New Mexico In Depth 2017 Legislative Special Edition by New Mexico In Depth

NM In

Depth

New Mexico In Depth

2017

A look at critical issues before state lawmakers

Legislative Special Edition

Ethicsbudget

marijuana

campaign finance

lobbying transparency

revenue energy child welfare demographics

taxation capital outlay

New Mexico In Depth • 2017 Legislative special edition

New Mexico In Depth 2017 Legislative special edition • Jan. 15, 2017 Trip Jennings

Marjorie Childress

Reporters

Sponsorship design

Illustrations

Special thanks to our columnists:

Executive director

Gwyneth Doland Sandra Fish Robert Salas

Expec ting your rst baby? H av i n g yo u r r s t c h i l d c a n b r i n g g re at exc i te m e n t, a n t i c i p at i o n , a n d at t i m e s, a n x i e t y. O ur Home Visiting program provides information about: physic al and emotional changes experienced during pregnanc y, nutrition and breastfeeding,

Marjorie Childress

Layout and design Jason V. Harper

Deputy director

Linda Lillow

Meriah E. Heredia-Griego, Hailey Heinz, James Jimenez, Viki Harrison, Paul Gessing, Mariel Nanasi, Andrea J. Serrano, Peter St. Cyr

New Mexico In Depth is dedicated to journalism in the public interest that tells in-depth stories of people who represent our diversity and examines systems and institutions in a way that informs and empowers people and communities. This special edition is produced in conjunction with NMID’s media partners: Las Cruces Sun-News, Santa Fe New Mexican, Farmington Daily Times, Alamogordo Daily News, Carlsbad Current-Argus, Ruidoso News, Deming Headlight, Silver City Sun-News and the Rio Grande Sun.

and how to encourage growth in your infant and toddler so they reach their developmental milestones. We c an also connec t you to resources and other available suppor ts to ensure that your needs and your baby ’s needs are met. If you are interested in learning more about our program you c an reach us at (505) 924-8000 or visit w w w.stjosephnm.org. We operate solel y from our private trust and do not receive government funding.

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Contents INTRODUCTION...............................................................4 ARTICLES Shift sparks hope for campaign finance reform.............. 6 Problems persist with capital outlay system................... 11 Will independent ethics oversight catch on?................... 13 Budget crisis threatens child welfare programs............. 16 State will weigh legal recrecrational cannabis.............. 22 What New Mexico’s State Legislature looks like........... 26 COMMENTARY Increase openness, transparency this year..................... 29 Education, childcare critical to child wellbeing.............. 30 Closing loopholes, restoring trust top priorities.............. 31 Oil, gas prices aren’t only culprits in revenue crisis....... 32 Reform tax code, budget to grow NM economy........... 34 Local energy control vital to solve climate problem...... 36 Legislature must do more for working families.............. 37

New Mexico In Depth â&#x20AC;˘ 2017 Legislative special edition

Introduction

Join us again in this important conversation Dear Readers,

regular readers. 2016 seemed so sedate comWelcome to New Mexico pared to 2015, which gave In Depthâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s special edition. us a corruption conviction Within these pages, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll find against a former secretary of familiar issues as well as new state, Dianna Duran, and the ones, at least for us, about the Trip Jennings resignation of Phil Griego, the New Mexico State Legislature, chair of the powerful Senate Corporations committee which begins its new session from the state Senate. Until mid DeJanuary 17. The big news during the 2017 session cember, that is, when Demesia Padilla, of course will be New Mexicoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s inabili- Gov. Susana Martinezâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Taxation and ty to pay for what it has budgeted. Revenue Secretary, abruptly resigned We ask how these financial woes will after Attorney General investigators affect talk of reforming the way New raided the state agencyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s offices as part Mexico pays for projects across the of an ongoing criminal investigation state and how deeply it will influence involving her and her husband. spending on early childhood and other Will the latest in a parade of scandals programs designed to decrease child tip the scale in favor of ethics reform poverty. 12 years after New Mexicans, the media and good government advocates Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll touch on the debate about began calling for it? whether new taxes should be levied. We donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have an answer for you. And describe the rationale behind a Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re journalists, not fortune tellers. growing effort to make adult recreational use of cannabis legal in New But weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll do our best to highlight the Mexico, which would in part raise arguments for and against a perennial more tax revenue for the state. punching bag for many legislators â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a story on government ethics, the idea of setting up an independent no surprise to New Mexico In Depthâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ethics commission.

And what of campaign finance reform, another issue that provokes loud legislative debates with minimum action? Could that change after a bevy of super political action committees flexed their muscles during the 2016 election cycle, outspending legislative candidates nearly $17 million to $10 million? In addition to those questions, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll tell you about the makeup of the 112-member Legislature, how many lawmakers are returning and how many are new, and how they differ from most New Mexicans. As we have in previous special editions, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve also given several New Mexicans space to write about their expectations for the 2017 legislative session. Thanks for reading. We hope youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll follow along with us during the session, at www.nmindepth.com and through the People, Power & Democracy project, our collaboration with KUNM, NMPBS and University of New Mexicoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s News Port.

NMID will be covering the 2016 legislative session Find our complete coverage online at

Pulling back the curtain on state government. Our innovative, multi-media journalism collaboration will focus on good governance issues during the 2017 New Mexico Legislative Session. https://medium.com/@newmexicoppdÂ

New Mexico In Depth is dedicated to insightful reporting on public policy and good government issues that matter to New Mexicans. www.nmindepth.com NEW MEXICO IN FOCUS takes aÂ multi-layered look at social, political, economic, health,Â education and arts issues and explores them in-depth, withÂ a critical eye to give them context beyond the â&#x20AC;&#x153;news ofÂ the moment.â&#x20AC;? Tune inÂ Fridays atÂ 7 p.m.Â and Sundays atÂ 7 a.m.Â on Channel 5.1, and Saturdays atÂ 5 p.m.Â onÂ Channel 9.1 or online at www.newmexicopbs.org

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New Mexico In Depth • 2017 Legislative special edition Continued from 6 ➤

FOLLOWING THE

MONEY

By Sandra Fish New Mexico In Depth

New Mexico’s campaign finance system needs a major retooling. This is not a new revelation. For years the Secretary of State’s office and supporters of reform have said as much. Some of the law’s provisions are unconstitutional and therefore unenforceable. Inconsistencies and loopholes in the act make following the trail of money in politics difficult. And the law fails to acknowledge the recent rise of money flowing into campaigns from independent groups. But following years of attempting to update the campaign finance law, 2017 could be the year for reform,

Leadership shift sparks hope for supporters of campaign finance reform with a new secretary of state and new legislative leaders. Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver, incoming House Speaker Brian Egolf and incoming Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth all have advocated for strengthened laws in the past and are expected to do so again. And all three ascend to office in part due to the state’s campaign fi-

nance laws. Toulouse Oliver took office after a November election necessitated when former Republican Secretary of State Dianna Duran pleaded guilty to six charges of misusing campaign money to support a gambling habit. Duran served 30 days in jail after resigning from office. Wirth, a Santa Fe Democrat, takes over after former Senate Majority

New Mexico In Depth • 2017 Legislative special edition

Leader Michael Sanchez lost his seat following a drubbing he took via ads paid for by Advance New Mexico Now, a Republican super PAC. Egolf, also a Santa Fe Democrat, ascends to power after union-fueled super PACs helped Democrats regain control over the state House. Because New Mexico’s current campaign finance law doesn’t require disclosure of spending on specific races, it’s hard to know how much Advance New Mexico Now spent to defeat Sanchez or Democratic super PACs spent to take out GOP incumbent House members. What is clear is that Toulouse Oliver, Common Cause New Mexico and others will ask lawmakers during the 60-day session to inContinued on 7 ➤

crease disclosure and improve enforcement of campaign laws. “The brunt of my focus this (legislative) year will be on ethics and campaign finance enforcement related issues,” Toulouse Oliver said after her December swearing-in. While reform advocates hold out hope in 2017 for their proposals, some lawmakers may muddy the debate by calling for elimination of contribution limits for candidates that took effect in the 2012 election cycle. They say the limits create an an uneven playing field when super PACs that don’t coordinate with candidates or campaigns may raise and spend unlimited amounts of money that can dominate a race they choose to target. “We’ve created more ways of hiding money than we ever had before,” said Senate Minority Leader Stuart Ingle, R-Portales. That means the debate over campaign finance reform likely will get sticky during the 60-day legislative session. “The issue has never been partisan,” Wirth said. “We’ve had bipartisan support and bipartisan opposition. “There are groups of both sides that have issues with it (campaign finance reform),” Wirth reiterated. “And then, quite frankly, if we can get it up, then there’s a whole other

• • •

Survey Research Focus Groups Litigation Support

conversation we need to have with In the 2016 cycle, legislative canthe governor.” didates spent more than $10 million compared to the nearly $17 million Current rules allow little PACs spent, mostly on legislative disclosure by big spenders races, but also on other contests. For instance, when billionaire The year after the New Mexico Legislature passed a 2009 law enact- George Soros wanted to make sure ing contribution limits that took ef- Raul Torrez won last summer’s fect after the 2010 election, the U.S. three-way primary for BernalilSupreme Court struck down limits lo County district attorney, Soros for political action committees that dropped $107,000 into a new super don’t work with candidates or par- PAC. New Mexico Safety and Justice did polling and bought ads to ties. That January 2010 ruling by the support Torrez, who took office in nation’s top court undercut what January. While it was clear who Safety and New Mexico state lawmakers had Justice spent money on, following attempted to do with the 2009 law, which was rein in the amount of the money in New Mexico politics money flowing into politics. Pre- isn’t always that easy. Advance New Mexico Now spent viously, individuals supportive of a New Mexico candidate could nearly $2.2 million in 2015 and give a contribution of $100,000 or 2016. But it isn’t clear what legisla$200,000 and the recipient had to tive races it targeted or how much it report it to the Secretary of State’s supported or opposed specific canoffice in campaign filings. Some- didates. Under current rules, there’s no times, that generated news stories way to capture each and every mesand public outcry. With the court ruling, the money sage or to know how much radio given by wealthy individuals could ads or mailers cost groups such as now flow to super PACs that didn’t Advance, although New Mexico In coordinate their activities with po- Depth tried. New Mexico In Depth’s Follow litical campaigns. The rise of super PACs spend- the Message project (ftm.nmining unlimited sums independently depth.com) tracked many mailcombined with contribution limits ers and radio ads sent by Advance for candidates, took much of the and other super PACs. Meanwhile, control over campaigns away from tracking TV ad spending revealed that Advance spent nearly $386,000 candidates and political parties.

• • •

Mapping/GIS Demographic Services Redistricting

on TV ads, mostly to defeat outgoing Senate Majority Leader Michael Sanchez. New Mexico’s laws are weak when it comes to tracking the flow of independent money. New Mexico is one of five states that require no disclosure at all for outside spending, which helped earn the state an “F” grade in 2014 from the National Institute on Money in State Politics. Many states require identification of the candidate money was spent on, whether the spending opposed or supported a candidate and more. Montana, for instance, increased disclosure requirements after heavy outside spending in Republican primaries. “These Republican lawmakers were being targeted by dark money and they couldn’t stand that,” said Denise Roth Barber, managing director of the Montana-based institute. “Their ox had to get gored first.” Last year, the New Mexico Senate unanimously approved a bill to increase disclosure for such groups. But the measure, sponsored by Wirth, didn’t make it out of the House. Common Cause Executive Director Viki Harrison said this could be the year such legislation succeeds. “With so much money that was spent in the election, and that’s just Continued on 8 ➤

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New Mexico In Depth • 2017 Legislative special edition

what we know about it… this has to be the year,” she said. “We’re truly not capturing the independent spenders.” Toulouse Oliver said she will also advocate for increased disclosure “so that we can try to shine some light on the dark money situation in our state.”

