Greta Says Susana Might Run for Prez

Fox News' Greta Van Susteren and Gov. Susana Martinez had a nice little game of softball back in December.

And now Van Susteren is floating the idea that Martinez could be a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination in 2014 --  and not just because it seems that all New Mexico governors seem to run for president these days.

I may be the only one who thinks it, but I think New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez is a possible candidate for her party’s nomination.  I flew to New Mexico in December and spent the day with the Governor just to get a feel for whether I thought she had any interest in running.  (Of course you watched our interview with the Governor on ON THE RECORD at 10 pm  in December.)  I think the article below is interesting…..it gives you an idea of what she is doing and how she is doing as Governor of New Mexico.  I have NO idea if she is going to run or not.

The "article below" Van Susteren refers to is the Associated Press account of the last-minute passing of the massive tax bill Saturday.

ROUNDHOUSE ROUNDUP: We Will Not Hear a Bill Before Its Time

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican 
March. 17, 2013


When citizens go to the Roundhouse to testify for or against some bill or just to see their government in action, they are expected to be respectful and act with courtesy. That’s really not asking all that much.

So you’d think you could expect our elected representatives to treat the citizens with the same respect and courtesy. But it doesn’t always work out that way.

A glaring example of that happened late last week in the Senate Judiciary Committee, the night it heard House Bill 77, which would mandate background checks on people buying firearms at gun shows.

This has been one of the most controversial issues facing the Legislature this session. People on both sides of the issue were extremely interested in how the bill was going to play out.

But as it turned out, both sides got the shaft.

The saga started Tuesday night when Judiciary Committee Chairman Richard Martinez told a member of New Mexicans for Gun Safety that the committee wasn’t going to hear the bill. Now in fairness, it’s not clear whether Martinez meant he wasn’t going to hear the bill that night or at all. That prompted the gun safety group to hold a rally at the Roundhouse the next day demanding HB 77 be heard.

When Thursday came around, it wasn’t certain the bill would be heard. It didn’t appear on the first version of the Judiciary Committee agenda. In fact, it wasn’t until about 6:30 that night when it appeared on a revised agenda.

It was the very last item, following 20 other bills.

And when the meeting began about 8 p.m., Martinez announced that he would hear the bills in order. And he kept that promise.

That’s what I consider rude.

I’m not saying that the other 20 bills weren’t important. And there were people attending the meeting interested in some of those other bills.

But dozens of people were there just to hear the gun bill. And they waited nearly three hours for the committee to get to it. In other words, it was handled in a way that inconvenienced the most people.

As it turned out, the hearing on HB 77 only took about 45 minutes — which is downright rapid compared with some of the other committee hearings on this bill.

I suppose that people who supported the bill might think the wait was worth it. The committee, on a party-line vote, gave HB 77 a do-pass. Some were surprised that Martinez voted in favor of the bill.

But I bet there are those on both sides who will think twice about going down to the Roundhouse in the future to watch democracy in action.

(Note: The bill died in the last minutes of the Senate Saturday due to a Republican filibuster.)

The rocky road to limbo: Of course, if your name is Hanna Skandera and you’re reading this, you’re likely to be thinking, “A three-hour wait? What are you complaining about?”

Indeed, one of the more bizarre spectacles of this session was the 10-hour, three-day confirmation hearing for Public Education Secretary designate Skandera, which, as of this writing, ended with no vote.

Granted, Skandera, who first was nominated by Gov. Susana Martinez two years ago, has been controversial. But whether you love her or hate her, it’s not fair to anyone that she hasn’t received a vote. Senators who have problems with her should just vote no.

I suspect if there were enough “no” votes, a final action would have been taken by now. Instead, there’s likely to be another year in limbo for Skandera. Who knows? Maybe next year the Rules Committee can hold another grueling 10-hour grilling and come to the same non-conclusion.

Skandera, despite the delay, will still be doing the same job at the same salary. She just has to call herself “secretary designate” instead of secretary.

Bad Break for Breaking Bad Bill

The "Breaking Bad" bill got a bad break Friday, as Gov. Susana Martinez vetoed the measure, which would have encouraged more television series productions in the state.

House Bill 379, sponsored by Rep. Moe Maestas, breezed through the Legislature with little dissent. It passed the House unanimously and was approved by The Senate by a vote of 32 to 8.

Martinez, in her veto message, said because it wasn't part of a "comprehensive tax reform package." Said the governor, "Unfortunately, as of the time I am required to take action on this bill, the legislature has chosen to only pass a package to increase subsidies to Hollywood, while failing to pass reforms designed to diversify our economy and help New Mexico businesses grow.

“I cannot in good conscience further expand New Mexico’s film subsidy while leaving other sectors in our economy unassisted and genuine reform unattained," Martinez said." I again reiterate my willingness to meet legislators halfway and will support an increased film incentive as part of a broader reform package that I hope the legislature will pass before adjournment."

Supporters argued that it's desirable for the state to host series like the critically acclaimed Breaking Bad and In Plain Sight — both of which were shot in New Mexico — and Longmire, which is about to begin shooting its second season in Santa Fe and other New Mexico locales.

"TV series that are successful stay around for several years. Movies come and go." Maestas said in an interview early in the session. Longer series mean more job security for New Mexico crews, he said.

Under current law, the state's film incentive program offers a 25 percent rebate to film companies for most in-state expenditures. Maestas' bill would have increased the rebate to 30 percent for a television series that shot at least six episodes in a single season in the state or spent at least $500,000 on constructing sets.

