An audit released by State Auditor Hector Balderas today found “pervasive abuse of taxpayer resources” at the Public Regulations Commission — well beyond disgraced former PRC commissioner Jerome Block Jr. Included is PRC Chairman Patrick Lyons, prompting State Auditor Hector Balderas to call for Lyons’ resignation.
“Tips we’ve received indicate that Commission employees are scared to come forward with information they may have,” Balderas said in a press release. “The tone of intimidation trickles down from the top.”
“Chairman Lyons is part of the problem, and he should reimburse the taxpayers and resign his position,” Balderas said in the release.
According to the press release, Lyons drove a truck purchased with federal funds “for approximately 65 days in violation of a federal pipeline safety program.”
One of the problems found in the special audit was abuse of gas cards. KOB-TV found that Jerome Block Jr. spent around $4,000 on gas using a state gas card between January to May of 2011, including instances of multiple fill ups within the same hour.
The audit found that 26 different persons lacked “documentation in the vehicle travel log supporting a vehicle was driven on the day a fuel purchase was completed” for a total of 1,056 times.
And there were 95 non-fuel transactions that were not supported by a receipt between 24 people totaling $2,143.
Other violations included 3 out of state trips using government vehicles without an approved waiver and purchasing premium gasoline which violates state regulations.
The special audit was conducted by Atkinson and Co., Ltd., and can be downloaded from the website of the State Auditor.
Tags: Hector Balderas, Jerome Block Jr., Patrick Lyons, PRC, Public Regulation Commission
Senate floor action features criticism of Governor’s messages and the Albuquerque Journal’s coverage
Senate President Pro Tem Tim Jennings speaking on the floor of the Senate. Photo by Matthew Reichbach.
Two state Senators stood on the Senate floor today and leveled criticism at the Governor’s office for its handling messages to the legislature, and at the Albuquerque Journal for a news story about the controversy. The issue of Governor’s messages has a bearing on on which bills can be ruled as germane for consideration during the session.
In a 30-day session like the current one, the only bills allowed to be considered and acted upon are those that pertain to budget matters — or those that are related to any subject contained in a Governor’s message. Some lawmakers have said that the messages from Martinez are overly broad and would create a logjam of legislation during the 30-day session.
Martinez was criticized last year for adding a large number of subjects to the official call for September’s special session which some legislators, predominantly Democrats, said would distract from the constitutionally mandated task of redistricting — a complicated job that happens only once every ten years.
At issue in the Albuquerque Journal story was a quote from Scott Darnell, a spokesman for Martinez.
“Despite our efforts to be accommodating, they have expressed a desire to be more restrictive and … we will work with that, but members who are unhappy with their bill not being heard would need to speak with their leadership – and not the Governor’s Office,” Martinez spokesman Scott Darnell said.
Senate President Pro Tem Tim Jennings (D-Roswell) took exception to the quote, saying, “There were no errors on the part of the Senate or House. The messages were very broad.”
Jennings explained that the Senate would not ask the Governor to “pull back” her messages to the Senate and issue new, narrower messages, but instead keep the original messages in place and that future messages be made narrower in scope. Jennings explained that the Senate Committee on Committees had already ruled legislation germane based on the original messages, adding that it would be unfair now to pull that legislation back.
“Those messages had gone out and the cards had been played,” Jennings said.
Sen. Cisco McSorley (D-Albuquerque) criticized the Albuquerque Journal for its story, accusing it of bias.
McSorley said the Journal does not get both sides of the story. “They seem to reprint press releases from the Governor’s office and that they’re not really helping people of the state of New Mexico understand how their government functions and how the stakes are made.”
Of course, legislators complaining about the way the media writes a story or about the Governor’s actions is not unusual. However, it does provide an interesting interlude during the early days of the session when most of the action is dominated by routine minutiae like passing committee reports and expressing support for the Boys and Girl Club of New Mexico.
Odds and Ends
- The Santa Fe New Mexican reported that even some in the Republican Party were critical of the Governor’s messages.
