Senators walk away to strangle a bill

The most eloquent voices don’t necessarily win political debates at the state Capitol. They might not even be heard. This is because legislators who vote with their feet can have more power than the finest orator.

If enough lawmakers abandon a meeting, paralysis kills a bill faster than a filibuster. That’s what happened this weekend.

Seven of the 11 senators on the Rules Committee exited the hearing room before a proposed constitutional amendment to expand early childhood education was heard. All four Republicans and three of seven Democrats stepped out and didn’t return.

Left without a quorum, the Rules Committee could not vote on House Joint Resolution 1. It is sure to die, but the walkout leaves the proposal to twist in the committee at least until Monday.

“The opponents, they don’t even want to come here and say why they’re against it. They just leave,” said Sen. Jerry Ortiz y Pino, D-Albuquerque.

His assessment was partially true. The measure has been introduced for 10 consecutive years, and outspoken opponents have always mobilized against it.

This time they gave it the silent treatment.

The proposal would take another 1 percent from the state’s $19 billion Land Grant Permanent Fund and spend most of the money on early childhood programs.

At the endowment’s current size, about $153 million a year would be allocated to help infants, toddlers and new parents in need of mentors.

Rep. Javier Martinez, D-Albuquerque, said getting every kid off to a good start through better parenting would reduce poverty, produce more high school graduates and shrink the prison population.

An attorney, Martinez is a formidable debater. He wanted senators to approve the measure so it could appear on the ballot next fall.

But the walkout left him with no one to persuade.

Sen. Cliff Pirtle, R-Roswell, was one of the members who left the committee hearing. He said he had to attend to important obligations.

“We had to get down to the Senate floor for votes on substantive bills,” Pirtle told me. “I feel a duty to my constituents to be present and participate in those votes.”

Not many bought the explanation. The Rules Committee chairwoman, Democratic Sen. Linda Lopez of Albuquerque, was among the skeptics.

She said her committee has often continued hearing bills while the full Senate assembled in its chamber.

Lopez apologized to Martinez and the proposal’s other sponsor, Rep. Antonio “Moe” Maestas, D-Albuquerque, for not being able to take action on it.

But Lopez and everyone else in the room knew the proposal would have been voted down if enough senators had stayed for the hearing.

A similar measure died in the Rules Committee last year on a 7-4 vote. All four Republicans voted against the proposal, as did Democratic Sens. Mary Kay Papen of Las Cruces, Clemente Sanchez of Grants and Bill Tallman of Albuquerque.

This time, six of them skipped the debate. Only Tallman was on hand again to hear out the advocates.

Lawmakers who oppose using the endowment for early childhood education haven’t been shy about their reasons. They say spending more now could harm future generations. The endowment helps fund select programs, most notably K-12 public schools.

Perhaps the staunchest opponent is Sen. John Arthur Smith, D-Deming.

Smith, who chairs the Senate Finance Committee, needs only four words to explain his opposition to the proposed constitutional amendment.

“I think it’s irresponsible,” he said.

One year, Smith refused to hear the proposal in his committee, though it had cleared the 70-member House of Representatives.

Critics pounced. They said Smith shouldn’t be so powerful as to pocket veto a bill he didn’t like.

Smith reacted this year by offering an alternative bill that would provide a more modest expansion of early childhood education.

He joined with Rep. Doreen Gallegos, D-Las Cruces, to craft House Bill 83 establishing the Early Childhood Trust Fund.

The bill by Gallegos and Smith creates a dedicated fund to add $20 million to early childhood programs in 2022 and at least $30 million annually thereafter.

It’s not all of what the advocates wanted, but Smith boxed them in. They had to support his bill.

“We’re not going to say no to $20 million to help kids,” said Allen Sánchez, executive director of the New Mexico Conference of Catholic Bishops and president of the nonprofit group CHI St. Joseph’s Children.

The bill by Gallegos and Smith has been approved by the Legislature. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, a Democrat, said she will sign it into law.

Ortiz y Pino, the only senator to vote against Smith’s bill, complained that kids who need help immediately won’t get it.

He heard no rebuttal. The opposing side was long gone.