“

Ultimately we’ve had a lack of accountability in the system. Because the laws themselves are intentionally somewhat vague. You don’t want legislators getting too specific.” — Maggie Toulouse Oliver, New Mexico Secretary of State

The devil in the details

At the same time, Toulouse Oliver’s office will begin writing rules to enforce the 2009 law that enacted contribution limits and required electronic filing. Such regulations are now nonexistent. Duran’s office twice scheduled hearings on proposed rules in 2015, but both hearings were cancelled after her criminal charges, resignation and guilty plea. By the time Albuquerque City Councilman Brad Winter took office in December, it was too late to create regulations for the 2016 election season. “Ultimately we’ve had a lack of accountability in the system,” Toulouse Oliver said. “Because the laws themselves are intentionally somewhat vague. You don’t want legislators getting too specific.” That vagueness has led to an inability to enforce the law. Rules could clarify the law and improve

“

Continued from 7 ➤

enforcement. For instance, there’s nothing in the law that prevents former lawmakers from continuing to spend campaign money after they’re no longer in office. NMID has reported on those who kept their accounts open and, while not taking contributions, continued to spend money on meals with “constituents,” computer equipment and more. Only one of those instances is clearly under investigation, in part as a result of criminal charges in another case. Former Sen. Phil Griego, who resigned in 2015 over a real estate deal for which he faces trial for bribery and fraud, is also being investigated by the attorney general for misusing his campaign money. The office is investigating eight campaign finance complaints filed by the public, according to spokesman Mark Pino.

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New Mexico In Depth • 2017 Legislative special edition

“In addition to conducting investigations of alleged violations of campaign finance reporting guidelines, the Office of the Attorney General actively monitors legislation with a particular focus on these issues,” Pino wrote in an email. “The Attorney General supports reforms that promote greater transparency and accountability for elected officials at all levels.” None of those complaints were referred from the Secretary of State’s office, which also investigates complaints and may levy fines if it finds violations. In another instance, since May, outgoing Rep. Andy Nuñez of Hatch has amended virtually all of his campaign finance reports dating back to 2010, some multiple times. That came after at least two complaints were filed with the SOS before the election about misusing campaign money. But the allega-

tions that he paid himself travel costs while also collecting money from the state are complicated, and the complaints weren’t resolved before Election Day. Nuñez lost his seat to Democrat Nathan Small, of Las Cruces. New regulations could set a deadline for amending reports that would prohibit a public official or candidate from going back years later to change information. And the Secretary of State’s office only investigates potential violations if a complaint is filed. For instance, no action was taken when a teachers union and others reported doling out campaign contributions to lawmakers during the October special legislative session because no complaints were filed, even though NMID reported on the contributions. New regulations could remedy such inconsistencies. And they wouldn’t require legislative approval, Toulouse Oliver said. Harrison, of Common Cause, would like to see candidates required to submit bank statements to the Secretary of State’s office, so they could be compared to campaign filings. And Toulouse Oliver and Harrison would like to see enforcement taken out of the Secretary of State’s office and replaced with an independent ethics commission. That

After NMID contacted the candiNew Mexico’s contribution limits date, he told NMID he would dis- increased with inflation in Novemwould take legislative action. close such information in future ber to $2,500 per election cycle for a “Ethics commission legislation is mailings. non-statewide candidate and $5,500 extremely high on my agenda,” Touper cycle for statewide candidates louse Oliver said. Scrapping contribution or traditional PACs from individuThe reform bill also would seek limits for candidates als or businesses. PACs may donate to rewrite provisions that are now While there’s a push for new reg- $5,500 per cycle to all candidates. unenforceable due to constitutional ulations, an ethics commission and In recent sessions, former Senate issues. Majority Leader Sanchez supported enhanced disclosure laws, some One example came to light in the expect lawmakers to revive legisla- legislation to eliminate those limits. weeks prior to the June 6 primary tion to scrap contribution limits for It’s unclear who might sponsor it when NMID discovered two mail- candidates. The argument is that the this year. ers from a Democratic candidate for playing field is uneven when super Ingle, the Republican Senate Mithe 39th Senate District who didn’t PACs can take unlimited donations nority Leader, said it would be diffidisclose who sponsored the mailing but candidates can’t. cult to roll back contribution limits or printed the letters. “We’re going to have a fight on because they’re popular with the New Mexico law was written to our hand on the flip side with con- public. require candidates to disclose such tribution limits,” said Harrison of Only six states have no contribuinformation, but a 1997 opinion Common Cause. “We keep hearing tion limits whatsoever in terms of from the Attorney General makes both sides of the aisle talking about how much can be donated or who that law unenforceable, the SOS getting rid of contribution limits. I may give, according to Roth Barber said. The agency advises candidates always say the PACs don’t get elect- of the National Institute on Money and campaigns to follow the disclo- ed. The PACs don’t hold official ca- in State Politics. Another five have sure law and most do. pacity.” no monetary limits, but do have reContinued from 8 ➤

strictions or bans on corporate contributions, she said. New Mexico does allow corporate contributions to candidates and PACs. But Harrison said lifting contribution limits for candidates won’t stop super PACs from raising large sums of cash. “When you look at other states that don’t have contribution limits, it’s not like the candidates are getting all the money.” Still, Harrison has high hopes that this is the year for campaign finance reform, especially requiring more disclosure from independent spenders such as super PACs. “With so much nasty rhetoric around state and national campaigns this year, transparency and shedding a light on things are going to be the winners in 2017.” Trip Jennings contributed to this report.

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Continued on 9 ➤

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New Mexico In Depth • 2017 Legislative special edition

The Openness Project

The Openness Project was created by New Mexico In Depth to give New Mexicans better access to and documentation for political contributions in the state of New Mexico. The data comes from the New Mexico Secretary of State. See how easy it is to follow the money: https://opennessproject.com/

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New Mexico In Depth • 2017 Legislative special edition

Problems persist with capital outlay system By Sandra Fish

in 2006 for easements near Cannon Air Force Base. The project is waiting on money from the U.S. Department of Defense. • Much of the $2.4 million allocated between 2013 and 2014 for Albuquerque’s Explora Science Center. It is unspent because of incomplete agreements between the nonprofit and the city. • About $570,000 originally allocated in 2012 to expand Albuquerque’s Southeast Heights library. The city of Albuquerque hasn’t been making monthly reports on its projects to the Department of Finance and Administration as required, so it’s unclear what is happening with the library project. A spokeswoman for Mayor Richard Berry did not respond to questions about the project.

New Mexico In Depth

Hundreds of millions of infrastructure dollars sit unspent across New Mexico as state lawmakers search for cash to cover a budget deficit. And with only $60 million available, it’s unlikely the Legislature will fund the usual number of projects in their districts this legislative session. Capital outlay bills are typically a top priority every year for the Legislature, funding everything from new and renovated state buildings to small local projects and, in some years, highway improvements. Some hope that lack of money this year will spark talk of reforming a system where individual lawmakers allocate money for specific projects but rarely reveal exactly how they spent the money. That pork barrel process, unique to New Mexico, has contributed to the vast amounts of money sitting unspent on projects that either aren’t wanted, don’t qualify, aren’t ready to start or aren’t fully funded. New Mexico In Depth has outlined problems with the state’s infrastructure funding system for nearly two years. In addition to the rarity of individual lawmakers allocating money for specific projects, the system often lacks oversight. The inconsistency in planning requirements -planning is required for statewide projects but optional for local governments -- contributes to the accumulation of unspent dollars. No other state in the nation allows individual lawmakers to allocate money for specific projects.

Transparency Illustration by Marjorie Childress — New Mexico In Depth

But in New Mexico, each lawmaker typically gets a specific amount of money each year to earmark. “We are the only state in the entire United States that does capital outlay funding the way that we do,” Linda Kehoe, a staff person for the Legislative Finance Committee, told members of that committee in December. “We have governors who sit in these workshops and they kind of drop their jaws, ‘You do what?’ ” she said, referring to out-of-state events she attends. But how far the reform effort goes is the big question as the 60day session begins. Unspent money

than

$462.4

worth of bond money for infrastructure projects enacted by the Legislature remained unspent through October. More than half of that was for about 1,770 local projects earmarked by lawmakers. “The biggest, biggest problem is that they’re not a planned project and they have way too little money to get the project moving,” Kehoe told the lawmakers. Often, she said, a project costing hundreds of thousands of dollars receives only a fraction of that cost from the Legislature. Without additional funding, the projects don’t get done. On the list of incomplete projects: • Some $800,000 that was origimillion nally part of a $5 million allocation

While lawmakers hold control of the infrastructure purse strings, it’s difficult to determine exactly how individual legislators allocate their money. Legislative Council Service told New Mexico In Depth that individual allocations are confidential under state law. So NMID asked lawmakers a year ago to share their allocations with the public. Through mid-December, 36 lawmakers have done so, including Senate President Pro Tem Mary Kay Papen, D-Las Cruces, Senate Minority Leader Stuart Ingle, R-Portales, outgoing House Speaker Don Tripp, R-Socorro, and incoming House Speaker Brian Egolf, D-Santa Fe. Sen. Sander Rue, R-Albuquerque, is again introducing a bill that Continued on 12 ➤

New Mexico In Depth • 2017 Legislative special edition

Continued from 11 ➤

Reform efforts

would divulge individual allocations after the governor signs (and vetoes some projects in) the annual capital outlay bill. Egolf introduced a similar bill last year, which Rep. Matthew McQueen, D-Galisteo, said he’ll introduce this year. Those bills both failed in 2016, but Rue said the second try might be easier. “The second time around, I have a feeling some of these guys are going to soften,” he said. Rue recalled attending a meeting with constituents where he distributed his infrastructure allocation list. “People were thrilled that I did that and appalled that it wasn’t public information,” Rue said. “It’s amazing to me that we have to debate that the public has access to this information”

Other reform efforts go beyond simply making lawmaker allocations transparent. Last year, Think New Mexico pushed for legislation to take individual project funding out of lawmakers’ purview. The non-partisan think tank recommended a commission to vet and rank proposed projects with lawmakers as a final seal of approval, similar to the public school infrastructure funding process. Gov. Susana Martinez also called for such reform, and labor unions and business organizations endorsed it. But a House committee killed the bill after lawmakers voiced concerns about their inability to fund projects in their districts. While lawmakers in cities often pay for projects such as parks and playgrounds, rural lawmakers strug-

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gle trying to fund larger needs such as road repairs and water systems. Sen. Gay Kernan, R-Hobbs, said lawmakers in southeastern New Mexico typically hold hearings on local government projects and collaborate to prioritize their infrastructure spending. If a committee made such decisions, she said, “I don’t think those dollars are going to flow back to my area. We just don’t have the political power or influence.” Sen. Carlos Cisneros, D-Questa, sponsored last year’s bill and agreed it’s a tough sell. “The individual legislative members want to be the exclusive determinator … as opposed to a committee,” he said. “There is a desire to maintain that autonomy.” While Cisneros and others may sponsor reform bills this session, others are trying to make administrative changes. In October, a working group of legislative staff, administrative staff and representatives of county and municipal groups made recommendations to the Revenue Stabilization and Tax Policy Committee. Creating a statewide committee to recommend projects topped the list. Other recommendations included: • Setting a minimum project amount, perhaps $50,000, for funding. • Ensuring that projects requested are included in long-range plans filed by local governments. • Stopping the funding of projects operated by nonprofits unless they meet critical health and safety needs. • Requiring local matching funds for projects. “We’ve made a lot of headway,” Kehoe told LFC. “We’ve increased outreach and education.” Some of those actions could be enacted as rules by legislative leaders. Regional councils of governments

New Mexico In Depth • 2017 Legislative special edition should be more involved in the process, too, said Hector Quintana, a consultant with New Mexico Association of Regional Councils, which represents all seven councils. The councils often sponsor forums or hearings for local governments seeking infrastructure funding before the legislative session begins, he said. “One of the other things we would like to see happen is more legislators actively participate in these hearings so they can better understand it before they get up there,” Quintana said. The councils also could take a more active role in helping local governments prepare to make infrastructure funding requests, he said. Auditor Tim Keller, a former state senator, is suggesting that projects be eliminated if they aren’t moving after seven years. That might motivate local governments to spend the money, and lawmakers to adjust their priorities. “It’s a blunt instrument that ends the problem,” Keller said. “Really it should be like five years or four years.” Keller also said there should be a single capital outlay administrator overseeing the status of projects. “We really think there should be a singular point of contact in the state of New Mexico,” he said. “We just don’t have that at all. The money is spread throughout 86 different agencies.” But at December’s Legislative Finance Committee meeting, Sen. John Arthur Smith, D-Deming, highlighted how difficult reforming the process can be. “What I really appreciate about this reform effort we undertook is that we started it in my first session,” Smith said, pausing before adding “only 28 years ago.”

