Legislative roundup
Days remaining in session: 20 Bulls and bears: The Senate on Monday voted 38-0 to confirm Matt Geisel as Cabinet secretary of the Economic Development Department, where he has taken over amid uncertainty about border trade and as New Mexico’s unemployment rate ranks among the highest in the nation.
Gov. Susana Martinez appointed Geisel to head the agency in October.
During his confirmation hearing before the Senate Rules Committee, lawmakers raised questions about the prospects for international trade under President Donald Trump, who has pledged to rip up the North American Free Trade Agreement and build a wall along the southern border.
Geisel said some businesses are taking a wait-and-see approach on commerce along the border, but he said communities such as Santa Teresa are well situated for development driven by the domestic market.
“Santa Teresa remains a very viable location for domestic production, domestic distribution. I’m bullish,” Geisel said.
Geisel previously was Rio Rancho’s economic development and business relations manager.
Open primaries: Legislation allowing independent voters to cast ballots in primary elections squeaked through a Senate committee Monday.
But the Senate Rules Committee shot down proposed changes to the bill that would have allowed not just unaffiliated voters but also voters registered with the smallest political parties to participate in the Democratic and Republican primary elections.
The committee also rejected more sweeping changes proposed by Sen. Daniel Ivey-Soto, D-Albuquerque, who suggested allowing political parties to choose whether unaffiliated voters could participate in primary elections.
Ivey-Soto said requiring open or semiopen primaries would be unconstitutional and unfair.
The sponsor of Senate Bill 205, Sen. John Sapien, D-Corrales, accused Ivey-Soto of proposing the change because “he got word from the party.”
“I don’t appreciate the accusation,” Ivey-Soto replied before the committee chairwoman, Sen. Linda Lopez D-Albuquerque, intervened in the unusually terse exchange.
The sparring demonstrated the disagreement primary election reform has stirred among Democrats.
Republicans helped advance the bill without a recommendation to the Senate Judiciary Committee, where it will likely face renewed calls for major changes.
The vote seemed to set proposals for open primaries on separate tracks, as a similar bill wending through the House of Representatives would allow voters registered with unqualified minor parties to participate in major party primary elections.
Solar surge: Senators approved a bill Monday that would require the state to use renewable energy in its 750 buildings if it would save money on utility costs and not require any upfront expenses.
The proposal, by freshman Sen. Jeff Steinborn, D-Las Cruces, carried on a 36-4 vote. Steinborn said the measure has the potential to save the state millions of dollars over the long term.
The measure, Senate Bill 227, now goes to the House of Representatives.
No dice for privatization: A House committee on Monday rejected a bill that would have allowed state and local governments to sign contracts with private partners to help launch public projects.
The Labor and Economic Development Committee stopped the bill on a 7-4 vote. The measure, House Bill 275, was sponsored by Rep. Larry Larrañaga, R-Albuquerque, and Sen. Carlos Cisneros, D-Questa.
Ben Shelton of the advocacy group Conservation Voters New Mexico applauded the committee’s decision. “Like in 2015, New Mexicans stood up against attempts to privatize our water and other critical services this session,” he said.
Shelton said the bill may have sounded good, but it would have led to higher costs. Quote of the day: “Did they capture any young people trying to squeeze out a lottery ticket?” — Rep. Patricio Ruiloba, D-Albuquerque, at a committee hearing asking a question about a pilot program selling state lottery tickets at gas pumps.