Wendy's bummed

Despite Martinez's statement that the bill represented "increased subsidies to Hollywood," the $50 million cap per year on film production rebate payouts wouldn't have been affect by the bill.

HB 379 also would have allowed the state to carry forward unused film tax credit production funds from previous years, if the state spent less than the current $50 million annual cap. For example, if the state spent only $40 million on the rebates one year, the next year the cap would go up to $60 million.

The governor's entire veto message is HERE 

Good News For K-9s

Gov. Susanna Martinez has signed a couple of the dog bills I wrote about about in a recent column -- specifically the ones dealing with police dogs.


First there's Senate Bill 139, sponsored by Sen. Mark Moores, R-Albuquerque. Under this bill, K-9s — police dogs or dogs used by corrections officers — would be offered for free to their trainers or handlers when the animals retire from service.

Moores has said that if the trainers or handlers don’t take the dogs, the animals would then be offered to a nonprofit organization, “if they are not a threat to public safety.”

The governor also signed SB 141, sponsored by Sen. Howie Morales, D-Silver City. This would allow local law enforcement agencies to use funds from the Law Enforcement Protection Fund to buy protective vests for K-9s. The bill didn’t earmark any extra money for doing this.

No Labels for Lisa

Sometimes I worry that incoming freshman lawmakers who enter the sausage factory of a legislative session will become cynical and jaded before their time. (Like certain reporters I could name.)

Sen. Lisa Torraco

But that doesn't seem to be the case with Sen. Lisa Torraco, R-Albuquerque. In a news release this morning, Torraco was full of sunshine.

 “I am encouraged how well we are working together in the New Mexico Senate and I want my fellow senators to know they are appreciated," Torraco said. "The U.S. Senate should look to the New Mexico  Senate for guidance and leadership regarding working across the aisle to fix things.”

Torraco said she'll be handing out pins to other senators today from a national political group of moderates called "No Labels." Said the senator, “I hope we all wear them proudly as a reminder that we fix and don’t fight.”

No Labels, according to its website is "a movement of Democrats, Republicans and everything in between dedicated to the politics of problem-solving. We stand united behind a simple proposition: we want our government to stop fighting and start fixing."

The co-chairmen of No Labels are former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, a Republican and U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, a Democrat. Neither one is particularly loved by the partisan "bases" of their respective parties.

But the session isn't over yet. I'll let you know if any senator stabs another with his No Labels pin before Saturday.

More GOP vs. SGR

The war of words between freshman Rep. Stephanie Garcia-Richard, D-Los Alamos, and the state Republican Party continues.

Over the weekend, Garcia-Richard sent a press release denouncing Gov. Susana Martinez and her GOP allies over her votes regarding the bill to repeal the law allowing driver's licenses for undocumented immigrants.

Garcia-Richard last week had voted with Republicans to blast HB 606 out of the Labor Committee, but voted against moving it to the House floor. In the House Appropriations Committee, she voted with Republicans against tabling the bill. Martinez in a radio interview had accused her of breaking her campaign promise of voting to repeal the current law.

Garcia-Richard's news release Saturday declared, "My vote will no longer be manipulated or held hostage by Gov. Martinez and until she is willing to come to the table and compromise, I will vote against any attempt by Republicans to once again blast HB 606."

The state Republican Party responded this morning with an email with the subject line "GARCIA-RICHARD: MORE FLIP-FLOPS AND INACCURATE STATEMENTS."

“Not only is Garcia-Richard apparently admitting to caving to political pressure, but her statement is also inaccurate,” said state GOP Chairman John Billingsley. “It’s a shame to see this issue diminished by falsehoods and inconsistent positions.”

The release also quoted House GOP Whip Nate Gentry who said, “Rep. Garcia-Richard claims that she received no support on her alleged amendments from Republican leadership; however, she never spoke to any of us in leadership regarding amendments.”

A few hours later, Garcia-Richard shot back:

“Over the last week, I have met with Gov. Martinez, Sen. (Stuart) Ingle (sponsor of a similar bill on the Senate side), and Rep. (Paul) Bandy (a fellow member of the House Appropriations and Finance Committee) regarding a possible resolution to this divisive issue ... Time is short but if all parties can set the political theater aside we can still get a good bill passed this year. I again call on the governor to sit down with leadership to develop a workable solution and to stop using this issue as leverage for 2014.”

Watch for further developments

House Passes Marijuana Decriminalization Bill

Rep. Moe Maestas mentioned this work of
art during discussion of HB 465.

Adults possessing less than eight ounces of marijuana in New Mexico would no longer receive any jail time under a bill passed this afternoon by the House.

The House voted 37-33 in favor of House Bill 465, sponsored by Rep. Emily Kane, D-Albuquerque. The bill would reduce penalities for possession of up to 4 ounces to a civil penalty with increasing fines while eliminating the potential for jail time for any amount up to 8 ounces.

Two Republicans, House GOP Whip Nate Gentry and Rep. Terry McMillan of Las Cruces, joined 35 Democrats to vote in favor of the bill. Three Democrats, Debbie Rodella of Espanola, Donna Irwin of Deming and Sandra Jeff of Crownpoint, voted with 31 Republicans against it.

But, as the governor of Colorado said last November when voters decided to legalize marijuana, don't break out the Cheetos yet. The bill now goes to the Senate, which has only four and a half more days to act on it. And even if it passes the Senate, Gov. Susana Martinez is opposed to it and likely would veto.

More in tomorrow's New Mexican.

UPDATED: 540 p.m. The first version of this post said only two Dems voted no. I failed to include Rep. Debbie Rodella of Espanola. That's been corrected in the text.