Will independent ethics oversight catch on in 2017? By Trip Jennings New Mexico In Depth

New Mexico’s lawmakers over the last decade have balked at creating an independent ethics commission even as a parade of elected and appointed public officials stood accused of corruption and, in some cases, were convicted of crimes. Viki Harrison, executive director of Common Cause New Mexico and a perennial supporter of ethics legislation, reached back to 1990s American cinema for an analogy: Groundhog Day, a 1990s comedy classic in which the main character is forced to repeat the same day over and over again. “We are freakin’ Bill Murray,” Harrison said. Harrison hopes 2017 will break the cycle, however, and on the surface the odds in Santa Fe appear favorable. New Mexico’s lawmakers convene for the 2017 60-day legislative session with two supporters of the ethics legislation — Sen. Peter Wirth and Rep. Brian Egolf — in powerful leadership posts. Egolf is the new Speaker of the House and Wirth is Senate Majority Leader after Sen. Michael Sanchez lost his re-election in November. Many viewed Sanchez as resistant to ethics reform. But appearances can deceive. As in years past, the path for ethics legislation will traverse obstacle-rich territory. Many lawmakers regardless of party have never warmed to the idea of an independent body monitoring their behavior. Add the state’s financial woes and the question from some is “How do you pay for a new independent body with staff to run it in these cash-strapped times?”

Proponents pitch commission as economic development tool

Harrison and other supporters hope to have a persuasive answer at a time when New Mexico is reeling from lagging revenue because of the struggling oil and gas industry, on which the state is hugely dependent. Think of an ethics commission as an economic development tool helping to diversify the state’s economy over the long term, they said. “We are not going to fix our budget, or bring jobs to New Mexico if we don’t have an ethical state and show that we care about things like transparency and accountability,” Harrison said. Republican Rep. Jim Dines of Albuquerque, who plans to re-file a proposal killed by a state Senate committee last year that would have amended the constitution to create an independent commission, agreed. New Mexico needs to help foster “an atmosphere to lessen the public’s view of New Mexico as a very corrupt state,” he said. Out-of-state businesses are hesitant to move here and, as for those within, “we know businesses are leaving New Mexico.” The emphasis on corruption as

detrimental to economic growth is not new. Studies have linked unethical behavior in government to economic growth, rates of trust in government and participation in elections. In fact, one 2010 academic essay titled “Corruption is bad for growth (even in the United States)” that ran in a peer-reviewed journal found that corruption has a negative and significant effect on growth in U.S. states. Harrison and Dines also cite a February 2015 survey that found three-quarters of New Mexico business leaders supporting the creation of an independent ethics commission. And more than 8 in 10 considered the behavior of New Mexico officials over the past 20 years a serious issue. “They want to know they are not getting screwed by a bigger donation down the street,” Harrison said. Wirth, himself a sponsor of an ethics commission proposal in 2015, said ethics legislation needs to be considered “and I really want something to pass.” But at a time when the state must balance the budget with little in

“

This is a very serious funding question. When we’re short $130 million for 2017 and another $130 million in 2018 and no reserves, where’s the money gonna come to do this? — Sen. Peter Wirth, D-Santa Fe

“

financial reserves — lawmakers drained them during a special session — asking whether New Mexico can afford a commission isn’t a scheme to delay an unpopular idea with many lawmakers, he said. “This is a very serious funding question,” Wirth said. “When we’re short $130 million for 2017 and another $130 million in 2018 and no reserves, where’s the money gonna come to do this?” How We Got Here

New Mexico is one of nine states without an independent ethics commission, not for lack of trying. Since 2006, when a task force recommended the creation of an ethics commission in response to two indicted state treasurers who later went to federal prison, New Mexico lawmakers have rejected 20 or so attempts to create an independent ethics commission. In that time, six elected or appointed officials have gone to prison or jail for corruption. Two others have resigned under a cloud of suspicion. And one, Democratic Gov. Bill Richardson, withdrew his nomination to serve on President Obama’s cabinet because of a federal investigation. The probe yielded no indictments but a federal prosecutor concluded pressure from the governor’s office had corrupted the state’s procurement process. Meanwhile, the Legislature has spent nearly a quarter of a million dollars on committees empaneled by the House of Representatives to determine whether to draw up articles of impeachment for Democratic state Treasurer Robert Vigil, Democratic Public Regulation CommisContinued on 14 ➤

New Mexico In Depth • 2017 Legislative special edition

Top Public Officials and Corruption 2005 State Treasurer Michael Montoya pleaded guilty to extortion.

CPI Assessment of systems in place to deter corruption in new mexico state governemnt

2013 Vincent “Smiley” Gallegos, former head of the Region 3 Housing Authority, pleaded no contest to four misdemeanors, after being indicted in 2009 on fraud, embezzlement and conspiracy related to bond funds for housing projects.

2006

Public access to information

Grade F (49)

Rank 19th

State Treasurer Robert Vigil, Montoya’s successor, was convicted on one count of attempted extortion.

Political financing

Grade F (48)

Rank 36th

Electoral oversight

Grade D-(60) Rank 33rd

2008

Executive accountability

Grade F (53)

Rank 41st

Former Senate Pro Tem Manny Aragon pleaded guilty to fraud and conspiracy charges for his role in defrauding the state out of nearly $4.4 million

Legislative accountability

Grade F (57)

Rank 39th

Judicial accountability

Grade C-(73) Rank 3rd

Budget processes

Grade C (74)

2008

Civil service management

Grade D (65) Rank 14th

Sen. Phil Griego resigned from the State Senate after an ethics complaint was filed against him because he shepherded (and voted for) the sale of state property in Santa Fe, and subsequently took a $50,000 broker’s commission from the purchaser.

Procurement

Grade D (64) Rank 38th

2015

Internal auditing

Grade B-(83) Rank 17th

Lobbying disclosure

Grade F (51)

Rank 43rd

2009

Ethics enforcement agencies

Grade F (41)

Rank 45th

Gov. Bill Richardson withdrew his name from consideration as President Obama’s Commerce Secretary due to a federal corruption investigation.

Pension fund management

Grade C-(71) Rank 17th

Deputy State Insurance Superintendent Joe Ruiz was convicted by a federal jury of multiple counts of mail and wire fraud, corrupt solicitation, and extortion.

2009 Former three-term Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil-Giron was indicted along with three others on dozens of counts, including money laundering and embezzlement for alleged

Continued from 13 ➤ sion member Jerome Block, Jr. and Republican Secretary of State Dianna Duran. Duran pleaded guilty in late 2015 to six criminal charges, including two felony counts of embezzlement. All resigned before the committee

Rank 27th

Source: New Mexico’s scorecard, 2015 State Integrity Investigation, Center for Public Integrity

2015

Secretary of State Dianna Duran resigned and pleaded guilty to six criminal counts, including two felony embezzlement charges, for using campaign donations to fund her gambling addiction. Duran, who as Secretary of State was the top campaign finance official in the state, was sentenced to 30 days in jail.

2016 misuse of federal funds meant for a voter education campaign. The case against Vigil-Giron was later dropped because it dragged on for too long, but the three others were convicted and received federal prison sentences.

completed its work. And there are continuing political troubles. Democratic Sen. Phil Griego, who resigned in 2015 because of alleged corruption, awaits trial on criminal charges centered around his helping to guide through the Legislature a bill that authorized the sale of a

2011 Public Regulation Commissioner Jerome Block Jr. pleaded guilty to identity theft, embezzlement and fraudulent use of a credit card, and election fraud charges.

New Mexico’s Taxation and Revenue secretary, Demesia Padilla, abruptly resigned one day after Attorney General investigators raided the state agency’s offices as part of an ongoing criminal investigation involving her and her husband.

state-owned building for which he profited as the broker. And last month Republican Gov. Susana Martinez’s Taxation and Revenue secretary, Demesia Padilla, abruptly resigned one day after Attorney General investigators raided the state agency’s offices as part of an ongoing criminal investigation

involving her and her husband. It is with this backdrop that lawmakers will take up the debate over ethics reform, with multiple proposals driving the discussions. If past debates are any guide lawmakers will focus on who appoints Continued on 15 ➤

Continued from 14 ➤ commission members, whether it should have subpoena power (39 of 41 states with ethics commissions give them subpoena power) and whether it can adjudicate complaints itself instead of handing findings over to state courts. One of ethics reform’s biggest challenges, which arises from one of the most persistent fears among lawmakers, is that complaints would go public and be used against them politically. However, supporters of the legislation say that is already happening during elections. Proof of that concern can be found in a provision of a bill Democratic Sen. Linda Lopez of Albuquerque sponsored in 2016. It would have allowed penalties of up to $35,000 for a person publicly disclosing a confidential complaint made to the hypothetical state ethics commission. That’s larger than the fines and restitution former Secretary of State Dianna Duran was ordered to pay after pleading guilty to felony embezzlement of her campaign funds. Following last year’s 30-day session, New Mexico state lawmakers made a show of promising to work on ethics legislation during 2016 after Dines’ constitutional amendment died in the state Senate. But vetting ethics reform appeared not to be a priority. No interim legislative committee took it up until after the November election. “Everybody is busy with election season” and “some of the other parties have not been available,” Lopez said a few days before the election when asked why no legislation had been considered earlier in the year.

“

New legislators are the best. They have been out campaigning. They have heard the public talk trash about politicians. They haven’t been up there long enough to hear about all the reasons to not (pursue ethics reform). We got to quit screwing around.