- McSorley noted that the Albuquerque Journal does not pay gross receipts tax. This brings to mind a move in Oklahoma to place a sales tax on on the cost of newspapers to pay for bonuses for National Board Certified teachers.
- Over 200 bills have been introduced in the Senate so far this session — only a fraction of those will make it out of committee, let alone be passed along fro Martinez’s signature — or veto.
A nun participating in the protest against repealing the law allowing undocumented immigrants to earn drivers licenses. Photo by Matthew Reichbach
Hundreds of immigrants and supporters of immigrant drivers licenses rallied outside the Roundhouse Tuesday morning hoping to send a message to Gov. Susana Martinez. The rally, so far the largest at the Roundhouse in the 2012 session, included support from the Catholic Church and organized labor.
A theme among the protests was that keeping the current drivers license policy promotes greater public safety by giving law enforcement a current and complete database of driving and other offenses.
“You drink, you drive, who knows?” was a popular chant, referring to the popular anti-DWI campaign, “You drink, you drive, you lose.”
Allen Sanchez, Executive Director of the New Mexico Conference of Catholic Bishops, speaking at drivers license rally. Photo by Matthew Reichbach
The Catholic Church has been a staunch opponent of the movement to repeal the law that allows undocumented immigrants to earn New Mexico drivers licenses.
Allen Sanchez, the Executive Director of the New Mexico Conference of Catholic Bishops, echoed his speech from a similar rally in September.
“I have a message,” Sanchez told the crowd. “Governor, Jesus was an immigrant!”
Sanchez said that this is a “gospel issue” for the Catholic bishops in New Mexico and said that the legislature should instead be focused on other priorities during the session — notably funding schools and creating jobs.
Daniel Manzano, Director of Policy and Communication for the New Mexico Coalition Against Domestic Violence, said that keeping drivers licenses for undocumented immigrants was important for his group for three main reasons.
For example, it allows victims of domestic violence to be able to drive away from abusive husbands “safely and legally.” He also said that driver licenses would allow these women to be financially independent. He also said the drivers licenses count as a form of identification for the courts, which is necessary to get an order of protection.
“The weather can’t even stop us today,” Manzano said, referring to the overcast skies and occasional flakes of snow dropping onto the large crowd.
Odds and Ends
- A clever noisemaker that was handed out to many protesters was made out of two plastic cups taped together with rocks inside.
- A chant that the protesters repeated while marching around the Roundhouse and in front of the rally’s stage was, “Susana, escucha, somos en la lucha!” Loosely translated, that means, “Susana, listen, we are in the struggle!”
- The most popular headwear at the rally was Los Angeles Dodgers hats. The Dodgers are popular among the Mexican-American community in large part because of Fernando Valenzuela, the legendary Mexican lefthander who won 173 games in 17 big league seasons.
- For more photos, see my Flickr set.
Tags: Allen Sanchez, Daniel Manzano, Fernando Valenzuela, immigrant driver's licenses, immigration, New Mexico Coalition Against Domestic Violence, New Mexico Conference of Catholic Bishops, NM Legislature
A rap video about “Citizens United”? Citizens what?
For your information, two memorials have been introduced in both the New Mexico State Senate and House of Representatives that, if passed, would put New Mexico on record in opposition the Supreme Court’s 2010 ruling in Citizens United vs. the Federal Election Commission.
That’s the decision which is directly responsible for the rise of the “Super PACs” and the unprecedented avalanche of money that has been pouring into Republican presidential primary campaigns thus far this year – millions from big corporations and a few extremely wealthy individuals.
But we ain’t seen nothing yet. The millions spent in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina will soon pale in comparison to the hundreds and hundreds of millions that will be unleashed in this fall’s general election at the federal, state and local levels.
The Super PAC attacks in the Republican primaries prompted Senator John McCain (R-AZ) to declare that Citizens United is “one of the worst decisions I have ever seen.” He predicted “there will be huge scandals associated with this huge flood of money.”
