It's only a matter of time before wistful commentators reference the current Winter Olympics as an immortal "16 Days of Glory." But if Bob Costas were pontificating on the 2006 New Mexico legislative session, he'd probably characterize it as "30 Days of Gory."
Many battles figure to go down to the wire before the session adjourns Feb. 16 (and before our press deadline), but here are a few combatants that will likely emerge from the fracas with either victory or defeat.
WINNERS
1.
Gov. Bill Richardson
stuck to his guns after throwing out an extensive gubernatorial agenda. The governor's veto power and threats of a special session will likely ensure most of the shots he has fired won't be blanks.
2. While consensus on the details is still contentiously being hammered out,
wage earners
, one way or another, will likely have a little extra change in their pockets when the dust settles and the state minimum wage raised.
3. State Rep. Ben Lujan, D-Santa Fe, and other legislators managed to consolidate 16 separate tax measures into a single block of legislation, which passed the House soundly and figures to reach the governor's desk largely intact. Welcome news for
tax-break advocates.
4. For once, getting the shaft is a good thing. That's because
miners
can celebrate the prospect of increased safety measures in New Mexico's four underground mines thanks to a miner safety bill passed on to the governor.
5. Domestic violence laws are poised to get a shot in the arm as two separate bills benefiting
domestic abuse victims
with increased penalties for abusers head toward consensus and ultimate legislative approval.
6. New Mexico
property rights proponents
should be pleased by bills working through the House and Senate that place limitations on eminent domain powers that allow governments to seize private property in the public interest.
7. Duel bills working their way through the House and Senate will ease burdens on the state's
uninsured working poor
by providing funds for a program that would provide health insurance for children of the working poor.
8. Honesty isn't always the best policy in politics, but
Sen. John Grubesic
, D-Santa Fe, has hardly proven partial to glad-handing colleagues. In addition to pushing initiatives like declaring cockfighting the official "state disgrace," Grubesic sent a scathingly frank letter to local media outlets detailing the sycophantic parade of lobbyists and legislators surrounding the "flabby king" (Richardson) during the legislature's typical Rio Chama Steakhouse wind-down ritual.
LOSERS
1.
Terminally ill marijuana users
rejoiced when the measure made its way through the Senate only to watch their buzz killed when the House Agriculture and Water Resources Committee shelved the Lynn Pierson Compassionate Use Act on a narrow 4-3 vote.
2.
Political reform advocates
sought an iron fist in the way of nearly 20 bills aimed at increasing government transparency and instituting ethics and campaign finance reforms. In the wake of the State Treasury scandal, legislators declined to make any sweeping changes to ethics legislation.
3. Legislators dealt
teachers
a blow when they passed a budget proposal that would provide for lower pay raises for teachers and public employees than was originally called for in Richardson's initiatives.
4.
School bus drivers
deal with a lot of crap and angry parents, ornery kids and the unpredictable elements of Mother Nature are not the least of the problems. Add to that list gaping potholes and crumbling asphalt. That's because a proposed increase in the state's gas tax (which would have helped finance improvements to roads used by school buses) was shelved in the House.
5.
Armchair hunters
will likely have to go elsewhere for their bloodlust as legislation aimed at barring the establishment of computer-assisted hunting sites in the state heads for approval.
6. Multiple bills making their way through the Legislature would increase penalties for the distribution and possession of methamphetamine and its various household ingredients as well as making it more difficult for
meth chefs
to purchase said ingredients contained in over-the-counter drugs.
7.
Criminals
appear likely to strike out with the double Ks, "Katie's Law" and "Kendra's Law." Both appear to have enough support for passage despite heated debate. Kendra's Law would require court-ordered outpatient treatment for mentally ill scofflaws. Katie's Law would require all adults arrested for felony crimes to give DNA samples to law enforcement. In addition, a bill sponsored by Rep. Hector Balderas, D-Wagon Mound, would create a life sentence penalty for those convicted of aggravated criminal sexual penetration of a minor under the age of 9.
8. Legislation that would have set aside $450,000 to help market and distribute a movie (written and filmed by two native New Mexicans) based on the
Hispanic legend of La Llorona
has all but been shelved. The legend of La Llorona varies, but the gist is that the wailing ghost of a woman who drowned her children haunts New Mexico's rivers, creeks and lakes waiting to pull new victims into a watery grave.