“

— Viki Harrison, executive director, Common Cause New Mexico

systematically dismantling bills or letting time run out on them as the session ends. It was there that Dines’ proposed constitutional amendment met its demise in the last days of the 2016 regular legislative session. The proposal would have given an independent commission general oversight of ethics in government and subpoena power and authority to adjudicate its own cases, in contrast to New Mexico’s current practice. Currently, the state parcels out oversight of public officials to legislative ethics committees, the New Mexico Attorney General, inspector generals at various state agencies and the Office of the Secretary of State. “It was one-stop shopping,” Dines said of his proposal. Other proposals will compete with Dines’ constitutional amendment during the 2017 session, including an idea from Democratic Sen. Daniel Ivey-Soto of Albuquerque for a Public Accountability Board. Unlike Dines’ proposal, which would amend the state constitutional if approved by voters, Ivey-Soto’s proposal would become law if approved by the Legislature and signed by Gov. Martinez. The board could not issue subpoenas itself but could What critics say request a state court judge issue subSenate Rules, which Lopez chaired poenas if needed, Ivey-Soto said. for years, has become a de facto Lopez and others like Republican Sen. Minority Leader Stuart Ingle of killing ground for ethics proposals,

Portales have said the current system works, particularly the part that allows lawmakers to police themselves using secretive legislative committees. It was senators sitting on the 16-member Interim Legislative Ethics Committee, after all, who helped persuade Griego to resign in the middle of the 2015 legislative session for allegedly using his elective office for personal gain. But other than Griego, it’s unclear how often state lawmakers have taken action against one of their own since the committee began in 1993, a year after the House censured Democratic Rep. Ronald Olguin for “improper conduct.” A jury later convicted him of criminal behavior. The committee’s activities are not public. Other critics say many ethics commissions in other states are ineffective. In fact, the 2015 State Public Integrity Project by the Center for Public Integrity in Washington, D.C. found that “most ethics entities are toothless and underfunded.” One study, indeed, has questioned the measureable effects such commissions have on corruption. But in concluding the authors acknowledged the possibility “that state ethics commissions serve a more symbolic purpose or achieve some outcome that is difficult to directly measure.”

15 Supporters have blamed ineffectiveness on the inadequate funding from states. Some critics have argued an ethics commission is unnecessary because the public oversees officials, although they acknowledge it requires those who are “willing to stand up and come forward with a complaint,” as Lopez put it last year. But New Mexico is stingy with certain information, making public oversight next to impossible. For instance, lobbyists who work in the Roundhouse — unlike in other states — don’t have to report what pieces of legislation, let alone issues, they push for during a legislative session. And unlike in Colorado and other states, lobbyists — many of them former state lawmakers or legislative staff — don’t have to disclose what they are paid by their clients or provide a detailed accounting of how much they and their employers spend on individual public officials. Meanwhile, the lack of disclosure rules in New Mexico makes it difficult to understand relationships between people, such as lawmakers, lobbyists and their employers. And following money in the state’s political system is next to impossible. Even getting good information on campaign contributors is difficult. All the challenges don’t dampen supporters’ hopefulness that 2017 will finally break the cycle of rejection after repeated rejection, however. “I’m feeling really good about it,” Harrison said. “We’ve got so many new legislators. New legislators are the best. They have been out campaigning. They have heard the public talk trash about politicians. They haven’t been up there long enough to hear about all the reasons to not do it. We got to quit screwing around.”

New Mexico In Depth • 2017 Legislative special edition

federal government spends $3 to $4 dollars in the state on Medicaid services. New Mexico invests about 15 percent of its annual $6 billion operating budget in Medicaid, which leads to a significant infusion of federal health care dollars into the state’s economy.

Continued from 16 ➤ Impact on kids

Illustration by Marjorie Childress — New Mexico In Depth

Budget crisis threatens child welfare programs By Marjorie Childress New Mexico In Depth A gaping revenue shortfall and lack of reserves have New Mexico’s legislators worried about short-circuiting the progress of large investments made in early childhood and safety net programs in recent years. A steep decline in the price of oil has contracted an industry on which New Mexico relies heavily, leading to

broad layoffs, sales of oilfield equipment, foreclosures and bankruptcies. That, in turn, has gutted the cash from tax revenues state leaders counted on to pay for state operations. State leaders emptied out the state’s reserve fund to balance last year’s budget. Now they must close this year’s shortfall — projected at $69 million — without a pot of money that has cushioned economic pain in

previous economic downturns. “It’s the first time since I’ve been in the legislature that we haven’t had any reserves,” said Sen. John Arthur Smith, D-Deming, the longtime chair of the Senate Finance Committee who joined the Legislature in 1989. “We’ll be clawing back and robbing every nook and cranny we can possibly rob to Band-Aid through the rest of the fiscal year.” But Rep. Javier Martinez, D-Albu-

querque, isn’t sure the state will find much money as it hunts for cash. “It’s very troubling, there’s no meat left on the bone,” Martinez said. “We’re going after the bone now. Anything considered soft money is on the table. Early education is on the table. Medicaid is on the table. Adult education and job training funds will be on table.”

Continued on 17 ➤

The difficult budget decisions facing state legislators reside against a backdrop in which 32 percent, or 51,000, of New Mexico’s children under the age of 5 live in poverty. That percentage has crept downward from 2011, when it was 36 percent, as the state has invested more heavily in programs that benefit children, such as child-care assistance, early education and home visiting programs. Scientific research shows monetary investment in the early lives of children will pay dividends decades later in a reduction of negative outcomes, including lower incarceration rates and improved economic opportunities. What scares advocates is that this year’s money woes coincide with agreement that has gelled among policy makers in recent years that investing in programs benefiting children and their families is critical. Now the “soft money” programs Martinez mentioned may face cuts. Such programs are called “two-generation” strategies. That is, they target both the child and the parents—two generations—to create healthy learning environments capable of moving the needle on poverty. The idea is that in order for children to succeed, they need supportive family environments. But parents working one or more low-wage jobs without health care benefits can find it difficult to make ends meet and provide the time their children need for healthy development. “A good example of a two-generation program is child care assistance,” said Sharon Kayne, communications director for New Mexico Voices for Children, a research and public policy advocacy organization. “Not only does the program give kids a safe, enriching environ-

Looming cuts, or new revenue

Jett Loe — Las Cruces Sun-News

5-year-old Seth Potts bites into a peach provided as part of a free lunch by Families and Youth, Inc. at Young Park in Las Cruces while 5-year-old Vivian Trivizo looks on, June 1, 2016. The free lunch program is funded through the New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department. ment to be during the day, it also allows their parents to work, look for a job, or attend school.” New Mexico spent $84.7 million on child care assistance in fiscal year 2015, which supported 17,042 children. About a third of the program is funded through the state’s general fund, with federal dollars from various sources making up the remainder. Funding for the state’s home visiting program grew from $2.3 million in 2012 to $15.5 million in 2015. The home visiting program supports a web of community-based organizations that provide voluntary, free services. Once enrolled, a family receives regular visits in their home for up to three years by an early childhood specialist, or home visitor. The home visitor helps parents with educational information, advice on how to meet parenting challenges, and support in various ways, including screenings for various conditions and associated referrals. In 2015, the program served 2,789

children, according to the Children, Youth and Families Department annual program report. And because it targets both parent and child, it’s a good example of a two-generation approach. Other strategies utilize or build on federal money. For instance, New Mexico provides a “working families tax credit” valued at 10 percent of the federal earned income tax credit, both of which target low-income families. New Mexico also directs federal dollars it receives from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF program, to support child care assistance, pre-K, and home visiting programs, in addition to direct cash assistance to families. And the federal Medicaid program now provides more than a third of the state’s population with health care insurance, since an eligibility expansion in 2014 to low-income adults led to more than 250,000 new enrollees by end of 2016. For every $1 spent by New Mexico, the

Once legislators do the dirty business of raiding dark corners in state government to find revenue or making cuts to plug this year’s revenue shortfall, they’ll turn their attention to creating a budget for next year. Smith said new revenue sources are necessary. But he expects opposition from New Mexico’s Republican governor, Susana Martinez. “There’s no real easy answer to our revenue problem,” Smith said. “You can’t cut your way to prosperity. The executive branch is trying to do that.” A centerpiece of the governor’s economic development strategy is tax reduction. She touts in official materials that she’s reduced taxes 24 times, including a package in 2013 that reduced the maximum corporate income tax rate from 7.6 percent to 5.9 percent. And she has consistently vowed to not raise taxes during her tenure. “The next governor is going to be left in a super mess because I don’t expect any movement,” Smith said about the governor’s stance on taxes. “She’s taken the pledge, regardless of the pain to the state.” A proposal Smith is pushing is a new 10 cent per gallon tax on gasoline, which would be used to replenish the state’s reserve fund, and then invested in state and local road funds. That investment would in turn lead to jobs, Smith said. “We have fewer people working

Continued on 18 ➤

Continued from 17 ➤ now than in 2005,” he said. “We’re going to have to make investments in jobs. Obviously the gasoline tax could do that, create jobs with infrastructure. I’m waiting patiently to see if the governor wants to.” A spokesman for the governor said she “isn’t going to raise taxes” and that increasing what people pay for gasoline would “penalize New Mexicans.” “They need to make tough decisions and tighten state government’s belt without gutting classroom spending and slashing important economic initiatives,” Michael Lonergan, press secretary for the governor, said of state lawmakers. That approach lays a strong foundation for private sector growth, Lonergan said. “We can’t afford to go back to the days when we relied solely on the federal government and the oil and

New Mexico In Depth • 2017 Legislative special edition

“

It’s very troubling, there’s no meat left on the bone. We’re going after the bone now. Anything considered soft money is on the table. Early education is on the table. Medicaid is on the table. Adult education and job training funds will be on table. — Rep. Javier Martinez, D-Albuquerque

gas industry to create jobs,” he said. “That very thinking put us where we are today.” Advocates argue that child welfare investment is possible despite the revenue shortfall. There are other options for investing in children and families that don’t require general fund dollars, Kayne argued. Two big ones that would raise fam-

“

ily income, she said, are raising the minimum wage and requiring companies to provide paid sick leave. “About 20 percent of our kids have one parent who would benefit from raising the wage,” she said. “And require companies with a certain number of employees to offer some kind of paid sick leave. If parents have to stay home with their kids, they lose wages.”

New Mexico In Depth • 2017 Legislative special edition New policies aside, the state could also coordinate services better. “Many of these programs are offered in isolation,” Kayne said. Better coordination would ensure more low-income families receiving TANF benefits also received childcare assistance, she said, noting that those two programs are administered by separate state agencies that don’t coordinate well. Rep. Martinez argued that if New Mexico is serious about changing the status quo of entrenched child poverty, it will need to invest much more in order to tap the potential of programs such as home visiting. And sources exist other than the general fund to do that, he said. Martinez is one of several lawmakers pushing for a constitutional amendment that would allow 1 percent of the state’s permanent land grant fund to be used for early ed-

Continued on 19 ➤

Continued from 18 ➤ ucation programs. About $150 million annually would be raised. The proposal to tap the permanent fund has been debated for six years now, with strong opinions for and against. Advocates point out that New Mexico has one of the largest land grant permanent funds in the country, if not the world, and should use a small percentage of it in a way that would change the direction of the state. The idea is that investing significantly more money now will grow a more educated and skilled workforce, which would in turn improve New Mexico’s economy and income levels. “These last eight years of recession, everything has taken a hit,” Martinez said. “The one thing that has not, and has continued to grow, is the permanent fund. That is the

most sustainable and permanent source to fund such a transformative concept, which early education is.” The value of New Mexico’s land grant permanent fund increased from $10.7 billion in 2011 to $14.8 billion by the end of 2015. Opponents fear tapping additional permanent fund dollars will lead to a shrinking fund principle, which would decrease the ability of the fund to generate revenue for the state’s general fund at current or higher levels in the long run. Smith is one of those opponents. The land grant fund should be thought of as an endowment rather than a “rainy day fund,” he said, with growth in the fund generating more interest income for the state’s annual general fund. The early education proposal would lead to more than 5 percent being drawn down, Smith argued, which over time would hinder the fund’s ability to sustain

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downturns in the marketplace or inflation. But advocates took the long term health of the fund into consideration. One constitutional amendment legislators will consider allows for 1 percent of the fund to be drawn down only if the average value of the fund for the preceding five years is $12 billion. “The longer we wait, the more

kids we’ll lose to poverty and what poverty breeds,” Rep. Martinez said. Since the proposal was first suggested, he said, there has been a generation of babies born “who will start kindergarten this year, their families not engaged in any kind of process, who may be dealing with drug addiction, mental health problems, or food and housing shortage.”

