AG Balderas

Attorney General Hector Balderas ended the legislative session battling with his own Democratic Party. Two of his staffers stormed out of a Senate committee that was making changes to a child porn bill that were not to the AG's liking and later two AG staffers were escorted off the Senate floor when a Republican Senator objected to them as expert witnesses over the bill. Then the AG told interviewers he was disappointed that the Democratic-controlled Senate did not approve an independent ethics commission and that a bill to revoke the pensions of public officials convicted of felonies was left to die.

Balderas, a possible '18 Dem Guv candidate, has a very frosty relationship with Senate Majority Leader Michael Sanchez and that was only worsened this session. Not surprisingly, the AG was coming under sniper fire after his office's legislative antics and his comments.

If Balderas is so concerned about ethics, declared a Senate Dem sympathizer, why doesn't he bring charges in the alleged corruption cases that State Auditor Keller forwarded to him dealing with the city of ABQ's purchase of Taser police cameras and possible favoritism in the Taxation and Revenue Department. (The AG  has reportedly brought the Taser deal before a grand jury).

And if he is so concerned about revoking pensions for corrupt public officials, why didn't he get aggressive when he had the chance and move to end the pension of Secretary of State Dianna Duran when she pleaded guilty to corruption charges? (Balderas argued the statute governing the pensions was too vague for him to take action)

Even former Dem Attorney General Patsy Madrid surfaced to criticize the AG staffers for walking out of that committee hearing.“I wouldn’t have done it that way, but I’m not the current AG."

Balderas and attorney Brian Colon, his BFF and a likely candidate for ABQ mayor in 2017, have been know to make overtures to the Republicans as they go about their business. It seems Hector's relationship with the R's may be better right now than the one he has with his own party.

CRAZY, RADICAL OPTIMISTS

The thought expressed here that groups like Common Cause might look for an alternative to an ethics commission after ten years of legislative failure brought this from Heather Ferguson of NM Common Cause:

This year, after a series of high-profile corruption cases, the best ideas from the other 42 states who have ethics commissions were put together along with a constitutional amendment idea that was introduced in the 2015 session by Rep. Zack Cook (R-Ruidoso) and Sen. Peter Wirth, to create HJR 5 sponsored by the tenacious Rep. Jim Dines (R-Abq) and Rep. Jeff Steinborn (D-Las Cruces). A draft of this legislation was emailed to members of the legislature and discussed in meetings with individuals this fall and again this winter by staff of our organization. This isn’t some trite, worn-out idea, it was one that has been shown to work – in 42 other states.

This isn’t some exercise in insanity where we are building a “cottage industry” around trying a failed idea over and over again. When someone states that this idea is “DOA” from the get-go, that does not illustrate the futility of this initiative, but instead shows the hopelessness and apathy for changing “the way things have always been here.” Those hopeless pessimists have lost faith in anyone’s ability for our state to turn itself around after the string of scandals that have garnered our great state unflattering national news coverage. Moreover, those mopey individuals don’t even bother to inspire our elected officials to work to affect the changes our citizens need.

This, “why bother” mentality doesn’t faze the optimists who know our state is better than this and we can show it. . . So yup, all of us Crazy Radical Optimists will be bringing reform back again next year because we know that persistence pays when it’s the right thing to do. 

The ethics commission passed the GOP controlled House but bit the dust in a Dem dominated Senate Committee. So what if the R's take over the Senate this year? Would the ethics commission finally win? Don't bet on it. Senate Minority Leader Stu Ingle would likely become Senate Majority Leader and he is dead-set against the idea.

ENVIRO CORNER

There were some environmental issues in the legislative session, including an extension of the solar tax credit which could not make it out of the gate. Conservation Voters of NM came with a recap of that and other enviro legislation.

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Campaigning for the '16 legislative contests begins promptly at 12:01 p.m today when the solons end their 30 day session. All 112 seats--70 in the House and 42 in the Senate are up for election. It will be a handful that will determine whether the R's can pull off their long-odds bid to take control of the Senate as they did the House in 2014 for the first time in 60 years.