The two New Mexico memorials, sponsored by Sen. Steve Fischmann (D-Las Cruces) and Rep. Mimi Stewart (D-Abq), would have each house of the legislature call upon the the Congress to pass, and then send back to the states for ratification, an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would overturn Citizens United.
By passing these memorials, New Mexico would join a growing list of communities and states that are debating and passing similar resolutions and ballot referendums, including Los Angeles, Portland, OR, Boulder, CO and Missoula, MT. The Missoula ballot question passed with 75% of the vote.
Results of a poll by Hart Research Associates showed that 79% of voters support passage of a Constitutional amendment to overturn the Supreme Court’s decision in the Citizens United case and make clear that corporations do not have the same rights as people, including 42% who would definitely support it. Just 21% are opposed. Large majorities of Democrats (87%), independents (82%), and Republicans (68%) support passage of the amendment.
All of which compelled our very own Sarah Kennedy to produce this rap video in support of New Mexico State Senate Memorial 3. Listen up:
Tags: Citizens United, Rep. Mimi Stewart, Sen. John McCain, Sen. Steve Fischmann
Tags: NM Legislature, tax policy
The Tea Party has been a force in politics, especially among conservatives, since it gained prominence in 2009. The New Mexico groups gathered for their third rally at the Roundhouse on Tuesday — but this time, the Tea Party had company.
Occupy groups from around the state gathered on the east side of the Roundhouse — and outnumbered the Tea Party protesters on the opposite side of the Roundhouse.
The two rallies had similarities — crowds of New Mexicans holding signs and cheering on speeches from speakers. But the similarities were superficial.
The Occupy crowd was filled with signs calling for the end of corporate involvement in campaigns and signs in Spanish opposing Martinez’s proposal to repeal drivers license for undocumented immigrants. The Tea Party signs were in support of the drivers license repeal and called for mandatory voter identification at the polls.
What the crowed responded to was different as well. The largest applause line at the Tea Party rally was when Lt. Gov. John Sanchez said, “The first thing we need to do is elect a new President.” At the Occupy rally, a large cheer went up when state Sen. Eric Griego said, “money isn’t speech — we need corporations out.”
Griego also signed the 99 Pledge in front of the crowd.
The Democratic state Senator, who is running for Congress in New Mexico’s 1st Congressional District, said he would support a Constitutional Amendment to overturn Citizen’s United, the controversial Supreme Court decision that allows corporations to contribute unlimited amounts of money in support or opposition to a political candidate.
At the Tea Party rally, Marita K. Noon, head of the energy group CARE, railed against the possible listing of the Sand Dune Lizard as an endangered species. Opposition to the listing of the lizard has become cause célèbre for conservatives, especially Congressman Steve Pearce (R-NM).
The Occupy group ultimately received more media attention for an attempted — though unsuccessful — “mic check” of Martinez at the beginning of her State of the State address. The Occupy protesters involved were quickly ushered out of the room.
Odds and Ends
- The two candidates with major presences at the Tea Party rally were Rick Newton, a Republican running for Congress in New Mexico’s 3rd Congressional District, and Greg Sowards, running for U.S. Senate.
- The Santa Fe New Mexican reported that there “were no major confrontations between the two groups.”
Tags: Eric Griego, Greg Sowards, Marita K. Noon, Occupy, Rick Newton, Tea Party
The talk of the political world in New Mexico continues to be the shocking statement from Speaker of the House Ben Luján that he was diagnosed with lung cancer in late 2009 and continues to suffer from the disease. Luján said that “even my closest friends” and many members of his family had not heard the news yet.
The public TV station KNME has the video of the announcement, which Clearly New Mexico has embedded below.
Clearly New Mexico has also included reactions from elected officials and politicians from throughout the state. Clearly New Mexico will continue to update this post as statements from elected officials are received.
Before her State of the State address, Gov. Susana Martinez said, “Our thoughts and prayers are with you and New Mexico is pulling for you.”