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New Mexico In Depth • 2017 Legislative special edition

SPONSORED CONTENT

Every crime law should pass these four simple tests. New Mexico’s criminal justice system is broken. Our communities are less safe because our justice system wastes too many of our precious resources on locking up low-level, non-violent offenders that pose no real risk to public safety. This has led to:

Illustration by Marjorie Childress — New Mexico In Depth

Continued from 23 ➤ The Drug Policy Alliance of New Mexico agreed. While the data related to incarceration for marijuana crimes is difficult to navigate, Emily Kaltenbach, the alliance’s executive director, said her group has found there are approximately 3,000 marijuana-related arrests per year in New Mexico. “I think it would be fair to say that you would see it (data) skewing towards younger folks and people of color,” Kaltenbach said, citing maps

her organization uses to illustrate where the arrests take place. New Mexico’s Administrative Office of the Courts predicts that caseloads related to the criminal use of marijuana would dwindle if legal use of the drug becomes law. “It would limit the prosecution of the possession of marijuana to people under the age of twenty-one, and only amounts over any limits provided in the implementation of legislation, by people twenty one years of age or older,” the AOC stated in an analysis of the 2016 cannabis le-

galization initiative. The agency also speculated that the rate of return to jail or prison for certain populations in New Mexico might be reduced if more resources were given to the state’s substance abuse and mental health providers from the revenue generated from the taxation of marijuana and hemp.

Health debate Addressing public health concerns during last year’s cannabis legalization debate, New Mexico’s

Department of Health provided a run-down of the risks in comments attached to Ortiz y Pino’s joint resolution, including: • A 9 percent likelihood of addiction (which, the DOH acknowledged, is lower than risks for nicotine, heroin, cocaine, and alcohol) • Increased memory loss and risk of psychosis • Increased risk of motor vehicle crashes (two times that of sober drivers) Continued on 25 ➤

• • • • •

dangerous overcrowding in our jails and prisons, skyrocketing costs to the taxpayer, clogged courts, overtaxed police officers, and insufficient funding for crime prevention programs.

New Mexico SAFE, a coalition of nonprofits and community organizations spanning the political spectrum, has created a litmus test for legislation that can break through the gridlock, move New Mexico into the 21st century, and protect future victims from violent crime. New Mexico SAFE sets the standard for serious legislation to fix our broken system. We should ask whether a bill meets four simple standards in the S.A.F.E criteria:

Does it make New Mexico SAFER for children and families?

Is it APOLITICAL?

Is it FISCALLY-RESPONSIBLE?

Is it EVIDENCE-BASED?

Tougher penalties do not correlate with a decrease in crime. Serious legislation must prevent tragedies before they happen to make New Mexico safer for children and families.

Too many politicians in New Mexico use tough-on-crime proposals to prop up their political campaigns. Serious legislation must address the problem of crime and public safety, not advance a political agenda.

New Mexico has one of the nation’s most devastating budget crises. Any serious legislation must be fiscally responsible. If it doesn’t actually make communities safer, it’s not worth the money.

Finally, serious legislation must be supported by evidence that it actually works. We cannot afford to waste time on bills that have no proven track record of reducing crime or increasing public safety, nor bills whose implementation has shown bias or inequitable treatment.

Learn more about NM SAFE and our plan to fix New Mexico’s broken justice system at www.nmsafe.org.

New Mexico In Depth • 2017 Legislative special edition

What New Mexico’s state Legislature looks like

By Gwyneth Doland New Mexico In Depth

The average lawmaker in America is a “white, male, Protestant baby boomer with a graduate degree and a business background,” according to an analysis by the National Conference of State Legislatures. In short, the establishment looks a lot like it always has. And the status quo is extremely difficult to change. Incumbency is the one thing that most certainly determines whether a legislative candidate will win. An incumbent who is good at raising money won 94 percent of the time, according to a national analysis of 2013-2014 legislative races conducted by The National Institute on Money in State Politics. In Santa Fe, all but six of the senators who will take office in 2017 are returning to the Roundhouse; in the House only 121 of 70 are new. In Santa Fe, lawmakers are in some ways more diverse than their counterparts in other states. They’re more Hispanic than lawmakers elsewhere, but as a group they’re slightly whiter than the state. Nationally, Hispanics make up about 13 percent of U.S. population but only 5 percent of state lawmakers. New Mexico is about 46 percent Hispanic and 40 percent Anglo; the 2017 New Mexico Legislature will be about 54 percent Anglo and about 38 percent Hispanic. Native Americans are underrepresented— they’re about 10 percent of the state but only 6 percent of lawmakers. Folks from other states might look at our Legislature’s 2017 class picture and think it wildly misrepresents African-American voters, but New Mex-

Marjorie Childress — New Mexico In Depth

The New Mexico state Legislature is seen during the 2016 legislative session. In Santa Fe, lawmakers are more Hispanic than lawmakers elsewhere, but as a group they’re slightly whiter than the state. The number of women serving in the New Mexico Legislature has gone up and down over the years but it still doesn’t reflect the fact that women make up half the state. ico’s two black lawmakers are roughly overall picture is that there are more proportional to the 2 percent of the women in office, but the growth is state that’s black. slow and women are still underrepresented in the halls of state governWomen are still ment. underrepresented That means women’s perspectives The number of women serving in are not heard as often, says Liz Stefanthe New Mexico Legislature has gone ics, a Santa Fe Democrat who served up and down over the years but it still one term in the state Senate in the doesn’t reflect the fact that women early 1990s and was reelected in November. make up half the state. For example, more women spend There will be 33 women in the state House and Senate this year, making time taking care of their own children, the New Mexico Legislature nearly looking after grandchildren and carone-third female. The national aver- ing for aging parents. So they might be more likely to support things such age is 25 percent. In the early 1970s very few women as paid family leave. Stefanics also notes that the vast served in statehouses—only 4 percent of lawmakers were female then. The majority of teachers are women, but

New Mexico In Depth • 2017 Legislative special edition

a great majority of the people making decisions about education are men. “If more men were teachers, would that change how we treat teachers?” she wonders. A ‘generation gap’ divides lawmakers from constituents

Any visitor sitting in the gallery can see one obvious way state lawmakers look different from the state as a whole: They are much older. The average age of the incoming House member is 56; in the Senate it’s 60. In contrast, the median age of a New Mexican today is 37. Our lawmakers are a little older Continued on 27 ➤

1. As this publication went to print, Rep. Don Tripp, R-Socorro, had just announced his resignation. Shortly after the Legislature convenes, there will be 13 new legislators in the House.

Continued from 26 ➤ than the national average of 56 for state legislators, while our population is just a little younger. One quarter of New Mexicans today are in their prime working years, between 25 and 44. But the unpaid nature of the job as a state lawmaker means it’s more accessible to those who are retired, people whose work is very seasonal (think: farmers) and those who are wealthy enough that they don’t need to work full time. Asking people to work for free (aside from travel reimbursements and per diem) presents a significant barrier to service, particularly among younger people. “The reason you don’t see younger people in the Legislature is because we can’t afford to do it,” says state Democratic Sen. Jacob Candelaria, who is 30. “That’s the reason. Pure and simple. 100 percent.” Of course older lawmakers can bring some highly desirable qualities to the job, including institutional knowledge and the broad perspective that comes with a lifetime of work and life experience. “My colleagues bring a stability and a wisdom that I lack,” Candelaria says. The problem with lawmakers who are much older than the constituents they serve is a generation gap. Millennials, who are mostly in their 20s and early 30s, are the country’s largest living generation. Compared to Baby Boomers, Millennials are more diverse, more globally oriented, more culturally tolerant—and they were the hardest hit by the Great Recession. “Conversations about technology, legalization of marijuana, transgender rights, those are some issues where we’re not bridging a political or policy gap, it’s a generational gap,” Candelaria says.

yers—nearly 20 percent. The vast majority went to college and more than half have graduate degrees. That makes sense, says state Rep. Alonzo Baldonado, a Republican who has a real estate business in Los Lunas. “When you look at the folks who run, maybe they’re more likely to think they have something to bring to the table, whereas the person who made your lunch today is more concerned with putting food on their own family’s table.” Baldonado mixes legislative work with his real estate business most days and he’s cognizant that that’s a luxury many New Mexicans don’t have. “Most people will tell you they had to put their entire life on hold just to campaign. If I didn’t have the kind of business I have I couldn’t do this.” In terms of that kind of workplace flexibility, real estate is similar to law. “There’d be a better conversation,” if there were fewer people with advanced degrees and more “regular New Mexicans” in the Legislature, Baldonado says. Unpaid service is a stumbling block to diversity

On the day we spoke, Baldonado said he had worked on real estate projects, then met with Sen. Bill O’Neill, D-Albuquerque, about a bill they’re co-sponsoring, then went back to real estate work and planned to meet later with county commissioners. He believes paying state lawmakers would open up opportunities to many more people. But the political barriers to a paid Legislature are formidable—and obvious. Voters would have to approve a change to the state Constitution and history shows New Mexicans haven’t liked the idea the four times it went to ballot in the 20th century. Plus, what kind of politician wants to vote to pay himself? Lawyers rule the roost “How do you get a more representaAnother thing that pops out as you tive body?” Baldonado wonders. “Mayscroll through state lawmaker’s official be you have to look outside what you’re web pages is that a lot of them are law- doing now.”

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New Mexico In Depth • 2017 Legislative special edition

The Justice Project brought to you by New Mexico In Depth

Commentary

Make a fresh start: Increase openness and transparency at the New Mexico State Capitol this legislative session

Much of the justice coverage in New Mexico follows a basic formula: here is an issue or a thing that happened, and here is what powerful people have to say about it. Occasionally, there is a counterpoint from someone whose political or ideological viewpoint differs from that of the powerful. But journalism related to the justice system can be more representative of a broader range of diverse voices, more accountability focused, a better watchdog for citizens, more interested in solutions, more curious about how the justice system fits into the massive mosaic of this state’s social structures and problems — and how New Mexico fits into a national context. The Justice Project produces such journalism. A special project of New Mexico In Depth, follow The Justice Project in 2017 on our website: nmindepth.com.