An important piece of the takeover puzzle is sprawling District 39 that includes parts of six counties, including Santa Fe, San Miguel and Lincoln to the south. Dem State Senator Phil Griego resigned the seat last year amid an ethics scandal and Gov. Martinez appointed Republican Ted Barela to the seat. Soon after, Santa Fe County Commissioner Liz Stefanics, also a former state senator, announced she would seek the June Dem nomination for the seat. Now we have a new player with some punch in the race. Mike Anaya, a former two term Santa Fe county commissioner, is going to duel it out with Stefanics for the Dem nod and the right to take on Barela in November.

Anaya hails from Galisteo and says he still works on the family ranch. He made a pitch for rural support in his announcement, clearly separating himself from Stefanics' liberal base in Santa Fe. When elected to the Senate she became the first openly lesbian senator in state history.

Anaya will argue that he is the stronger candidate to take on Barela in part because of his Hispanic and rural heritage. Over 55 percent of the district is Hispanic and it is mostly rural. Stefanics will argue that liberal turnout is going to be big in this election and she is best suited to ride that wave.

Anaya made blog headlines when he made a brief run for the Dem nod for state land commissioner in 2010. He withdrew from the race amid controversy over a lawsuit filed against him at the time. Mike Anaya will make his candidacy official this Saturday at the glisten Community Center.

Anaya vs. Stefanics in Primary '16 will surely give political junkies a joyful ride (not to say that there won't be another name joining the party.

CREDIBILITY GAP?

Sec. Fouratt

The so-called double-dipping bill, also known as "return-to-work" died in the session but did it create a credibly gap for Department of Public Safety Secretary Greg Fouratt?

He joined forces with ABQ Mayor Berry to try to persuade the legislature to allow retired officers already getting a government pension to rejoin APD and other police agencies because of what Fouratt said was a statewide officer shortage. There's no debate that APD is severely understaffed but here's what Fouratt told the Senate panel, according to the ABQ Chamber of Commerce political report:

Department of Public Safety Secretary Greg Fouratt provided some interesting statistics in his testimony, “As of December 2015, there were the following vacancy rates around the state: Dona Ana Sheriffs office, 22%; Eddy County Sheriffs office, 22%; Valencia County Sheriffs office, 12%; Roswell Police Department, 12%; Santa Fe Police Department, 10%; Truth or Consequences Police Department, 36% and the New Mexico State Police, 11%, which equals 81 positions.”

Former APD Sergeant Dan Klein has done much spade work on this for the ABQ Free Press. He came to the opposite conclusion of Secretary Fouratt--that there is no statewide  officer shortage. He reacted to the Fouratt testimony before Senate Rules:

What Fouratt doesn’t state is that Dona Ana County had 24 cadets in their academy and they just graduated, bringing them to almost 100% staffing.The Eddy County IPRA from October 2015 showed they were only down 2 deputies. So either the Eddy County Sheriff is lying or he had 12 deputies quit on him since October 2015. If they quit on him the problem is with the sheriff and no one else. (budget 60 deputies October 2015 employed 58). 

Valencia County stated that they were short 8 deputies but they had 2 graduate in December bringing them to 44 deputies, a 10% vacancy rate. Being staffed at 85% or higher is fine, it is the natural hiring and attrition process. Roswell stated that they have a budget for 97 and they employed 85 and had 6 graduating (bringing them to 91), a 95% staffing. 

Santa Fe is correct, which means they are at 90% staffed, well within attrition and hiring guidelines. T or C we didn’t survey, how many could they have though? Probably a budget of less than 10. State Police, as per Fouratt’s own IPRA in December showed 678 budget and 678 hired. 100% staffed. Where he is now coming up with a different number no one can explain.

Mayor Berry and APD Chief Eden lobbied Santa Fe hard for the bill but were turned back for the second year in a row. Their effort--and Fouratt's--to turn the ABQ police staffing crisis into a statewide issue met a brick wall. With Klein's research disputing Fouratt's statements, it's no wonder.

