Posted inCongress & Federal Gov

New Mexico House members to vote against bill to end shutdown, citing lack of healthcare fix 

All three members of New Mexico’s all-Democratic delegation in the U.S. House of Representatives are vowing to vote against a Senate-brokered deal to reopen the federal government because it does not include an extension of tax credits that millions of Americans depend on to purchase health insurance.  U.S. Reps. Melanie Stansbury, Gabe Vasquez and Teresa […]

Posted inNew Mexico Legislature #nmleg

Legislators OK $162,500,000 for state SNAP aid in quick 4-hour session

Lt. Gov. Howie Morales, in his capacity as acting governor, has signed legislation that will provide full benefits for 459,500 New Mexicans who depend on SNAP for food assistance, even if the federal government does not supply the funding.  Morales signed House Bill 1 on Monday evening after the Legislature adjourned following a four-hour-long special […]

Posted inNew Mexico Legislature #nmleg

Counties nominate state rep., current and former county commisioners to fill vacant senate seat in Southeast NM

Mark Fischer, chair of the Lincoln County Board of Commissioners, has been recommended by his colleagues to fill an open New Mexico Senate seat.  During a special meeting on Monday, Lincoln County Commissioners Samantha Serna, Timothy Prather, and MP Chavez voted to send Fisher’s name to the governor for consideration as their choice to fill […]

Posted inNew Mexico Legislature #nmleg

State DOT will seek 25-35% hikes on vehicle registration, new EV car fee to fund road repairs

New Mexico motorists could pay more to keep their vehicles registered and on the road under a proposal from the state Transportation Department, part of a plan to boost its revenue amid rising construction costs and projected declines in annual revenue.  Ricky Serna, the New Mexico Transportation Secretary, told lawmakers on the Transportation Revenue and […]

Posted inNM State Gov.

New Mexico lawmakers call for commission to probe alleged Epstein crimes at Zorro Ranch 

New Mexicans may soon learn more about the alleged crimes of Jeffrey Epstein, even as efforts to get additional information about the disgraced financier and convicted sex abuser have stalled at the federal level.  On Thursday, state lawmakers presented a proposal to the Courts, Corrections and Justice Interim Committee to create a commission to probe […]

Posted inPolitics & Elections

Aztec state senator joins gubernatorial race, focuses on education, rural New Mexico

Sen. Steve Lainier (R-Aztec) on Thursday became the second Republican to officially declare his candidacy for governor.  Lanier, a retired educator and coach, and a first-term state senator from Aztec, announced his candidacy in a press release posted on Facebook.  “As someone who spent my life serving this community – in the classroom, on the […]

Posted inNew Mexico Legislature #nmleg

Chaves County commissioners unanimously endorse Wilson for open State Senate seat 

Reporting from Roswell, NM — Former Lincoln County Commissioner Rex Wilson could soon be representing three southeastern New Mexico counties in the Legislature after officials in Chaves County recommended him as their choice to fill an open state Senate seat.  On Wednesday, the Chaves County Board of Commissioners voted 5-0 to send the name of […]

Posted inCongress & Federal Gov., Energy Transition, Public Lands

‘Morally wrong, disrespectful:’ NM congressional leaders slam moves to roll back Chaco Canyon buffer zone 

Pueblos and advocacy groups that spent decades trying to safeguard one of the most sacred sites of Puebloan culture may soon see all that hard work undone, as the Trump administration considers reopening land around the Chaco Culture National Historical Park to oil and gas drilling as well as mining.   In a statement to New […]