New Mexico In Depth • 2017 Legislative special edition

delicate and down and he start of a new resentatives and their challengers Legislature is like dirty when divvying up in the November election, arguing the beginnings of state revenues, but fundthat budget meetings here, like in a New Year. There are oping government programs Colorado and other states, should portunities for fresh starts and balancing the budget, be public. and renewed resolutions. as required by the New Lawmakers argue they’re not Like every year, the 2017 Mexico Constitution, is making final decisions when they Peter St. Cyr the state’s top challenge Legislature is still a blank meet in private and aren’t oblibook, but with new leadgated to unlock the doors. But we this year and the public ership, the New Mexico all know most lawmakers aren’t should be allowed to obFoundation for Open Government serve the debate. involved in budget building negourges legislators to write a few good tiations. Instead, they base their There’s never a good reason to chapters in the state’s history books. leave New Mexicans in the dark on final decisions and floor votes on This year, they should approve recommendations from colleagues important policy issues even if it a measure to archive committee makes lawmakers uncomfortable or assigned to write the budget bill. meeting videos, make significant Public access should be the unpopular. improvements to laws governing standard for all government policy That’s why, last year, when the access to electronic records and meetings and legislative leaders finance meetings to discuss the government databases, and block budget were closed from the public, should vow to keep budget talks any attempt by public colleges and moving and in full public view. AfNMFOG sent letters of protest to universities from further shielding ter all, the rooms they use inside the both the House and Senate leaderthe names of university president ship and emphasized that no statute state capitol are completely operatjob candidates. It’s also time to ed and staffed with taxpayer dollars. or legislative rule barred public mandate private sector personnel Budget negotiations are wide attendance. NMFOG followed up recruitment firms release the names with letters to all senators and repopen in other states like Coloraand resumes of people applying for government jobs upon request, support a measure requiring robust campaign finance disclosure rules There’s never a good reason to leave and require the identification of New Mexicans in the dark on important every political contributor. But first, leaders must fling back policy issues even if it makes lawmakers the doors on closed budget meetuncomfortable or unpopular. ings. NMFOG understands negotiations between lawmakers can be

do, so it’s fair to say that the tired excuses used to shut New Mexicans out of meetings here shouldn’t fly in 2017. A completely transparent process is a good way to restore the public’s faith in state government. NMFOG thinks it’s time for lawmakers to make access to budget talks a top priority. While they’re at it, they should eliminate loopholes in the New Mexico Open Meetings Act that subcommittee members use to defend their secret meetings and vote to archive all committee meeting videos so that New Mexicans all around New Mexico can watch them on demand. Open government advocates may not be able to barge through closed doors, but lawmakers should know NMFOG is watching closely and expects them to operate in the spirit of New Mexico’s sunshine laws. Besides, a little scrutiny never hurt anyone. Peter St. Cyr, a former independent journalist and open government advocate, is now the executive director for the New Mexico Foundation for Open Government. The views in this column are the author’s alone and do not reflect the views or opinions of New Mexico In Depth.

NMID will be covering the 2017 legislative session Find our complete coverage online at

New Mexico In Depth • 2017 Legislative special edition

Commentary

Early education, child care critical to improve child well-being

school year initiatives for low-income families to access arly childhood (such as K-3+) are high-quality care. Reliable child care and educaattempts to create an care arrangements are essential for tion is central to effective system of care parents seeking to work or attend any discussion about and education for our school, and investing in the quality improving child wellmost vulnerable chilof the child care system reachbeing in New Mexico. Meriah E. dren. es tens of thousands of children Decades of research HerediaHome visiting is a across the income spectrum. This have shown that the universal, in-home year, the first-ever annual report early years of a child’s Griego and support program that on the child care system will be life are a special time Hailey Heinz provides parents and available, examining data on when the brain is deother caregivers guidaccess, affordability, and quality of veloping rapidly, and ance about how to sup- child care in New Mexico. that providing enNew Mexico PreK, which began port pre-literacy and basic needs riching, stable environments for as a half-day program for 4-yearof children. New Mexico has been young children is one of the best olds, has recently expanded to a national leader in establishing investments a society can make. serve 3-year-olds and to be offered ongoing analysis of home visiting Supporting parents to help them in some settings as a full-day outcomes, aided by a comprehenbe their children’s first teachers, program. PreK has been found to sive, centralized data system. This ensuring all families have access improve outcomes for children, reporting, now in its fourth year, to high-quality child care and including later test scores and reshows a system that is screening pre-kindergarten experiences, and families for risk and referring duced need for special education. investing in strategies to improve them to needed services such Early childhood education the early school years are all ways efforts continue into the early New Mexico can support the well- as counseling for post-partum depression. Challenges remain, school years. The K-3+ program being of its youngest children. however, such as how to support extends the school year, adding 25 Though investing in early childfamilies when home visitors make additional days for kindergarten hood is sound policy, accountabilreferrals but families do not enroll through third grade. The goal is to ity for early childhood investments in services, either because services have more students prepared for is critical in this time of declining are not available or because famand reading by third grade. K-3+ state resources and competing in New Mexico was evaluated reilies are uncomfortable seeking needs. Without solid data and help. cently through a randomized conaccountability systems, it is chalOne of New Mexico’s largest trol trial, which found K-3+ was lenging to know the reach and early care and education systems effective, but it was far more so impact of state investments. The is the child care assistance prowhen students had the same teachsame research that has shown the gram, which provides subsidies er for the 25 extra days that they value of early care and education has also often shown that program quality is essential, and that not every program aimed at young Though investing in early childhood is sound children is a success. policy, accountability for early childhood Fortunately, New Mexico has data and accountability informainvestments is critical in this time of declining tion on a variety of systems supstate resources and competing needs. porting young children and their families. Home visiting, child care subsidies, PreK, and extended

had for the rest of the school year. This points to the need for debates to extend beyond whether to fund programs, and focus on how to fund high-quality implementation that gets the desired results. None of these systems or programs can be effective if children do not show up to take advantage of them. Attempts to decrease truancy in the high school years often surface as a legislative issue, and we have an opportunity to reframe the conversation around prevention by building a culture of attendance during the preschool and early elementary years. Chronic absence, including suspensions, excused, and unexcused absences, can be an important indicator of when children and families are in need of support. There is overwhelming agreement that quality early childhood care and education programs play a vital role in providing safe and educational environments for children. In many cases this agreement is based on data, and on emerging evidence that programs are getting results for children and families. Yet with difficult budget discussions ahead, New Mexico faces the ongoing challenge of how to meet the chronic need across our state and support the wellbeing of young children and their families. Heredia-Griego and Heinz conduct education policy research at the University of New Mexico’s Center for Education Research. The views in this column are the authors’ alone and do not reflect the views or opinions of New Mexico In Depth.

Commentary

Closing gaping loopholes, restoring trust top priorities for Common Cause New Mexico in 2017 legislative session

pass it! ast year’s elections New Mexico is one of only a few brought more than More robust disclosure states without a commission. We a change in leaderof the activities of the believe any commission must be hundreds of lobbyists non-partisan and have the power ship at both the state and who contribute generous- to bring and investigate complaints national level. In New ly to campaigns and seek and oversee campaign finance and Mexico they brought a to influence legislators lobbying laws. The authority to do record number of ethics that now is scattered and the public complaints about conflicts Viki Harrison each session is also on our agenda. Two thirds of often concludes that there is no of interest and faulty camthe public already beenforcement of existing laws. paign reports. And then lieves that elected officials are more Another important benefit of a there was the huge rush of special responsive to lobbyists than voters. commission — for the vast majoriinterest cash ($17.5 million) flowty of hard-working, ethical officials Shining the light on exactly whom ing through independent expendi— will be educational. With trainlobbyists are meeting with, and ture groups, whose identities and ing and advisory opinions, public what bills they are discussing is purposes were largely unknown. employees will be able to steer one way of altering the perception We’re hoping that the mounting clear of trouble and avoid mistakes of a rigged system. That will be the problems will put some wind into from the start. the sails of several proposals Com- purpose of our bill this year. Last Fixing New Mexico’s system of year, we made some progress, remon Cause New Mexico will bring quiring lobbyists to list the specific public campaign financing for the before the 2017 Legislature. Some recipients of their spending and a PRC and appellate courts is anothof these proposals — for additional description of what the money was er priority. We need to update the disclosure and an ethics commisVoter Action Act to prevent abuse spent on. But anything spent on sion — are well known. This is by limiting disbursements to unoplegislators under $100 was inadverthe year for leaders on both sides tently excluded—a loophole that posed candidates and prohibiting of the aisle to act on them and we need to close. the use of public funds for living stem the growing tide of distrust An independent ethics comexpenses or compensation to the in public officials and institutions mission to hold public officials to candidate or his or her family. that now threaten to engulf our account for violations and draw The outcome of many of New democracy. bright lines for executive and Mexico’s elections last year was Our proposal to require greater legislative officials caught in a pre-ordained by lines drawn on transparency from groups that confusing morass of conflicting a map outlining the districts in make huge independent expencodes remains a top major priority. which candidates ran for office. ditures and often swing state elections with negative TV and mail advertisements has passed the Senate four times. It will close This is the year for leaders on both sides of the aisle loopholes, which allow campaigns to act on (good-government initiatives) and stem and “independent” groups to coordinate by using the same staff, the growing tide of distrust in public officials and offices and advisers. The bipartiinstitutions that now threaten to engulf our democracy. san proposal is in line with recent court decisions and modern campaign practices. Now is the time to

Most of the districts, drawn by legislators in 2011, were solidly Republican or solidly Democratic. Last year only 29 of 70 House seats and 15 of 42 Senate seats were contested. Candidates who might have run are discouraged and participation in the districts is down. The process itself is not fully transparent and is perceived as a method of protecting incumbents. It’s time for New Mexico to join the list of states using an independent redistricting commission. Another critical initiative to boost voter participation is to open primaries to minor parties and Decline to State voters. Given the way districts are currently drawn in New Mexico, this growing (young) segment of the population must not be deprived of its right to participate. Who knows—their influence might even help reduce partisan gridlock. Viki Harrison is executive director of Common Cause New Mexico, the state affiliate of Common Cause, which for decades has been dedicated to upholding the core values of American democracy; working to create open, honest, and accountable government that serves the public interest; promoting equal rights, opportunity, and representation for all; and empowering all people to make their voices heard as equals in the political process. The views in this column are the author’s alone and do not reflect the views or opinions of New Mexico In Depth.

New Mexico In Depth • 2017 Legislative special edition

Commentary

Oil, gas prices aren’t the only culprits in state’s revenue crisis

hile New Mexiand always will. They are co is one of the traded in a global marketmost beautiful place over which we have places on the planet, not no control. That’s why all of our treasures are as the stewards of the state’s visible as our golden landpublic coffers have long scape. Below our state’s relied on more than just James Jimenez energy-related sources sunny surface lie abundant natural mineral reof tax revenue—namely sources. The extraction of personal and corporate these resources—particularly crude income taxes and the broad-based oil and natural gas—have long gross receipts tax (GRT). That helped the state provide essential stewardship has changed over the services like education, health care, past decade or so and big cuts in and public safety, which bolster our income taxes and countless exempeconomy and improve our quality tions in the GRT have made the of life. state too reliant on revenue from Prices for crude oil and natural oil and gas. This is a recipe for disaster. That disaster struck about a gas have always fluctuated wildly

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year ago when oil prices once again tanked and it continues today as prices stay low. Lawmakers always have a reason for enacting tax cuts. With the personal income tax cuts for the highest-income earners in 2003 and the corporate income tax cuts in 2013, that reason, ostensibly, was to create jobs. The various exemptions and deductions from the GRT that have been enacted over the years were done to give specific industries special tax treatment. Sometimes this is done to help a nascent industry—such as renewable energy—to grow. Sometimes the reasons are far less clear. One thing, however, is crystal clear: the tax-cuts-for-jobs paradigm of trickle-down economics has been a massive failure. Tax cuts don’t create jobs for a number of reasons, but key among them is that taxes are generally a very small percentage of a business’ costs. Despite the fact that trickle-down economics (or as one New Mexico legislator calls is, “faith-based economics”) has been soundly disproven, several states—New Mexico included—have continued to pursue it to disastrous effect. Kansas, which enacted even broader and deeper tax cuts than New Mexico, has had to slash education spending. New Mexico is not only broke, but we’ve busted the state’s piggy bank and spent all of our savings too. The problem is, when we enact huge tax cuts the state then has less money to pay for the things that

we all—our businesses included— rely upon, such as infrastructure, education, health care, and public safety, to name a few. We know what creates jobs: investments in our communities in the form of basic infrastructure, education and worker training that result in well-educated workers who are also customers with discretionary income to spend. When we try to make those investments on the cheap, we damage our economy and our quality of life. We can dangle low tax rates in front of businesses that we hope will relocate or expand here, but if we can’t offer them two basics that they absolutely cannot do without—workers and customers—then companies will continue to go to states that can. Meanwhile, our home-grown businesses will continue to struggle, our workers and their families will suffer, and our future will look increasingly dim. James Jimenez is executive director for New Mexico Voices for Children (NM Voices). Founded in 1987 by a group of pediatricians, the organization works to create systems-level sustainable change that will improve the lives of New Mexico’s children. NM Voices conducts rigorous research and data analysis, and works with state and national lawmakers and officials to shape and implement public policies that are supportive of children and working families. The views in this column are the author’s alone and do not reflect the views or opinions of New Mexico In Depth.

