Latest news with #Steinborn
Yahoo
21-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
One signature away from becoming law, lobbyists worry over reporting bill
Mar. 20—SANTA FE — Some New Mexico lobbyists say a bill headed to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham's desk is a targeted, logistical nightmare, but backers say more transparency from individuals who work to influence legislators is long overdue. Sitting on the governor's desk is legislation that would require lobbyists, or their employers, to file "lobbyist activity reports" disclosing stances on bills they're influencing, and, if positions change, to update their stances within 48 hours. The legislation, which has failed repeatedly to pass the Legislature in the past, surprised even the bill's sponsors in its passage of both chambers. Currently, lobbyists only need to publicly report who's employing them and money spent to benefit legislators for lobbying purposes. Bill sponsor Sen. Jeff Steinborn, D-Las Cruces, described that as negligible, "next to nothing." So he's been working for years to pass additional reporting legislation, only to have it fail time and time again. He said transparency changes are some of the most difficult measures to pass in the Roundhouse, and this year's passage of House Bill 143 shows the uphill battle is worth it. "It's given me a hope that we can continue to fight for big things and fight for transparency and good government," Steinborn said. Who's at the table The Senate Tax, Business and Transportation Committee passed the bill over the weekend. Charlie Marquez, a contract lobbyist who doesn't support the legislation, said leadership initially said it would be rolled — at which point he left the committee — but ultimately heard it when the bill sponsor showed up. That was the last chance for public comment, as the bill went to the full Senate after that and then the full House again. "Lobbyists have a lot to bring to the table, and I think they should be at the table helping craft legislation like this," said J.D. Bullington, a big-name lobbyist of 28 years representing more than 20 clients this year. Both he and Marquez said nobody asked them for input on the bill. Steinborn said he didn't really confer with lobbyists when crafting the legislation, which he described as straightforward. "They never liked it, and they never wanted it," he said. Co-sponsor Rep. Sarah Silva, D-Las Cruces, said the lobbyists she reached out to either would only support the measure off the record or didn't respond. Silva also expected more of a fight getting it through the House floor again for concurrence, a process of agreement when the other chamber makes changes to a bill. But in about a minute on Wednesday evening, the House floor agreed to send the bill to the governor. It was different from the version the House sent over to the Senate, which Republicans amended to include restrictions on spending money on meals and beverages for legislators. The Senate stripped that out. Republicans voted against the bill in the House as well as the Senate. Silva said the last time the Legislature passed a major transparency bill — updating the Lobbyist Regulation Act — was six years ago. Lujan Grisham signed that measure, which gives her hope now. "I am just really excited that folks that can't make it to the Roundhouse (could) now have a better, more true picture of what happens here," she said, "because these are their bills, this is their Roundhouse, and they can't be here full time." While the bill sponsors said they haven't heard anything from the Governor's Office, they're relieved it's at least through the Legislature. Lujan Grisham has until April 11 to sign or veto the legislation. Red flags The bill has raised red flags for some lobbyists, who are concerned HB143 would worsen existing logistical issues and be overly burdensome. The lobbying activity for specific bills would be linked on the Legislature's website alongside the bills. Bullington said this has the potential to create a "logistical nightmare" for the Secretary of State's Office, where reports are filed, and the Legislative Council Service, which would have to update the Legislature website to post the filings alongside bills. The secretary of state's filing system is also incredibly difficult to navigate, according to Marquez, who said it took two months for him to get through the registration process this year because of a glitch in the system. Both lobbyists said they might support less burdensome filing requirements. Marquez said reporting should only be required once every 30 days in a session, and Bullington suggested filing one report at the end of the session. Steinborn said the filing will become second nature, and the bill doesn't go into effect, if signed, until 2027 so the Secretary of State's Office can work out all the technical kinks. "So no, it's not overly burdensome, or maybe even burdensome," he said. A legislative analysis of the bill describes it as a modernization effort that follows nationwide trends. Dick Mason, an unpaid lobbyist for the League of Women Voters, echoed the sentiment and said even still, many other states will have better transparency measures than New Mexico. "It's not a question of trust (for lobbyists). It's a question of putting the information out there," Mason said. Still, the measure could act as an impetus for now-disconcerted contracted lobbyists to form an organization of their own to lobby on their positions. "I think there's going to be more conversations about the professional lobbyists organizing a little more formally to better represent our profession," Bullington said.