ETHICS DEATH 

Rep. Dines

Reaction from a Legal Beagle now on the death of an independent ethics commission for the tenth year running:

Senators kill it asserting that it would somehow be susceptible to "partisan" influence. When you have nine commissioners, "no more than four of whom may be members of the same political party," I think it's time for a head-and-name court of the paranoids who were worried. (ABQ GOP State Rep. James) Dines has tons of guts to make his point about the quality of his work by removing his bill from the clutches of those who would water it down. This is one place where all-or-nothing serves the public very well. On to the eleventh year.

Dines withdrew his bill from consideration rather than accepting the changes that he said would make it toothless. ABQ Dem State Sen. Daniel Ivey-Soto is taking hits for letting the measure die. He faces re-election in a key swing district. However, the ethics idea has been squashed for a decade and no one can point to any politician who was voted out because of it. The ethics commission was vigorously opposed by Senate Minority Leader Stu Ingle.

Advocates have found the right sponsor in "gutsy" Rep. Dines, but as we pointed out this week they may need a reboot on the commission concept or else we may remain stalled another decade.

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Is it time for the ethics lobby to do some navel gazing? Sure seems so. This week--for the tenth year running--the bill to establish an independent ethics commission went down with a whimper. The House passed it but it died in the Senate.

Ethics reform is a cottage industry with groups like Common Cause on the full-time ethics watch.  But after a decade of high-profile political scandals, the frustration over the rejection of the commission is worse than ever. Adding insult to injury this year, even a bill to strip elected officials of their pensions if they are convicted on corruption charges (think Dianna Duran)--is dying a slow death.

You can have 90 percent of the public with you (as a Common Cause poll showed) but if you can't get the legislative leadership on board, you're going nowhere. Obsessing each year over an ethics commission that has no chance of passing may be at the expense of ignoring other ways to get reform. Our Alligators had the commission at the top of their list this year for legislation that was DOA.

Is it time for an ethics reboot, time for another big idea that is not so shopworn and keeps ending up in the legislative graveyard? That's where that navel gazing comes in.

GASSING UP

We saw at ABQ's Costco this week that gas prices there have plunged to $1.27 a gallon. Against that backdrop, increasing the state's gas tax to bail out the state budget may be the most acceptable revenue enhancer. Reader Mark Saavedra (not to be confused with lobbyist Marc) has this take:

Joe –Unless there is a provision made in any proposed gas tax hike that allows for the tax to be rescinded should the cost per gallon of gas rise above $2.50, as an example, then any gas tax hike would become a permanent addition to an already fiscally overburdened consumer. Do your readers actually believe the cost per gallon of gas will remain as low as it is currently? Already, OPEC nations have been discussing ways to reduce the glut of oil in the market by cutting back production to shore up oil prices worldwide. Any action by OPEC and other oil producing nations would surely cause an immediate spike in gas prices here in New Mexico and for the rest of the nation.

If lawmakers are forced into a special session later this year to deal with the state's feeble financial outlook--as a number of insiders suspect they will be--the gas tax could get a serious look. It is one of several measures that the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee has floated.

On the other hand, if the legislature moves to reimpose the tax on food, there will be an intense battle. That tax has the most impact on the lower income brackets who spend a larger percentage of their income on groceries than the higher brackets.

The oil bear market that has been causing so many budget problems in Santa Fe is a mere cub compared to the giant natural gas bear that has been mauling Farmington and the Four Corners:

The Farmington area, which is suffering “extreme economic duress,” had the largest increase in its unemployment rate among 387 metropolitan areas nationwide in 2015. The northwestern New Mexico city saw its unemployment rate rise 2.1 percentage points last year, to 7.3 percent, according to a U.S. Department of Labor report.

San Juan County has been losing population and remains in a world of hurt.