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New Mexico In Depth • 2017 Legislative special edition

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Commentary

Reform tax code, budget to grow NM economy

in the nation), tax hikes lections have consequences. And, are not going to do much while Republicans to attract businesses to the strengthened their standLand of Enchantment. ing nationwide, here in Some will say, with all New Mexico, Democrats those tax cuts, why isn’t are ascendant with workNew Mexico’s economy Paul Gessing doing better? The truth is ing majorities in both houses of the Legislature. that the 2013 tax cuts were Democrats are unrather small, reducing doubtedly chomping at the bit to state spending by about $70 million push through a whole range of annually. Those lost revenues were policy initiatives, possibly via conlargely offset by locally adopted stitutional amendments that will increases in gross receipts taxes. circumvent Gov. Susana Martinez. New Mexico’s tax system, espeBut the most pressing issue is the cially its regressive and job-killbudget situation and the economy ing gross receipts tax, is broken. as a whole and something needs to That should be an opportunity for be done about it right away. While business-friendly tax reform that acknowledging the role of declining jump-starts economic growth while oil and gas prices, corporate tax eliminating special interest tax cuts enacted in 2013 (and support- breaks. Alternatively, policymakers ed by vast majorities of Democrats) should consider tossing out the enwill be targeted. Some on the fartire gross receipts tax structure and left would even like to chip away adopting something that generates at the Richardson-era tax cuts that similar revenue. The Rio Grande took New Mexico’s top income tax Foundation is working on detailed rate from 8.2 to 4.9 percent where it proposals along these lines. is now. Fundamentally reforming New While Democrats’ instinct may Mexico’s tax code could generate be to spend more money on new economic growth and additional programs, the weakness of New revenue in the future, but that proMexico’s economy is a real obstacle. cess will take some time even in the By nearly any economic measure, best-case scenario that bipartisan New Mexico’s economy is sputterreform is possible. ing. With an unemployment rate Legislators face the immedistuck at 6.7 percent (second-highest ate issue of balancing the budget

without much in the way of new revenue. And, no, despite whining and statements to the contrary, New Mexico’s budget is hardly “cut to the bone.” At $8,197, the Land of Enchantment spends about double what neighboring Texas spends per-person ($4,098). Colorado is the “biggest-spending” neighbor of New Mexico, yet it spends only $6,048 per-person according to the website Ballotpedia. There is room to cut; we just need political leadership in Santa Fe to do it. The Rio Grande Foundation has outlined a detailed set of savings that would actually result in a more efficient government. The important thing is to go beyond leaving positions open and reducing funding while keeping the skeleton of government intact. Instead, we need to fundamentally change the way New Mexico government works. I’m under no illusions that this will be easy. New Mexico government (let alone the outsized federal presence in our state) has grown for some very important historical reasons, but a big one is to provide jobs and economic activity in poor and underdeveloped areas of the state. Rather than adopting economic policies that enable businesses to create real jobs and economic growth, there has been a long New

or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom

Mexico tradition of locating branch campuses or other “quick fix” government jobs in those areas. This has to change. We simply don’t have the money to fund all of the government we might want anymore. Democrats lost big on Election Day nationwide. They have lost even bigger at the state level during President Obama’s term in office. While they’ve succeeded in regaining power here in New Mexico, that is simply an indicator of New Mexico’s inherent liberalism and likely opposition to Donald Trump among our majority-minority electorate. We have serious economic issues to solve here and big government hasn’t worked. Maybe it is time for Democrats to surprise us all with a real plan to wean our state from government dependency and poverty that includes both dramatic tax reform and fiscal restraint.

of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” – First Amendment to the US Constitution

Gessing is president of New Mexico’s Rio Grande Foundation, an independent, non-partisan, tax-exempt research and educational organization dedicated to promoting prosperity for New Mexico based on principles of limited government, economic freedom and individual responsibility. The views in this column are the author’s alone and do not reflect the views or opinions of New Mexico In Depth.

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New Mexico In Depth • 2017 Legislative special edition

Commentary

Local control of energy mix vital for solving climate problem

San Jose, San Diego, and ou may have heard (and experienced) Rochester (Minnesota) that the first half of are taking bold action 2016 broke average globto meet a 100 percent al temperature records renewables goal. to date, and that warmWhy not lead here er-than-average October where the vast majority of Mariel Nanasi New Mexicans support the through December has meant little snow. This use of renewable enerwarming trend in recent gy, with solar and wind temperature data is projected to enjoying strong support across the continue and have significant imrace, age, and political spectrum? A pacts on water quality and quantity. post-election survey conducted Nov University of New Mexico climate 10-13, 2016, by the Conservative scientists led by Dr. David Gutzler Energy Network, a conservative valpredict that there will be steadily ues national clean-energy organizadecreasing stream flows in the Rio tion, found 86 percent of ALL voters Grande basin, and increasing aridity and even 75 percent of Trump voters throughout New Mexico and the "support taking action to accelerate Southwestern border region. This the development and use of clean will exacerbate inevitable drought energy in the United States.” conditions and increase the likeliWith solar and wind now comhood of wildfires. Climate change petitively priced we could unleash is already harming New Mexico’s New Mexico’s renewable energy economy, public health and culture, potential, create thousands of jobs and our most vulnerable communi- and transform the economy. One ties are experiencing disproportion- hundred percent renewable enerate consequences. gy for Public Service Company of We know that the burning of fos- New Mexico’s (“PNM”)1 customers sil fuels is the single greatest cause is feasible and cost-effective within of climate change. 20 years. It will cost less than the You may also have heard that 80 percent coal and nuclear enernational, local and regional govgy mix that currently exists with ernments across the world are PNM. It will be cleaner, emitting celebrating their recent transition essentially no pollution. to 100 percent renewable energy. The key to this transition is to Oregon is leading the country with stop burning coal and using outa new law to close all coal-fired en- of-state nuclear energy as soon as ergy plants. Burlington, Vt. is now possible and start investing in and running on 100 percent renewables, building solar and wind. and the entire country of PortuThese coal and nuclear resourcgal ran for four consecutive days es are not only dangerous for the on 100 percent renewables. And obvious climate, economic, and

health reasons, but because they will persist for decades and prevent renewables from being adopted in any significant way. We can’t afford renewable energy tokenism — time is running out. So, what can we do? Community Choice Aggregation (“CCA”) has been adopted by six states and has had the greatest impact on renewable energy penetration of any policy solution out there. CCA allows a community through its city or county authority to produce or purchase (or both) electric services for its residents. The municipality then makes its choice, aligned with its values through a local decision-making process as to what energy mix it wants. Cost savings and renewable energy choices can be achieved through the aggregation of customer energy need, allowing the municipality to negotiate bulk purchasing rates and energy sources. CCA requires a statewide network of support to pass state legislation that would create the shift we need. There are currently 17 million people in communities that either have, or are launching or exploring, CCA in California. Sixty percent of that state’s total eligible population will potentially be served by CCA by 2020. Pacific Gas and Electric Co., the state's largest utility monopoly with 5.4 million electricity customers, has 370,000 CCA customers in its territory. That number could increase rapidly because San Francisco recently adopted CCA, and is already providing 7,400 commercial

New Mexico In Depth • 2017 Legislative special edition

customers with an energy demand of 30 megawatts and expects to add 20 MW — enough to serve up to 48,000 residential customers — in 2016. San Francisco is offering two options to customers, 35 percent renewable energy and a gas, as well as a 100 percent renewable choice. These are impressive numbers that actually move the needle on climate, create a hedge against rising electricity rates, and create jobs in a clean energy economy. Without access to the energy market, most towns and cities cannot meet their climate reduction targets and sustainability goals in a timely and cost-efficient manner. Community aggregation is a proven policy mechanism that will enhance consumer choice, local control, expansion of renewable energy jobs, local economic development, and achieve needed environmental goals. Community aggregation will enable us to create the energy solutions we need.

Mariel Nanasi is the executive director of New Energy Economy. New Energy Economy was founded in 2003 to build a carbon-free energy future for our health and the environment. New Energy Economy employs public education, community organizing, targeted litigation methods, and model solar energy projects to shift our energy economy from fossil fuel and nuclear extraction to clean alternatives in pursuit of environmental justice and human and environmental health. The views in this column are the author’s alone and do not reflect the views or opinions of New Mexico In Depth.

1. PNM is the largest investor-owned-electric-utility in New Mexico serving approximately 500,000 customers. The conclusions herein can be equally applied throughout the state.

Commentary

Legislature must do more for working families

ears ago, I had a fund (subsidies from oil conversation with a and gas) in the nation. friend about tenAt $15 billion, there is an sions in his relationship. opportunity to provide acMy friend eventually cess to early childhood edshrugged and said “I don’t ucation for families across know, that’s just the way New Mexico. While this Andrea Serrano bill has gone before the it is,” resigning himself to accepting the tension Legislature every year for rather than find a soluthe last six years, parents, tion. early educators, child care center For a very long time, New Mexowners and community organizaicans have been expected to just tions are resilient in the movement shrug our shoulders and accept the to invest in New Mexico’s future. problems in our state as “that’s just Countless studies have shown the the way it is.” benefits of children having access to New Mexico is at a crossroads: early childhood education, not to with a multi-year budget crisis and mention the boost to our economy some of the low rankings in child by way of increased wages for early well-being (coupled with high levels educators and families spending less of unemployment and poverty), of their income on early education. we can stay the course of giving tax In short, when families have extra breaks to big, out-of-state corpoincome, they invest it right back rations and fix the budget crisis by into the local economy. cutting services for New Mexicans, A constitutional amendment or we can take bold steps toward means that New Mexico voters will creating a brighter future for New have the opportunity to vote whethMexico. er or not to allow 1 percent of the Several bills are aiming to do just land grant permanent fund to go tothat. Raising the minimum wage, introducing statewide paid sick leave and a constitutional amendment that will allow New Mexicans to decide whether or not to invest in our most precious resource, our children, are pushing our Legislature to take action. New Mexico sits on the second wealthiest land grant permanent

ward making early education accessible to children across New Mexico (a constitutional amendment must be passed by both chambers but does not need the governor’s signature). There are several bills focusing on raising the minimum wage in our state. One of the poorest states in the U.S., we can no longer afford to accept the logic of “if you give them tax breaks, the jobs will come.” The idea that cutting taxes for out-ofstate corporations will benefit a state with 6.7 percent unemployment (nearly 2 points higher than the national average) and 20 percent living at or below the poverty line is not only ridiculous, it’s irresponsible. The state Legislature is tasked with not only balancing the budget but doing so in a way that will benefit the people they serve. Gutting vital programs such as Medicaid to make up for a budget shortfall will hurt New Mexicans. While the budget is important, there are also democracy reforms to watch that ensure that more New

Taking bold action requires each of us to be engaged in the legislative session and push and support our policy makers in taking action to create a better New Mexico.

