The influential lobbyists armed with Rio Chama expense accounts would label that "newspeak" but with a worst in the nation ranking for deaths caused by alcohol the state continues to take the argument to the grave.
Similar surprises will probably be seen if the measure moves further along in the House and in the Senate as the industry and its handmaidens at the ABQ Chamber of Commerce apply the pressure.
ABQ may be regressing when it comes to fighting crime and reforming APD but on the homeless front the opposite is the case.
The narrative change is a free tip for the House Taxation and Revenue Committee where one of the session's most competently drafted bills--HB 230--now heads after winning on a 6 to 4 vote in the House Health and Human Services Committee.
The measure would, for the first time in 30 years, raise the cost of drinking and thus cut down on consumption, if numerous studies and real-world outcomes are any guide.
The legislation is simple. Tax alcohol a quarter a serving, dropping the current method of taxing it by the gallon or liter and at an exceptionally low rate that amounts to 4 cents a beer and 7 cents for a shot of the hard stuff. The estimated $155 million raised from the quarter a drink increase would be devoted to treatment for alcohol related diseases.
But an enormous need and well-crafted legislation don't guarantee success at the Roundhouse. We saw that with the multi-year efforts needed to reform the out of control payday loan industry and the effort to get a constitutional amendment for urgently needed early childhood education.
BELOW THE RADAR
The alcohol lobby's success is due to below the radar support. For example, freshman Dem Socorro area Rep. Tara Jaramillo, who has been a darling of progressives and even owns a healthcare business, surprisingly voted against the alcohol tax in the health committee. Jaramillo did not explain her vote but in these instances it is usually the campaign money that does the talking.
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| Rep. Jaramillo |
Business opposition has got this one wrong. They think we can build up the beaten down economy from the top down.
We could if we were a "normal state" but with hundreds of thousands of residents among our 2.1 million afflicted with alcohol and drug addiction, poor education outcomes, obesity/diabetes, domestic violence, crime victimization and high suicide, repairing the population is the first order of business in helping business. How else will they fill the extraordinary number of vacancies they are saddled with? How else will more out of state business look to expand here?
In other words, HB230 is pro-business and pro-life. For all the commitee Republicans to oppose it seems reflexive, not a result of critical thinking.
Two of the bill's sponsors are Native Americans--Wonda Johnson in the House and Shannon Pinto in the Senate. They don't need to look far to get the body count due to alcohol. Neither did their grandparents.
So here we are again at what the politicos like to call a "transformational moment" due to financial good fortune. But only if a large swath of the population is transformed. That hard work begins in the legislative trenches where Reps. Johnson, Ferrary and Thomson are--along with Senators Pinto and Sedillo Lopez. If you see them, lend them a shovel. They have a historic hole they're trying to dig out of.
HOUSING PROGRESS
The Keller administration has moved relatively quickly to put in place a program that renovates hotels into housing for the unhoused. The city says this spring it should close on a $5.7 million deal to buy a hotel near Lomas and Eubank NE and begin converting it into 100 housing units for people now living on the streets.
ABQ has a serious homeless crisis but not as onerous as other western cities like Los Angeles. If all goes according to plan, 100 units will make a dent in the homeless population here that is estimated at 2,000 to 5,000.
This will not come cheap. Going by the price of the hotel being purchased it would cost some $60 million for the 1,000 conversions the city hopes to do by 2025. There are federal and state funds available to defray the expense, if the city can make this first project work. Also, zoning issues are minimal.
The city has unveiled a comprehensive program to address the city's housing needs, some of which is going to draw intense debate, but it is a roadmap. Now if we only had one to lead us out of the crime quagmire.
J. PAUL TAYLOR
J. Paul Taylor is dead. He was a living legend in Las Cruces and a well-respected voice for education across the state who served 20 years in the state House and retired in 2005. The Governor said:
You would be hard-pressed to find an individual as passionate about the people, culture and communities of New Mexico as J. Paul Taylor. . . a friend and mentor who demonstrated the true heart of a servant, always striving to make New Mexico a better place to live for future generations.
J. Paul Taylor was 102.
THE BOTTOM LINES
MLG has been in DC for a governors conference and appeared with three other governors on CBS' Face the Nation Sunday. Video and a transcript are here.
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(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2023
(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2023