PINTO SUPPORT

Sens. Pinto & Campos

We said this week that it was time for 91 year old State Senator John Pinto to retire his famous potato song and not seek re-election. But fellow Dem Senator Pete Campos says not so fast:

Senator Pinto endorsed me Monday for re-election to the Senate. He has been a mentor, confidant and wise leader. He is a father figure, staunch supporter and bursting at the seams with legislative institutional knowledge. He has the boundless energy, Roundhouse experience and natural prowess of a well-seasoned legislator whom we can all admire. These are not just words but facts! I’ve served with Senator Pinto for 26 years and share his deep passion and optimism to make New Mexico great again. He serves Northwest New Mexico and I serve Northeastern New Mexico, both areas with high Native American and Hispanic populations respectively. As the number one State Senator in Seniority, Senator Pinto’s senate district and the state of New Mexico are well served by his leadership.

Thanks, Pete. We assume that means Pinto will seek another four year term this year. We'll know for sure March 8 when all legislative candidates file for the election.

ROAD WATCH

A reader writes of our coverage of the March 1 Rio Rancho election where voters are being asked to approve a $9 million bond issue to improve roads:

Joe, thanks for calling out (Rio Rancho Mayor Gregg) Hull on the road bond question. It is highly ironic that the tea party types that defeated the last road bond --which would not have required a tax increase--now are required to propose a tax increase. If they had not defeated the last bond question, RR would have had a bond cycle in which bonds rolled over indefinitely to pay for critical infrastructure. Good work, Joe!

Mayor Hull says he personally supports the tax increase but is not taking that stand officially as mayor.

OLD SCHOOL LUNCH

Speaker Sanchez

We got a call from former House Speaker turned lobbyist Raymond Sanchez Tuesday. He asked what we meant when we wrote that Raymond, brother of Senate Majority Leader Michael Sanchez, should "step aside for a moment" so Leader Sanchez could pass a freeze of the latest corporate income tax cut so money could be raised for the cash-strapped state treasury. Raymond said he has no clients regarding that issue. We didn't think he did and our effort at humor may have come up a bit short on that one. . .

When Raymond called he was having lunch with two of the staunchest politicos of La Politica and fellow lobbyists--Steve Anaya and former House Majority Leader Michael Olguin. Those fellas also have famous relatives. In the case of Steve, he's the nephew of former Dem Governor Toney Anaya and in Michael's case it's Buckhorn Tavern owner and brother Bobby Olguin. We're sure the flies on the wall were listening intently to the conversation during that old school lunch. (Olguin picked up the tab but the ex-Speaker let him off light. He ordered soup).

We made a mistake in the first draft of the Tuesday blog when we said the constitutional amendment on bail reform had been approved by both houses and was headed to the voters. It has one more Senate vote to go and then it will be ready for the November ballot.

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"Boss Sanchez"

The Republican operatives this year are calling State Senate Majority Leader Michael Sanchez "Boss Sanchez." And while that shows a certain lack of respect, it does sum up the game in Santa Fe in these final hours of the legislative session. What will happen or not happen is largely in the hands of Sanchez who determines what bills will be brought to the floor. So with that in mind we are now going to beseech "The Boss":

---Don't sanction the mismanagement of the ABQ police department by allowing a "double-dipping" bill sought by Mayor Berry. It would bring back the very officers who were part of the culture that destroyed the department and brought in the Feds. Make the mayor take responsibility for his police force by not having Santa Fe clean up his mess.

---Kill the teen curfew, Boss. It's already been found unconstitutional. Enough said.

---You can let the tougher DWI penalties slide in. The bill is feel-good legislation that does nothing to address the need for more booze and drug treatment or for improving incomes which would lead to less substance abuse.

---Even former GOP Governor Johnson says the revival of the "three strikes" bill for so-called "Boomerang Thugs" is worthless. Kill it, Boss.

In fact, go ahead and kill just about all the remaining Republican crime legislation put before the legislature. It was a blatant attempt to divert attention from the state's crashing economy, with the thought of using crime as a wedge issue in the upcoming campaign.

Now, Boss, here's something you can do to make a statement. Just tell your lobbyist brother Raymond to step aside for a moment and revive the bill to freeze the latest corporate income tax cut so the hungry state treasury can begin to get some desperately needed nourishment. You can do, it Boss.

