N.M. Legislature Passed 77 Bills, Least Since 1976

SANTA FE – The New Mexico Legislature passed 77 bills during the just-completed 30-day legislative session, the fewest for a short session since 1976.

Why so few?

Lawmakers say partisan tension between the Democratic-controlled Legislature and Republican Gov. Susana Martinez, delay tactics and the complicated subject matter of proposed legislation could be factors.

	By the numbers The number of bills passed by the New Mexico Legislature during this year’s 30-day session is the fourth-lowest total since 1966, when the state held its first short, budget-oriented session in an even-numbered year. Here’s a breakdown of bills passed by year since 1998: (Information courtesy of Legislative Council Service)2012 – 77 2010 – 125 2008 – 107 2006 – 125 2004 – 140 2002 – 128 2000 – 135 1998 – 145

Rep. Joseph Cervantes, D-Las Cruces, attributed the low number to uncertainty over the agenda for the short session, which typically focuses on budget issues.

“We went into the session unsure of what the governor would authorize,” Cervantes said. “Most members, in my opinion, don’t pass legislation they expect the governor will veto.”

Martinez last year vetoed 98 of the 284 bills sent to her by legislators during the 60-day regular session.

After this year’s session, she touted the work done by legislators while acknowledging frustration that some of her high-profile initiatives were not approved.

“I didn’t get everything I wanted for the people of New Mexico and that’s to be expected,” Martinez told reporters last week. “It’s a split government, and it’s not perfect. But it’s a far cry from the complete gridlock that we’ve seen in Washington.”

During this year’s session, lawmakers approved a $5.6 billion spending plan for the coming year and a pair of Martinez-backed tax breaks aimed at invigorating the state’s economy.

However, some other top Martinez initiatives ran into brick walls in the Democratic-controlled Legislature, including mandatory retention for third-graders who lack reading skills and a proposed repeal of a 2003 law that allows illegal immigrants to obtain New Mexico driver’s licenses.

At least one high-ranking Republican lawmaker said much of the Legislature’s time in Santa Fe was spent on nonbinding legislation.

“It seemed like this was a session where we spent a lot time debating memorials and, as a result, we didn’t get a whole lot of meaningful legislation passed,” said House GOP Whip Donald Bratton of Hobbs.

Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Michael Sanchez, D-Belen, blamed an hourlong Republican-led filibuster in the House of Representatives during the session’s final hours for keeping the bill count down.

Sanchez said more than 100 bills – or 23 more than were passed – could have been sent to Martinez’s desk without the delay tactic. However, House Democrats also launched a shorter filibuster of their own with just minutes remaining before the Legislature’s adjournment.

The Republican filibuster by Rep. Dennis Roch, R-Texico, came after the House refused to move the childhood reading legislation up on the agenda. The Democratic filibuster led by Rep. Mimi Stewart, D-Albuquerque, was driven by her objections to the bill.

The number of bills passed this year, 77, is the lowest since 1976, when lawmakers sent only 61 bills to then-Gov. Jerry Apodaca, a Democrat.

From 1976 through 2010, the average number of bills passed was about 138 per 30-day session. By that standard, this year’s total – 46 originating in the House of Representatives and 31 in the Senate – was down by nearly 45 percent.

Bill passage numbers generally are higher in odd-numbered years, when the Legislature meets for 60-day sessions that do not have constraints on the allowable subject matter. In short sessions, the governor can issue executive messages that allow bills dealing with certain issues to be brought up for debate.

Martinez has until March 7 to take action on most of the legislation approved during this year’s session, which ended last Thursday.

The Republican governor had already signed four bills into law through Wednesday, including a measure that will allow the state to designate hospitals as primary “stroke centers.”
— This article appeared on page A1 of the Albuquerque Journal