clovis/Curry County Legislative Breakfast. The event, […]