Now don't think we're bossing you around, Boss. We know your Senate "family" doesn't care for outsiders butting in, but for today only please consider our list and just call us "Cousin Joe." Thanks, Boss.

GOODBYE LICENSES

Well, it's no more "driver's licenses forever!" around here as the legislature and Governor finally agreed to a compromise over issuing licenses to undocumented immigrants. Not much is left to be said except to tell you that we are proud sponsors of the "1st Annual Undocumented Immigrant Drag Racing Meet" to be held tonight on Eubank Boulevard in ABQ. Let it rip, amigos, and wave those papers.

BUDGET BLUES

Sen. Griggs

It's not down much--yet--but it is still down and that's the first time that has happened to the state budget since the punishing Great Recession was in full swing five years ago. And when you account for inflation this budget is very anemic. From the Senate Dems:

The (amended budget) totals about $6.228 billion, down from the $6.235 billion budget passed last year. It also reflects a $20 million increase to Medicaid funding, which is matched at 3-to-1 by the federal government. CYFD will receive an extra $5 million for children protection services, including the hiring of more social workers. In addition, the amendment calls for a $19 million decrease to the higher education budgets throughout the state.

Sure, oil prices are down, but this isn't North Dakota. This is New Mexico, supposedly a thriving Sunbelt state that surely by now you would expect to have a much softer landing from an energy crash because of our attraction to business and others. We never made it happen.

And how about this? Senator Ron Griggs of Alamogordo breaks with GOP orthodoxy and says lawmakers are partly to blame for the starved state budget. He says that's because of all the exemptions they have granted to the state gross receipts tax.

Is Griggs preparing us for repeal of some of those exemptions, if the state's financial condition continues to worsen as it may well do if oil prices stay in the basement?

Certainly, any special session would be interesting to see how the R's try to raise revenues without violating their sacrosanct "no new taxes" pledge. Does repealing a tax exemption constitute a tax increase? (Maybe if it's only for stuff like the food tax exemption that helps working families and should not be repealed?)

Whatever the case, Griggs is on the right track in talking about revenue as is GOP State Land Commissioner Aubrey Dunn who says increased revenue--including an increase in the gas tax--should be in the mix in order to solve the state's fiscal woes.

Reader Tony Louderbough writes of the big budget story:

Joe, Thanks for going after the budget issue. It's fine for certain lawmakers not to want to blame anybody but we spend serious money so we know about these things before the legislature meets. Also, I'll bet the Gov's staff have spent more time looking for the person who busted her "piz-zah" party than at the budget. Keep up the good work!

Thanks, Tony. Gov. Martinez has been beyond AWOL this session. She's nowhere to be seen or heard. As she becomes more of a lame duck that could be par for the course.

Reader Tim Thackberry adds:

Joe: Thanks very much for keeping vital NM issues front and center. Your section on Friday about the long-term effects of tax cutting reminded me of the old quote by Oliver Wendell Holmes (Republican, Massachusetts): "I like paying taxes. With them, I buy civilization."

Mr. Holmes would not fare well in today's Republican Party.

BAILING OUT

Blogger Monahan

More on that bail reformconstitutional amendment that bondsmen agreed to and which softens the provision that would allow a judge to take indigent defenders out of jail, if the only reason they were being held was due to a lack of money to post bail. This comes from a Senior Alligator who also happens to be a sitting judge:

The story was told by one news story in a single succinct sentence. "A bipartisan handful of legislators have spent the past few days in closed-door negotiations with bail bond lobbyists hammering out the agreement."  The "compromise" is no such thing. Lobbyists and campaign contributions win again, while NM finds another way to hurt its impoverished citizens. For an indigent person to have to file a motion to exercise a right the US and New Mexico Constitutions already provide, and then wait a couple days in jail to have it heard is the other evil the bill was supposed to eliminate.

Several groups, including the ACLU of NM, the NM Criminal Defense Lawyers and Young Women United have withdrawn their support of the amendment because of the compromise. The measure has one more vote in the Senate and if approved would then headed to the voters in November.

