Sens. Hamblen and Lopez

After laboring under the scrutiny of fiscal hawks for a decade, the 2021 New Mexico Legislature made a dramatic shift, redefining the state's political narrative and opening the floodgates for legislation that had been gathering dust in the musty corners of the fabled Roundhouse. Watching the majority lawmakers was like seeing hostages finally freed and ready to get busy.

And for the first time in a very long time most of the 112 legislators actually reflected the thinking of the vast majority of New Mexicans. 

Change had been stifled during the long and often dreary eight Gov. Martinez years and even the first two of Lujan Grisham's tenure, but two words changed everything: Elections Matter.

The ouster of old bull conservative Dem senators in the June 2020 election made the difference. Long sought measures usually left for dead were reborn and passed with gusto. Chief among them was the constitutional amendment to tap the state's $22 billion Land Grant Permanent Fund for early childhood education. The potentially game-changing legislation was "the big deal" of the 2021 session, declared Gov. Lujan Grisham. 

Indeed. 

The amendment won't go before voters until November 2022, but polling suggests easy approval. After that, hundreds of millions of dollars will be devoted to curbing the disabling dysfunction in New Mexico families that has fostered epic cases of child abuse, educational under achievement and higher crime rates. If it works as supporters say, it will be the biggest of deals. And it was finally made possible because of that fateful primary election.

There was much more done in this 60 day session that allowed one to believe a new New Mexico could be contemplated, one that begins to inch its way ahead in those dismal 50th in everything rankings. 

--A modest paid sick leave measure will empower service workers who are at the bottom of the food chain, eliminating the choice of staying at home sick and losing pay or going to work regardless.

--A bill providing $600 rebates for lower income workers will also lift them up and boost the economy. So will a cleaned up $500 million loan fund for business and an expansion of two low income tax breaks.

--The huge influx of $1.62 billion in federal Covid relief is another high impact development that should lift the moribund economy. ($600 million will be used to shore up the state's unemployment fund).

--A $7.4 billion state budget was approved that includes a considerable increase for public education to extend the school year. And while heavy on the reserves, it does represent a 5 percent increase as the state enters pandemic recovery mode.

And there were less transformational but still important bills that will touch everyday lives.

--Reform of state liquor laws will allow home delivery of alcohol, possibly leading to a decrease in the state's dismal DWI standing. 

--Repeal of an outdated (and mainly symbolic) abortion law sent a message that lawmakers were catching up with a more socially liberal electorate. 

--Ditto for a ban on animal trapping on public land which again revealed the continued shift of political power from rural to urban. 

Lawmakers handled landmark legislation like it was run of the mill because it had been around so long and had already been subjected to intense debate at committee hearings, but when it came to a new big idea, they found it too big. 

Legalizing recreational marijuana polls well, but is fraught with potholes when it comes to actually enacting that into law. The complexity was demonstrated in legalization bill HB 12 which ran some 200 pages. 

The groundwork simply had not been laid by key lawmakers and the Fourth Floor and legal weed died in the final hours. Not the end of the world but for MLG, who has made it a banner item in her agenda, the defeat forced her to call a special session. 

But that session could also be fraught with potholes unless she gets a deal before convening the $50,000 a day confab which she plans to do at month's end. The event, already dubbed "The Stoner Session" by some Alligators, is not going to be greeted with a great deal of patience by Mr. and Mrs. New Mexico. Not when there are already over 104,000 medical marijuana users and possession of small amounts have already been decriminalized.

One name that seemed to be censored in the marijuana mess by legislators and the press was that of NM medical marijuana tycoon Duke Rodriguez. But his presence loomed large over the fractious pot debate as he and his team worked tirelessly for a bill that would make Duke the King of Legal Pot. 

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Joe Cervantes came closest to acknowledging that when he commented at a hearing, "Come on, we all know who wrote this bill." 

How about more about pot power player Duke's role in this session from the so far silent press?

The Governor and other state politicos, ravenous for marijuana campaign contributions,  engaged in exaggeration when discussing the importance of legal pot as they tried to justify the special session. MLG argued:

We heard something similar back in 1997 when the state legalized Indian gaming. Some jobs were added but also cost some in other recreational venues. Today such gambling contributes several thousand jobs, mostly at the minimum wage or slightly above. The state takes in a relatively meager $60 million or so annually in tax revenue. Legal marijuana is estimated to result in even fewer tax dollars.

If MLG needs to channel Bill Richardson to broker a deal before the session, so be it. To not have a deal and fail would besmirch the success she and lawmakers had in the regular session and set back that new political narrative being celebrated.

Broadband funding was anemic this session. There was a bill approved to establish an office to come up with a comprehensive plan, but most of the need is already known, especially after the failures during the pandemic. Despite giant surpluses the Guv and lawmakers did not come up with much broadband funding. How about using some of that Covid relief money now stuffed in state coffers?

Beware the dangers of Zoom. A lobbyist was caught fretting over a hot microphone at a Senate Finance hearing that "these bitches are trying to throw taxes on us." A Senator retorted: "Speaking as one of the bitches, that was super inappropriate. . ." 

ABQ Dem Sen. Daniel Ivey Soto argued so vociferously with Senate President Pro Tem Mimi Stewart over her sick leave bill that he was called out as a misogynist and a bully. But it took 40 minutes of wrenching debate for the Senate to finally recess to turn down the heat. Where was leadership? Maybe it was like watching an auto wreck and the senators couldn't look away. . . 

We haven't confirmed this but one of our Roundhouse watchers reports that a lobbyist who successfully helped to kill a bill that would have lowered the interest rate on payday loans from 175 percent to 99 percent won a "kill bonus" from their client. Hmm. Is there a bounty on him now?

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