Senate rules panel OKs economic development secretary

Gov.Susana Martinez’s economic development secretary, Jon Barela, got a thumbs-up today from the Senate Rules Committee.

The committee recommended unanimously that the full Senate confirm Barela. Now the confirmation heads to the Senate floor.

Barela, who has been on the job for the past year, is the next-to-last of Martinez’s  cabinet members to undergo confirmation. The public education secretary, Hanna Skandera, is still awaiting action by the Senate.