Floor Majority Leader Ken Martinez (D-Grants) called Ben Luján a “heroic statesman.”
U.S. Sen. Tom Udall (D-N.M.)
“Like so many northern New Mexicans, I have been lucky to call Speaker Luján my friend for many years. One can’t help but learn an immense amount about the art of legislating by simply watching him go about his business in the Roundhouse or at home in Nambé Valley. Ben has the most distinct style and unrelenting commitment to the people of New Mexico — fighting especially to help those who are less fortunate. Above all, he is a family man of enduring faith. Jill and I will keep Carmen, Ben Ray and their entire family in our thoughts as they confront this difficult challenge. New Mexico is pulling for you, Ben. We thank you for your extraordinary service to our state.”
Democratic Party of New Mexico Chairman Javier Gonzales
“Battling cancer is never easy. But the Speaker has been a fighter all of his life and I expect we’ll see nothing less now. Ben Lujan has long been a light of leadership in the New Mexico Legislature, and we are here to support him during this trying time in whatever way we can. Our thoughts and prayers go to the Speaker and all the Lujan family.”
Tags: Speaker Ben Lujan
Gov. Susana Martinez used her annual State of the State address to announce her agenda for the 2012 regular session. The speech featured few, if any, surprises.
Martinez outlined her positions on education reform and pushed for tax breaks for businesses in an effort to avoid “pyramiding” of taxes on small businesses. (For a good analysis of this issue, see Winthrop Quigley’s piece in the Albuquerque Journal.)
Martinez called for teacher evaluations, which she said would help reward the best teachers in the state. Martinez called for teachers to assess children annually beginning in kindergarten and to tie teacher bonuses to the evaluations.
“The teacher who takes kids three grades behind and gets them up to grade-level has arguably accomplished more than the teacher who has a class full of over-achievers,” Martinez said. “That’s why I’m urging you to support a teacher evaluation system that will identify these great heroes in our schools and reward them accordingly.”
The governor also supports a bill that would end “social promotion” or allowing students to move on from the 3rd grade unless they reach certain benchmarks.
Martinez called for legislators to “close the revolving door that turns citizen legislators into special-interest lobbyists, where one day they’re serving the public and the next day, they’re using those connections to serve a special interest.”
Most recently, state Sen. Kent Cravens (R-Albuquerque) resigned his position to take a high-paying job with the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association. Other well-known lobbyists are former state legislators.
House Speaker Ben Lujan made a surprise announcement Tuesday that he has lung cancer and has been battling cancer since November 2009. Lujan, who has served as Speaker since 2001, said he will not run for reelection.
Rumors of Lujan’s health issues spread through the Roundhouse Tuesday morning and continued when Lujan appeared with an oxygen tank.
“Even though I will not be running for reelection, I was hoping to tell you that the cancer is gone. As you can see, it is not,” Lujan said.
Shortly after starting the legislative session, Lujan confirmed the rumors. Lujan said he was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer in November of 2009. Lujan blamed exposure to asbestos at Los Alamos for the cancer.
Lujan said he has been undergoing chemotherapy since December of 2009, including during legislative sessions and his reelection campaign in 2010 where Lujan narrowly won a Democratic primary against a virtually unknown opponent.
Lujan said he underwent radiation therapy on a daily basis between May and June of 2010 — the heart of his reelection campaign. Lujan said this is why he did not campaign heavily, for which he was criticized by many.
“As a family we gave stopping cancer the top priority,” Lujan said.
After Lujan concluded his remarks, he received a standing ovation.
Majority Leader Ken Martinez said he spoke for the entire chamber when he told Lujan, “Thank you.”
“Today is a day we will remember as a day of a heroic statesman that fights for his state,” Martinez said. “And I will never forget it.”
Lujan urged his colleagues to work together in a bipartisan fashion.
“Let’s make this session a work of art,” the Speaker said.
Tags: NM Legislature, Speaker Ben Lujan
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