PORK, PLEASE

Rio Rancho area GOP State Rep. Jason Harper, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, comments on the passage of this year's capital outlay bill (the "pork" bill) which is smaller than years past because of the crash in oil prices:

. . . "We’ve invested more than $160 million in infrastructure projects including $84 million for hospitals, prisons and state police facilities, as well as other state-owned buildings statewide.” 

In addition, the bill provides $82 million for local projects like roads, water access, parks, health and public safety facilities and cultural facilities.

That bill is now headed to the Senate where passage is anticipated.

HELLO, HECTOR?

This merits a federal investigation, but why not get the ball rolling by having Attorney General Balderas doing it?

A group of behavioral health providers investigated over fraud allegations gathered to call for a federal inquiry into what spurred the state’s investigation. Ten of the 15 accused providers were cleared (by Attorney General Balderas) of any wrongdoing last week. Three more had previously been cleared. The providers (are) claiming that out-of-state companies that operated behavior health services in the wake of the 2013 investigation had political ties. The Human Services Department in June 2013 cut off Medicaid funding to 15 nonprofits, saying an audit by Boston-based Public Consulting Group showed more than $36 million in over billing, as well as mismanagement and possible fraud.

Okay, so if Hector doesn't want to do it or says he can't, then maybe his potential rival for the 2018 Dem Guv nomination, Dem Congresswoman Michelle Lujan Grisham, can get in on the action (not that either of them are running yet).

UNM JOBS

Judy C' De Baca comments on our Facebook page about the recent elimination of jobs at UNM:

Typical UNM BS--"eliminating 44 staff positions." All they have to do is eliminate 1 administrator. It's always the working poor that get the axe. It never ends on the north and south sides of Lomas Blvd.

Judy, that's an excellent question for the legislature to be asking UNM as it appears in the months ahead we are going to lose more staff there because of the budget crisis.

IT'S THE ECONOMY


The wasted opportunity at the legislative session to focus on the state's economic crisis is not lost on businessman and 2014 Dem Guv candidate Alan Webber. He writes:

The hard truth is New Mexico doesn’t have an economic development strategy. What we have is a random collection of out-of-date tactics, failed ideological nostrums and uncoordinated gestures masquerading as a plan. At a time when our oil and gas industry is being pummeled by global trends outside our control, a real New Mexico economic strategy is desperately needed and long overdue. It’s what this session of the Legislature should be devoted to, focusing on jobs and opportunity with laser-like intensity. It’s what every city and town across the state should be talking about in council meetings and town halls. It should be the center of media attention.

Reader Ken Tabish has the final word on this big Tuesday blog as he comments on Land Commissioner Dunn's proposal to raise the gas tax to ease the state's fiscal pains:

Joe, I was really surprised to read about Republican Aubrey Dunn’s suggestion that we need to raise revenue, i.e. taxes. As land commissioner he has access to to the income generated from the oil and gas industry for our state. He has proposed and I would wholeheartedly agree that placing a tax on gas with prices so low could be a way to raise revenue and not overly hurt the consumer. Yesterday, I purchased gas at $1.43 a gallon and all the economic indicators that I hear and read about say it could go lower. I cannot remember when I purchased gas so low. I believe many of us can afford an additional tax per gallon at the pump . . . and what revenue this would create would be a welcomed boost to the state’s economic shortfall. Maybe, we could at least be close to the budget proposed by the House. Also, we possibly could avoid a special session.

Well, we are not going to get a gas tax in this session which is just about over. But if there is a special, Ken, you can bet that the gas tax debate will be front and center. Dunn is on to something. . .

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They put a Band-Aid on the budget cancer in Santa Fe over the weekend and will now scurry home Thursday and await word on whether they'll have to return to the Roundhouse and perform serious surgery.

We're now officially pedaling backwards. The Senate Finance Committee amended the budget for the current year by cutting one half percent from most departments and slashing two to four percent for the budget year that begins July 1.

This is rare, unfortunate and depressing for New Mexico which needs all the budget it can get with its highest-in-the-nation jobless and child poverty rates. State Auditor Keller has identified possible surplus funds in various state accounts that could be useful in keeping the wolf from the door but the Martinez administration heckles him and the legislature ignores the findings, claiming most of the money is already dedicated. But why aren't lawmakers (and the LFC) digging deeper into this and giving us a comprehensive report?

