By Matt Grubs, NMiF Producer

For the second straight day, a high-profile piece of legislation has taken a House committee into the early evening hours.

House Bill 132, sponsored by freshman Albuquerque Represenative Paul Pacheco, is a driver’s license bill favored by Governor Susana Martinez. The measure would, most notably, repeal the provision in New Mexico law that allows driver’s licenses to be issued to foreign nationals who are not in the country legally.

In testimony Tuesday afternoon, Rep. Pacheco, a retired police officer, stressed aspects of the bill that would bring New Mexico in compliance with the REAL ID Act that sets minimum standards for federal driver’s licenses. New Mexico is one of more than three dozen states that currently do not comply with the REAL ID Act.

The REAL ID Act does allow for states to issue licenses that do not comply with the act, as long as they are part of a tiered program that includes a license that is compliant with the REAL ID Act.

Secretary of Transportation Demesia Padilla, testifying in favor of the bill, said the creation of felony penalties for both obtaining or conspiring to obtain a driver’s license without having legal permission to enter the country would help stem the tide of fraud cases dealt with by both her agency and state police. The measure would also make it a third degree felony to knowingly issue a driver’s license to someone not in the country legally.

The bill would replace existing New Mexico law with rules allowing licenses to be issued to foreign nationals as long as they have a “unique identifier” as well as proof they are in the country legally. Licenses issued to foreign nationals would expire when legal residence expires.

As of this writing, the committee had not voted on the measure. The committee hearing is being webcast here.

By Matt Grubs, NMiF Producer

Since introducing the controversial House Bill 206, Carlsbad Republican Cathrynn Brown has been swept up by a whirlwind of publicity. Representative Brown, in her third year as a legislator, says the bill was intended to charge those who force women to get an abortion in cases of rape or incest with the crime of tampering with evidence. Nine Republican women signed on as co-sponsors.

But the bill as introduced reads “Tampering with evidence shall include procuring or facilitating an abortion, or compelling or coercing another to obtain an abortion, of a fetus that is the result of criminal sexual penetration or incest with the intent to destroy evidence of the crime.”

The wording has been interpreted by many to criminalize victims who get abortions in the case of rape or incest.

Rep. Brown has since had a new bill drafted with the additional wording “In no circumstance shall the mother of the fetus be charged under this subsection.” The Republican representative plans to offer it as a substitution during the bill’s first committee hearing.

Thursday morning, the liberal action group Progress Now New Mexico sent out press releases lambasting the bill. Within hours, House Republicans issued their own press release from Rep. Brown saying the bill’s wording was an error and didn’t reflect Rep. Brown’s intent. Soon, Republican governor Susana Martinez had distanced herself from the bill and Republicans were scrambling to regroup.

The bill switched on the national spotlight, drawing attention from a host of media outlets.

By Matt Grubs, NMiF Producer
UPDATED: 8:59 a.m.

Democrats in both houses of the New Mexico Legislature announced today that they believe they have brokered an agreement to solve liability issues with manned space flight originating at New Mexico’s Spaceport America. Leadership in the House and Senate met repeatedly since the summer with representatives from the New Mexico Trial Lawyers Association and the spaceport’s main tenant, Virgin Galactic.

Senate Majority Leader Michael Sanchez, D-Belen, said the legislation compares favorably to laws in Colorado and Florida in that it limits liability for “suppliers or manufacturers of components, services or vehicles to the space flight.”

The liability limit would be one million dollars and insurance would be required to claim protection afforded by the act. The proposed law applies only to lawsuits by passengers of space tourism operations at the Upham, New Mexico facility. The measure suggests extending the effective date of the act from 2018 to 2021.

“This is the way it should be up here, where we work on things,” said Speaker of the House Ken Martinez, D-Grants. “Sometimes if you really care about an issue, you’ll work on it over the course of several years.”

Governor Susana Martinez, who has pushed for a solution – including during her State of the State address – did not immediately comment on the proposed fix. Wednesday morning, the governor’s office released a brief statement, saying “Protecting the $209 million taxpayer investment in the Spaceport by passing a bill preventing lawsuit abuse is one of Governor Martinez’s top priorities for this session. The Governor met with leaders from Virgin Galactic Tuesday and is hopeful that the final legislation that passes will lead to the company’s commitment to stay in New Mexico, and that it will lead to making New Mexico capable of attracting other space industry business.”

During her opening day speech to lawmakers, the governor urged them to “protect our investment in Spaceport and pass lawsuit abuse reform this session.” It’s unclear if a specific fix to the spaceport issue is broad enough for the governor to deem it “lawsuit abuse reform”.

The bill is expected to be introduced on Wednesday.

Senate President Pro Tem Mary Kay Papen, D-Las Cruces, said the bill means Southern New Mexico has more than just a shiny new building to point to when asked why residents of some counties there have been paying additional gross receipts tax for the facility.

The complete press announcement is below, courtesy of the Senate Democrats.

By Matt Grubs, NMiF Producer

A strong Line conversation and a poignant interview with the Military Religious Freedom Foundation’s Mikey Weinstein highlight this week’s show. We begin with the Line talking about what Governor Susana Martinez is and should be doing on the campaign trail. The governor has worked hard to change the face of the state legislature, but her presence has been less noticeable to the public in higher-profile races in the state.

Her political adviser, Jay McCleskey, gave NMiF the following statement:

“The Governor has endorsed numerous candidates and you can expect more between now and the election.

She has attended several events with Mitt Romney, including a rally in Colorado. There are additional events that are currently being planned with the Romney campaign, as well.

As always, her responsibilities as Governor come first. The perfect example of that is when Mitt Romney came to New Mexico a few weeks back and the Governor was unable to attend, because of a prior commitment she had to honor the “Top 100″ revenue-producing businesses in New Mexico at a luncheon hosted by the Albuquerque Journal.”

Enjoy the show and thanks for tuning in!