The Senate Public Works Committee tabled a so-called “right to work” bill, effectively killing it for the 2015 New Mexico legislative session. The panel voted along party lines Tuesday to stop the advance of a bill that prohibits requiring workers to join a union and pay dues as a condition of employment. The vote effectively blocking the bill comes after hours of testimony and debate over weeks on a hot-button issue that has taken center stage during this legislative session. The proposal also included a 50-cent-per-hour minimum wage increase to $8 and would have applied to the public and private sectors. The GOP-controlled House passed the legislation 37-30 last month. The Democratic leadership in the Senate said it was united in stopping the bill.
A bill requiring parental notification before a minor could have an abortion will go to two New Mexico Senate committees instead of being heard by the full chamber over the objections of Republicans. The Senate on Tuesday voted 25-17 along party lines to reject the motion by Republican Senator William Sharer of Farmington. He and other Republicans said the issue was too important not to be heard by the full Senate. Democrats argued that the committee process should not be bypassed. The New Mexico House on Friday approved the bill requiring that parents be notified at least 48 hours before a minor ends a pregnancy. A separate effort by Sharer to have a related bill banning late-term abortions assigned to another committee also failed to muster enough votes.
A bill that would set-up a statewide dog and cat spay and neuter program is under consideration at the State Capitol. The measure is sponsored by Santa Fe Democratic Representative Carl Trujillo. *****031115-Trujillo-1 :23***** In addition to establishing the spay and neuter program, Trujillo’s bill funds the effort by creating a statewide spay and neuter sub-account that taxpayers can divert their income tax refunds to. There’s also a special spay and neuter license plate available that, under Trujillo’s legislation, would direct 25-dollars per such plate to the subaccount. *****031115-Trujillo-4 :23***** Trujillo’s bill has cleared two committees and is awaiting action from the full House of Representatives.
State officials would have to follow certain procedures before cutting off government funding for health care providers suspected of fraud or overbilling under a measure passed by the New Mexico Senate. The legislation sponsored by Senate President Pro Tem Mary Kay Papen cleared the chamber on a 32-8 vote Tuesday. The measure was spurred by the state's handling of allegations of fraud and abuse involving nonprofits that provided behavioral health services to needy New Mexicans. Republican Gov. Susana Martinez's administration froze Medicaid payments to the providers while the attorney general's office launched an investigation.The Human Services Department eventually replaced the nonprofits with companies from Arizona despite protests that the due-process rights of the nonprofit providers were violated.Some lawmakers said the state needs a process to ensure services aren't disrupted during an investigation.
Lawyers have submitted arguments in a legal challenge to New Mexico's contract with a testing company that may halt a much-debated assessment exam in the state. Santa Fe District Judge Sarah Singleton heard arguments Tuesday in a case that could overturn a contract awarded to London-based Pearson and potentially tangle up other states using the same test. Last year, Pearson was awarded a contact given out by states belonging to a consortium for the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers exam, or PARCC. Thomas McGovern, a lawyer for the Washington-based American Institutes for Research, says New Mexico and the consortium unfairly helped shape bidding requirements crafted especially for Pearson. But attorneys for New Mexico say the process was fair and AIR did not submit a bid.
Santa Fe Weather: Mostly sunny today, with a high near 62. Tonight, expect partly cloudy skies with the overnight low, 37. Tomorrow: Partly sunny with a slight chance for showers and thunderstorms after noon and a bit cooler with the high tomorrow, 58.