If the budget bleeding caused by crashing oil prices and over exuberant tax cutting doesn't slow in the next couple of months, there will be a bloodletting over the budget. A fight over a big pie can be messy but soft. Fighting for survival is another story. And with the specter of government layoffs looming that's what we could have.

While Governor Martinez has ignored the economic decline for a long five years, the end of her battle this weekend over her favorite political wedge issue--driver's licenses for undocumented immigrants--could actually push the economic narrative more to the fore. At least that's what the Dems are hoping for as they try to end Republican control of the state House this November.

THANKS, BUT. . .

Dem State Rep. Nick Salazar will be 87 soon but says he will seek re-election this year to his northern seat. Dem Sen. John Pinto is 91 and has not announced retirement plans. The legislature is getting too old. Both men should bow out gracefully and give a new generation its turn. God knows, we need new ideas and fresh energy.

The highly respected Dem State Rep. Lucky Varela of Santa Fe is leaving this year. He's 80 and been there nearly 30 years. Recently he urged that a list of 43 tax credits that he says are not delivering results be repealed so government could be properly funded. That was rejected by a House committee. But in the years ahead, as New Mexico continues to struggle, there seems a strong chance Varela will be vindicated.

Speaking of tax credts, the solar industry wants theirs extended this session and they have a strong argument.

As bills to extend New Mexico’s tax credit for the installation of solar systems in homes and businesses moves steadily through the Legislature with bipartisan support, the state of solar industry jobs in the region appears to be brightening, too. The Solar Foundation's new report shows New Mexico has about 1,900 solar industry jobs, up from about 1,600 compared to the same time a year ago. The majority of those — about 922 — are in Bernalillo County. Santa Fe County follows with about 160 jobs, and San Juan County comes in third at 148.

That's some uncommon and sunny news about jobs, but solar advocates fear their tax credits may get stalled in committee in the legislature's final hours.

BERNCO AND ABQ

That Bernalillo County Treasurer scandal set the county back, but it has some good news:

Bernalillo County has again kept its AAA bond ratings, which are the highest ratings possible. Moody’s, Fitch and Standard and Poor’s  gave the county AAA ratings. Bond ratings are critical to government agencies because the higher the bond rating the lower the interest rates the county receives when selling bonds to finance voter-approved projects.

Over on the city side worry is building over Mayor Berry's rapid transit plan for a stretch of Central Avenue as the price tag soars to nearly $119 million from the initial $100 million. Reader Jim McClure comes with the critique:

Joe, What surprises me is the absence of investigative reporting. The ART project is being railroaded through with unprecedented speed. Virtually all the business owners oppose it. Nearly all the positive comments come from government officials, developers who stand to profit from city subsidies and professional urban planners who are theologically opposed to motor vehicles, Has anyone looked into ridership on the current bus system? (Most of the buses I see are empty.)  Has anyone checked out the claims of transit-oriented development in other cities with a few phone calls to places like Cleveland? How about tracking down some actual millennials to interview? This issue is ripe for some solid reporting but none of our local journalists has taken the bait. 

AN EXPENSIVE SMILE

(Eddie Moore; ABQ Journal)

Here's a great pic that we couldn't pass up. Look at this delighted bail bondsman. He's at a news conference with state reps announcing a compromise on a constitutional amendment that would allow judges to deny bail to dangerous defendants. But it's the second part of the amendment that the bondsman is gleeful over. It  contains a watered down provision that would allow judges to release non dangerous criminal defendants being held because they could not afford to post bail. Santa Fe lobbyists played a key role in bailing out the bondsmen who say they were endangered by the first version of the amendment.

The measure was championed by Senator Wirth and NM Supreme Court Justice Charles Daniels. Once passed by the full House and Senate, as expected, it will go to voters this November and should win by a wide margin.

The moral of the story is that the lobbyists know how to put a smile on your face, albeit quite an expensive smile.

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