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Yahoo
Proposal to designate a Southern NM hidden hiking gem into a state park heads to the Senate floor
Members of the Boys and Girls Club of Las Cruces pose for a picture while on a hike through Slot Canyon with Friends of the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks. (Photo provided by Friends of the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks) A proposal to designate Slot Canyon Riverlands as a state park cleared its last committee Tuesday morning and now heads to the Senate floor for a vote. The effort started in 2023 when Sen. Jeff Steinborn (D-Las Cruces) and Rep. Nathan Small (D-Las Cruces) introduced Senate Memorial 38 requesting that the Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department's State Parks Division conduct a feasibility study on establishing Broad Canyon Ranch — a 30-acre wetland about 15 miles north of Las Cruces owned by the state — as a state park. Slot Canyon lies just south of Broad Canyon Ranch and is part of the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument. The study outlined three possible tracts of land butting up against the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument, including one tract with direct access to Slot Canyon, a popular hiking trail west of the town of Radium Springs. The report estimates design, construction and equipment costs between $8.1 million and $9.3 million, including the construction of a new state park visitor center and facilities, designated parking, roadway improvements, tent and RV camping areas and designated trails. Slot Canyon has walls about 25 to 30 feet high and the trail is about a two-and-a-half mile looped hike that is very accessible for people, Patrick Nolan, executive director of Friends of the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks, told Source NM. He said the hiking trail and canyon have access to the Rio Grande and are a 'really good intro into why we protect' natural areas. Slot canyons are described as narrow canyons with high reaching walls developed by water and wind erosion over many years. Utah has hundreds of them. But having one in New Mexico is rare, according to Kyla Navarro, policy and community coordinator for advocacy organization Friends of the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks. 'It's just an opportune place, I would say, for our community to enjoy the outdoors,' Navarro told Source NM. Steinborn described the natural area as a 'magical place' and one that could rival the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument for visitation. 'People literally have to park on the side of the road, hop a fence, head to this slot canyon and with this [park], we'll actually have this amazing destination that will…I think frankly grow the regional outdoor economy and just be another feather in the hat of New Mexico,' Steinborn told House Rural Development, Land Grants and Cultural Affairs Committee members during a March 4 hearing. If HB219 passes, the Slot Canyon Riverlands State Park would join the 35 other state parks operated in New Mexico. According to the fiscal impact report, EMNRD calculates a new state park will require $398,500 in recurring funding for the agency, which would include funds for four full time employees, two seasonal employees, utilities, equipment and maintenance. Sens. James Townsend (R-Artesia) and Candy Spence Ezzell (R-Roswell), members of the Senate Conservation Committee, asked about park visitor safety in cases of flashfloods during a Tuesday hearing. Small told committee members the park will be able to work with the nearby Elephant Butte Irrigation District to monitor rainfall, adding that safety will be a large part of the buildout of the state park, including signage and clear access to the park itself. 'Right now, there's a state road that sort of runs in between a couple of the main features, and one of the big things is to make it safer,' Small said. Visitors currently have to hop over a fence to gain access to the hiking trail. 'If this gets the use that it's expected to get, because it's already a very popular area where a lot of folks from the region and elsewhere go to, there's just going to be a lot more presence combined with the state park's law enforcement presence that's going to make it…very safe.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Bill could make ‘magic mushrooms' a legal treatment option in New Mexico
