In Washington, a short-term funding bill for the Homeland Security Department may be on the horizon as the hours tick away toward a partial agency shutdown. Some House Republicans insist passing the short-term funding only bill will allow them to continue their fight against President Barack Obama's executive directives on immigration. A three-week stopgap measure would allow lawmakers to keep the Homeland Security Department running at a time of heightened threats worldwide. Meantime, New Mexico Congressman Ben Ray Lujan spoke on the House floor Thursday on the importance of approving a clean funding bill to prevent DHS from shutting down. Lujan, a Democrat, said, quote, “It’s time for Congressional Republicans to stop putting their political security ahead of national security and pass a clean bill.”
A State Senate committee has delayed a vote on a measure that would have limited the authority of a powerful water commission and required more transparency surrounding its actions. After an hour-long debate Thursday, bill sponsor Republican Senator Sander Rue agreed to make changes and return to the Senate Conservation Committee next week. The Interstate Stream Commission has been criticized over its decision to move ahead with a Gila River diversion project. Supporters say drought-stricken New Mexico has a rare chance to tap a new source of water, but critics argue the effort could end up costing one-billion dollars. Supporters of the legislation say the commission has failed to detail how much water would result from the project and the costs. The legislation, they say, would require such details before the commission moves forward with major water projects.
Another State Senate committee has passed a bill to keep New Mexicans from springing forward and falling back every year when it's time to adjust clocks. The Senate Public Affairs Committee voted 5-1 Thursday to advance Senator Cliff Pirtle's bill that would keep the state on Daylight Savings Time year-round. The Republican farmer from Roswell says changing the clock twice a year is an unnecessary inconvenience. He says farmers and ranchers work from sunrise to sundown no matter what the clock says. Pirtle's bill now moves to the Senate Judiciary Committee. If it becomes law, New Mexico time would remain unchanged after it springs forward a week from this Sunday, March eighth. The federal government allows states to exempt themselves from time changes. Currently, Arizona and Hawaii do not observe Daylight Savings Time.
A New Mexico House panel did not vote on a solitary confinement reform proposal after a Democratic member questioned why anyone would oppose it, which led to a heated exchange. The House Safety and Civil Affairs Committee ended abruptly Thursday after Representative Patricia RoybalCaballero refused to stop talking over the objections of Chairman William Rehm, who then adjourned the meeting. Witnesses who had testified in support of the bill sat stunned as the meeting suddenly ended. The measure would have banned the use of solitary confinement on juveniles and inmates suffering from mental illness. Caballero, a Democrat, faced criticism last month when she compared the federal Real ID Act and repeal of the state's immigrant driver's license law to the Holocaust. She later apologized.
Federal authorities estimate that around 370 wild horses are roaming on lands jointly managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service in the Four Corners. The Farmington Daily Times reports that the herds of wild horses roam the Jicarilla Joint Management Area, a 208-thousand-acre portion of land east of Navajo Lake. A new population survey is scheduled to be conducted in March. The BLM Resource Advisory Council is looking at possible solutions to control the population. BLM District Manager Victoria Barr says the agency spends 40 to 50 percent of its wild horse and burro budget nationally on 47,000 wild horses that are in long-term holding pens.
Santa Fe Weather: Mostly cloudy and breezy today with snow likely—a 70-percent chance for snow— and high of only 27. Tonight: mostly cloudy with a continued 70-percent chance for snow, the overnight low, 21. Tomorrow: Mostly cloudy with a 70-percent chance for snow or rain and the high 38.