Two New Mexico police officers have been indicted in separate incidents of alleged fraud and embezzlement. The Albuquerque Journal reports that a grand jury last week handed down an indictment against Santa Fe police Lt. Jason Wagner for four felony counts involving payroll fraud. Wagner resigned following allegations that he falsified timecards between October 2013 and December 2013. He was rehired in July by incoming Police Chief Eric Garcia. Espanola police Detective Cpl. Solomon Romero was also indicted on embezzlement charges. Romero is accused of stealing police ammunition in 2013 and trading it for T-shirts from a graphics shop.
A House committee has approved legislation that would give New Mexico greater authority than local governments in regulating the oil and gas industry. The New Mexican reports the House Energy and Environment Committee passed House Bill 366 last week on a party-line 6-5 vote. Republican Representative Nate Gentry, of Albuquerque, is sponsoring the legislation that would limit the ability of local governments to set limits for oil and gas producers. Gentry says the bill is necessary so counties and other local governments don't issue all-out bans on oil and gas. Critics say the bill is overreaching and would weaken the local zoning authority of county governments. The legislation will next go to the House Judiciary Committee for a vote.
A proposal that would ban the use of police drones from gathering evidence without a warrant in New Mexico will next be heard before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Senator Gerald Ortiz Y Pino’s measure passed the chamber’s public affairs panel last week. Ortiz Y Pino, an Albuquerque Democrat, says the bill would prevent unwarranted material obtained from the un-manned camera-equipped aircraft from being used maliciously, noting that they’re a sophisticated technology. *****022315-OrtizYPino-2 :31***** The bill, which has a companion measure sponsored in the House by Albuquerque Republican Representative Paul Pacheco, comes as police departments in New Mexico consider using drones in investigations.
The House Regulatory and Public Affairs Committee voted along party lines Friday on two abortion-related bills—one requiring minors to notify parents within 48 hours before ending a pregnancy and another banning late-term abortions. More than an hour before the vote on parental notification, the panel approved the late-term-abortion bill in an identical vote after a five-hour hearing. That bill prohibits abortions after five months' gestation and if the doctor determines the fetus is viable. Supporters say the legislation is designed to bring New Mexico in line with 42 other states. The House panel voted 4-3, with Republicans in the majority on both bills. Committee members heard from nearly 100 people from both sides of the issue during seven hours of hearings.
New Mexico officials are creating a task force to overhaul campaign finance practices. Attorney General Hector Balderas and Secretary of State Dianna Duran announced Friday that the task force will review issues of campaign finance reporting, enforcement and the referral process. Balderas says he plans to look for solutions that he can bring before state lawmakers.
A bill before the Senate Education Committee would make home-schooled-students eligible for the New Mexico Lottery Scholarship, putting them on equal footing with public and private school seniors. The bill’s sponsor, Republican Senator Cliff Pirtle of Roswell, says Senate Bill 521 would also remove a hurdle for home-schooled students. *****022315-Pirtle-2 :28*****Pirtle says homeschoolers shouldn’t have to be forced to pay the more than 70-dollar fee to take the GED. He says numbers from the New Mexico Public Education Department indicate that his bill would impact a little less than one-thousand students annually.
What some have called the worst video game ever made is still bringing in thousands of dollars for Alamogordo. KRQE-TV reports that city officials say "E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial" game cartridges have brought in $56,000. And officials say they still have around 500 games to sell. The games were dug up from the Alamogordo landfill last year after being buried since the 1980s.
Santa Fe Weather: Cloudy today with a 50-percent chance for snow showers, the high 32. Tonight: Mostly cloudy with a 30-percent chance for snow showers. Tomorrow: mostly cloudy with a 40-percent chance for snow showers with the high reaching 39.