Mexicans have access to voting (new Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver will also be instrumental in this process). There are also those who wish to interrupt our access to voting. Look for voter ID laws and preemption bills to make their way to the Roundhouse. Preemption speaks to stopping local municipalities from passing their own minimum wage and paid sick leave ordinances. Bills like this send a message that New Mexican voters can’t be trusted to make decisions for their own cities and towns and disrupt the very democracy that we strive for in our state. Voter ID laws have not only proven to be unconstitutional in other states, they prevent people from voting and do very little to prevent voter fraud, which is virtually non-existent. New Mexico has an opportunity to be bold and invest in the future or stay stuck in “the way it is.” Taking bold action requires each of us to be engaged in the legislative session and push and support our policy makers in taking action to create a better New Mexico.

Andrea Serrano is the deputy director of OLÉ, a nonprofit committed to grassroots organizing with working families in New Mexico. The views in this column are the author’s alone and do not reflect the views or opinions of New Mexico In Depth.

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New Mexico In Depth • 2017 Legislative special edition

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New Mexico In Depth • 2017 Legislative special edition

New Mexico State Legislators Dist. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55

Representative Party Telephone Email Rod Montoya (R) (505) 360-1510 roddmontoya@gmail.com James R.J. Strickler (R) (505) 327-4190 jamesstrickler@msn.com Paul C. Bandy (R) (505) 334-0865 paul@paulbandy.org Sharon Clahchischilliage (R) (505) 686-0836 sharon.clahchischill@nmlegis.gov D. Wonda Johnson (D) Not Available dwonda.johnson@nmlegis.gov Eliseo Lee Alcon (D) (505) 285-6387 eliseo.alcon@nmlegis.gov Kelly K. Fajardo (R) (505) 573-0471 kelly.fajardo@nmlegis.gov Alonzo Baldonado (R) (505) 363-6214 alonzo.baldonado@nmlegis.gov Patricia A. Lundstrom (D) (505) 722-2980 patricia.lundstrom@nmlegis.gov G. Andrés Romero (D) (505) 514-9574 andres.romero@nmlegis.gov Javier Martínez (D) (505) 289-3939 javier.martinez@nmlegis.gov Patricio Ruiloba (D) (505) 417-1749 patricio.ruiloba@nmlegis.gov Patricia Roybal Caballero (D) (505) 710-5996 pat.roybalcaballero@nmlegis.gov Miguel P. Garcia (D) (505) 877-8131 miguel.garcia@nmlegis.gov Sarah Maestas Barnes (R) (505) 847-6391 sarah.maestasbarnes@nmlegis.gov Antonio Maestas (D) (505) 304-7497 antonio.maestas@nmlegis.gov Deborah A. Armstrong (D) (505) 795-5164 deborah.armstrong@nmlegis.gov Gail Chasey (D) (505) 266-5191 gail@gailchasey.com Sheryl Williams Stapleton (D) (505) 265-6089 sheryl.stapleton@nmlegis.gov Jim Dines (R) (505) 400-8316 jim.dines@nmlegis.gov Debra M. Sariñana (D) (505) 974-9408 debbiesarinanafornewmexico@gmail.com James E. Smith (R) (505) 934-1075 jim@jimsmithnm.com Daymon B Ely (D) (505) 610-6529 daymon@daymonely.com Elizabeth L. Thomson (D) (505) 239-1781 leonliz@comcast.net Christine Trujillo (D) (505) 503-8600 christine.trujillo@nmlegis.gov Georgene Louis (D) (505) 250-7932 georgene.louis@nmlegis.gov Larry A. Larrañaga (R) (505) 821-4948 larry@larranaga.com Jimmie C. Hall (R) (505) 294-6178 jimmie.hall@nmlegis.gov David E. Adkins (R) (505) 289-3987 david.adkins@nmlegis.gov Nate Gentry (R) (505) 508-0782 natefornm@gmail.com William "Bill" R. Rehm (R) (505)259-3398 bill.rehm@nmlegis.gov Candie G. Sweetser (D) (575) 494-0747 csweetser@swnm.com Bill McCamley (D) (575) 496-5731 bill.mccamley@nmlegis.gov Bealquin Bill Gomez (D) (575) 233-3040 bealquin.gomez@nmlegis.gov Angelica Rubio (D) (575) 616-1090 angelica@rubionm35.com Nathan P. Small (D) (575) 496-9540 nathan.small@nmlegis.gov Joanne J. Ferrary (D) (575) 649-1231 ferraryrep37@gmail.com Rebecca L. Dow (R) (575) 571-1056 rebecca@dowforhouse.com Rodolpho S. Martinez (D) (575) 534-7546 rudy_s_martinez@msn.com Nick L. Salazar (D) (505) 852-4178 Not Available Debbie A. Rodella (D) (505) 753-8247 debbie.rodella@nmlegis.gov Roberto Gonzales (D) (575) 758-2674 roberto.gonzales@nmlegis.gov Stephanie Garcia Richard (D) (505) 672-4196 stephanie.garciarichard@nmlegis.gov Jane E. Powdrell-Culbert (R) (505) 721-9021 jpandp@comcast.net Jim R. Trujillo (D) (505) 438-8890 jimtrujillo@msn.com Carl Trujillo (D) (505) 699-6690 carl.trujillo@nmlegis.gov Brian Egolf (D) (505) 986-4757 brian.egolf@nmlegis.gov Linda M. Trujillo (D) (505) 795-4324 linda.trujillo@nmlegis.gov Rep. Don Tripp announced in December he would retire in January once the Legislature convenes Matthew McQueen (D) (505) 466-3125 matthew.mcqueen@nmlegis.gov Yvette Herrell (R) (575) 430-2113 yherrell@yahoo.com Doreen Y. Gallegos (D) (575) 649-6325 doreen.gallegos@nmlegis.gov Rick Little (R) (575) 824-4063 rick.little@nmlegis.gov James G. Townsend (R) (575) 703-0153 townsend@pvtn.net Cathrynn N. Brown (R) (575) 706-4420 c.brown.nm55@gmail.com

Dist. 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70

Representative Zachary J. Cook Jason C. Harper Candy Spence Ezzell Greg Nibert Tim D. Lewis David M. Gallegos Larry R. Scott George Dodge Randal S. Crowder Derrick J. Lente Bob Wooley Dennis J. Roch Monica Youngblood Harry Garcia Tomás E. Salazar

Dist. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42

Senator William E. Sharer Steven P. Neville John Pinto George K. Munoz Richard C. Martinez Carlos R. Cisneros Pat Woods Pete Campos John M. Sapien Candace R. Gould Linda M. Lopez Gerald Ortiz y Pino Bill B. O'Neill Michael Padilla Daniel A. Ivey-Soto Cisco McSorley Mimi Stewart Bill G. Tallman James P. White William H. Payne Mark Moores Benny Shendo Sander Rue Nancy Rodriguez Peter Wirth Jacob R. Candelaria Stuart Ingle Howie C. Morales Gregory A. Baca Clemente Sanchez Joseph Cervantes Cliff R. Pirtle William F. Burt Ron Griggs John Arthur Smith Jeff Steinborn William P. Soules Mary Kay Papen Elizabeth Stefanics Craig W. Brandt Carroll H. Leavell Gay G. Kernan

Party (R) (R) (R) (R) (R) (R) (R) (D) (R) (D) (R) (R) (R) (D) (D) Party (R) (R) (D) (D) (D) (D) (R) (D) (D) (R) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (R) (R) (R) (D) (R) (D) (D) (D) (R) (D) (R) (D) (D) (R) (R) (R) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (R) (R) (R)

Telephone (575) 937-7644 (505) 554-7970 (575) 625-0550 (575) 317-1050 (505) 702-7093 (575) 394-0099 (575) 397-1925 (575) 472-3798 (575) 763-3901 (505) 507-3063 (575) 627-6277 (575) 799-7796 (505) 342-6250 (505) 290-7510 (575) 421-2455

Telephone (505) 325-5055 (505) 327-5460 (720) 357-9275 (505) 722-0191 (505) 747-2337 (505) 670-5610 (575) 357-8594 (505) 425-0508 (505) 765-5662 (505) 269-7711 (505) 831-4148 (505) 243-1509 (505) 450-9263 (505) 977-6247 (505) 881-4475 (505) 266-0588 (505) 275-2355 (505) 702-6828 (505) 271-4746 (505) 986-4702 (505) 681-1975 (575) 834-7235 (505) 899-0288 (505) 983-8913 (505) 989-8667 (505) 847-5079 (575) 356-3088 (575) 574-0043 (505) 227-6335 (505) 287-2515 (575) 522-3352 (575) 626-7046 (575) 434-6140 (575) 439-1331 (575) 546-8546 (575) 635-5615 (575) 522-3521 (575) 524-4462 (505) 699-4808 (505) 503-5001 (575) 395-3154 (505) 629-8081

Email zachary.cook@nmlegis.gov JasonHarperNM@gmail.com csecows@aol.com greg.nibert@nmlegis.gov lewisfornm@gmail.com david.rsi@hotmail.com larry.scott@nmlegis.gov george.dodgejr@nmlegis.gov randal.crowder@nmlegis.gov info@derrickjlente.com bobwooley66@gmail.com denroch@hotmail.com monica@MyNMStateRep.com hgarciad69@gmail.com tomas.salazar@nmlegis.gov

Email bill@williamsharer.com steven.neville@nmlegis.gov Not Available munozgeo@gmail.com richard.martinez@nmlegis.gov carlos.cisneros@nmlegis.gov pat.woods@nmlegis.gov pete.campos@nmlegis.gov john.sapien@nmlegis.gov candace.gould@nmlegis.gov linda.lopez@nmlegis.gov jortizyp@msn.com oneillsd13@billoneillfornm.com michael.padilla@nmlegis.gov daniel.ivey-soto@nmlegis.gov cisco.mcsorley@nmlegis.gov mimi.stewart@nmlegis.gov bill.tallman@nmlegis.gov james.white@nmlegis.gov william.payne@nmlegis.gov mark.moores@nmlegis.gov benny.shendo@nmlegis.gov sander.rue@nmlegis.gov nancy.rodriguez@nmlegis.gov peter.wirth@nmlegis.gov jacob.candelaria@nmlegis.gov stuart.ingle@nmlegis.gov howie.morales@nmlegis.gov bacasenate29@gmail.com clemente.sanchez@nmlegis.gov Joseph@cervanteslawnm.com cliff.pirtle@nmlegis.gov bill.burt@nmlegis.gov ron.griggs@nmlegis.gov john.smith@nmlegis.gov jeff.steinborn@nmlegis.gov bill.soules@nmlegis.gov marykay.papen@nmlegis.gov liz.stefanics@nmlegis.gov craig.brandt@nmlegis.gov leavell4@leaco.net gay.kernan@nmlegis.gov

This list was compiled using 2016 contact information we gathered from the New Mexico Legislature's website. 2017 legislators who did not serve in 2016 provided New Mexico In Depth with contact information. In one case, we gathered a phone number from a Facebook profile. And in a few cases, there was no publicly available information. Because legislators will have new office assignments, we did not provide legislative office numbers or office telephones. An updated 2017 list is available on the legislative website: www.nmlegis.gov

New Mexico In Depth â&#x20AC;˘ 2017 Legislative special edition