By Matt Grubs, NMiF Producer

Senate Majority Leader Michael Sanchez says a powerful Senate committee chairman – and fellow Democrat – should back off his pledge to let a proposed constitutional amendment wither and die on the legislative vine.

Sen. John Arthur Smith, D-Deming, is the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee and told NMiF yesterday that he doesn’t see any change in the votes he’s counted in his committee both for and against the measure and therefore doesn’t plan a hearing for the proposal.

“Counting is a real interesting thing,” Sanchez mused Tuesday afternoon, “Sometimes you can be right on and sometimes you might miss it by one or two.”

The measure is a signature piece of legislation for the most powerful lawmaker in the Senate. It would increase disbursements from the state’s massive permanent funds and funnel that money toward early childhood education programs. Critics say taking the proposed 6.5% slice of the funds every year is an unsustainable practice.

Sen. Sanchez and other supporters say a sunset provision that would eliminate the increased payout a decade from its inception would provide a safety net for the funds, as would a part of the bill that would stop the early childhood money from flowing if the fund balances dropped too low.

The Belen Democrat said Senator Smith will have the final say on the hearing. Regardless of support for the measure in the Senate as a whole, Sen. Sanchez won’t “blast” the bill out of the Senate Finance Committee using a procedural maneuver from the Senate floor.

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

Skulking about the halls of the Roundhouse yesterday, I came across Senate Majority Floor Leader Michael Sanchez lamenting all the grief he was getting over his new haircut. It’s short. Very short. But not short enough that it makes one think “that guy’s trying to keep his hair short”. It’s a couple weeks of growth past that point.

Frankly, to many people, it looks a little weird.

Sen. Michael Sanchez sports his new look.

To understand his choice a bit better, you need to know the senator is not follicly gifted.

Sen. Michael Sanchez

The choice to leave his hair in this no man’s land state might seem a poor one but for this: the senator had his barber, Ray, take an electric razor to his head on December 28th as an act of solidarity. And you can probably see where this is going. The senator has two friends, Nancy Tasto of Iowa and and Steve Pena of Valencia County, who are undergoing chemotherapy as they battle cancer. The senator promised he’d shave his head as the side effects of the chemotherapy took hold and he kept his word, despite the many people who do not pass up the chance to give him a hard time.

This is a citizen legislature, filled with mothers and fathers, sons and daughters, buddies, pals and friends. There are many up here who would do – and may already have done – the same thing. It’s worth remembering as the session gets contentious.

By Matt Grubs, NMiF Producer

Eager to a) bask in the warm glow of job creation, b) let voters know that they’re eager to bask in the warm glow of job creation and c) actually address a problem that is first and foremost in the minds of the people they represent, Senate Democrats have put together a package of 11 bills dubbed The HIRE Initiative. In addition to having a certain Robert Ludlum-y je ne sais quoi The HIRE Initiative stands for Helping Incentivize Real Employment.

From the outset, it’s clear Senate Majority Leader Michael Sanchez wants voters to know Democrats can spur private job creation just as well as Republicans can. Here’s a minute of his brief introduction to HIRE.

In other words, we’ll show you some love and you can show us some love. Which of course dovetails nicely with our title track by Steve Winwood. He tried this whole HIRE love thing about 25 years ago and hasn’t needed a job since. (Although, he probably didn’t need a job long before then as evidenced by his 17-year-old awesomeness for The Spencer Davis Group. That’s him singing. He’s 17!)

Worth noting here is that Senator Sanchez mentions Senate Dems don’t yet have a caucus position on what’s being dropped in this package. There were some heavy hitters at the table with Sanchez, including President Pro Tem Tim Jennings, Majority Whip Mary Jane Garcia, Chair of the Corporations and Transportation Committee Phil Griego, and Finance Committee Vice Chair Carlos Cisneros. Upstarts Tim Keller, Steve Fischmann and John Sapien are carrying bills, too. Noticeably absent were Finance Chair John Arthur Smith – and any Republicans. This is a D thing for now and until it gets to the House where Rs hold a little more sway.

The package goes after many areas mentioned by Governor Susana Martinez in her State of the State address last week, including “pyramiding” gross receipts tax. Pyramiding happens when something gets taxed for a business, which then incorporates it into a final product which is taxed yet again. Senator Steve Fischmann – a former Levi Strauss exec – explains his bill.

He also gives a little love to Governor Martinez, who was in Albuquerque Monday touting her anti-pyramiding plans and a gross receipts tax cut for certain small businesses, among other things. Again, one thing worth noting is that Fischmann’s bill doubles the Martinez plan. That sounds great, but it also needs to be paid for by cuts somewhere or tax gains somewhere else (referenced by Senator Fischmann).

Tim Keller got in on the act, as he seems rather adept at doing, leading the press conference once Sanchez stepped away and advancing the cause for a bill he’s carrying that offers businesses a $5,000 tax credit for hiring graduates of New Mexico universities. As Keller points out, New Mexico is still trying to wean itself off government support and advance manufacturing and high-tech, private sector jobs.

Trailing Keller were a group of graduate students supporting his bill. Katie Richardson, president of the Graduate and Professional Student Association, points out that students are graduating with a tremendous debt load. For a PhD such as Richardson’s, the average student will amass $45,000 in loans by the time they are awarded their advanced degree. And, the Chronicle of Higher Education notes that number doesn’t include debt from getting an undergraduate degree. Richardson and others worry about a student brain drain as advanced degree holders look to start paying down that debt any way they can once they graduate. The GPSA says that while 75 percent of advanced degree graduates would like to stay in New Mexico, just 40 percent do. Matthew Rush – who is in a much better position – adds context.

It’s just one story among many, but those emerging from higher education and entering the work force could use HIRE love just like so many who are anxious to work but short one very important tool: a job. Both Democrats and Republicans will do well to deliver.