SANTA FE, N.M. (KRQE) – So-called 'magic mushrooms' could soon be used to treat patients with certain medical conditions in New Mexico. Bipartisan bill SB 219 which would legalize psilocybin has been moving quickly through the legislative session. Story continues below DWI Scandal: Another BCSO deputy placed on leave in connection to DWI dismissals Entertainment: Visit these 10 iconic film locations in New Mexico Events: What's happening around New Mexico March 14-20 The bill is meant to help people suffering from conditions like PTSD and severe depression. Although the idea is controversial, on Monday it received a lot of support. 'This is another option, that's all this is. It's another option but New Mexicans deserve to have this option,' said Sen. Jeff Steinborn (D-Las Cruces). Giving New Mexicans more ways to improve their health when other traditional medical treatments haven't worked, is what Sen. Steinborn said his bill to legalize psilocybin, the active ingredient in psychedelic mushrooms, is meant to do. 'We have New Mexicans who are suffering with various conditions that are really kind of end runs in some cases, major drug-resistant depression where the pharmaceutical world isn't giving them any relief or they have major major side effects, they need another option,' said Sen. Steinborn. Modeled after programs in Oregon and Colorado, the bipartisan bill would allow the drug to be administered to a patient suffering from conditions including PTSD, severe depression, end-of-life anxiety, and addictions. Patients would be supervised and would only need the treatment once or twice. Lawmakers emphasized this would be for use in medical settings only and would not create psilocybin dispensaries. Supporters spoke during the bill's last committee hearing on Monday. 'By creating a structured regulated program for psilocybin treatment, this bill ensures that patients in New Mexico can safely and legally access the miraculous benefits under medical supervision,' said Denali Wilson, supporter of the bill. 'My psychiatrist had me try psilocybin-assisted therapy, my depression is now completely cured and my life has been saved so I ask you to please support this bill,' said a supporter named Molly who underwent psilocybin treatment. Some committee members expressed concerns about potential negative side effects but sponsors say the risks are low. 'It's a medicine of the mind in a way that has physical manifestations and sure it can be intense and a very very small amount of people could need extra deescalation or whatever from the experience, but by and large the outcome is very safe,' said Sen. Steinborn. The bill passed 8-1 in committee. It now heads to the House floor. If it passes there, it will head to the governor's desk. There are only five days left of the legislative session. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
09-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Cleanup money for uranium mines and other contaminated sites in budget, for now
The security gate for the Quivira (formerly Kerr-McGee) uranium mine just north of the UNC uranium mine site, which operated from 1977 to 1982. (Photo Kalen Goodluck for New Mexico In Depth) New Mexico could soon be cleaning up some of the hundreds of abandoned uranium mines and other contaminated sites around the state and paving the way for continued efforts — if $50 million for that purpose remains in the state budget. There are at least 302 'orphan sites' in New Mexico, where 'known or suspected contamination is causing a threat to human health or the environment,' according to the New Mexico Environment Department. These sites, in addition to about 50 old uranium mines, aren't eligible for cleanup under any existing programs, and the state can't identify any responsible parties. The state would use the funding to begin cleaning up those roughly 350 sites. This story was originally published by New Mexico In Depth In addition to those orphan sites and the 50 or so old uranium mines the state would be targeting, there are another 200 some odd former uranium mines in New Mexico, some in various stages of cleanup. Many of the old mines in the state are on or near tribal lands, and Indigenous communities have advocated for remediation for decades, citing ongoing health and environmental impacts. Rep. Joseph Hernandez, D-Shiprock, and his family, along with many others in the state, have 'gone through numerous doctors appointments, numerous times taking care of our elders who either worked in the industry or are family members of someone' who did, he said last month during a committee hearing. Hernandez recounted stories his mother would tell about his grandfather getting home after long shifts in a nearby mill with uranium dust coating his clothes. 'And this dust today continues to get blown through our communities, not just on Navajo,' Hernandez (Diné) told the House Energy, Environment and Natural Resources Committee. 'This is communities throughout New Mexico. Many families feel left behind.' Hernandez and Sen. Jeff Steinborn, D-Las Cruces, both sponsored bills this year to add in the state budget $50 million for cleaning up contaminated sites, including old uranium mines. That money is now in the $10.8 billion proposed budget the House passed last week. The funding would be a 'drop in the bucket,' Steinborn said in an interview on Friday. The state environment department already has plans for two sites to be remediated, one of which is a uranium mine estimated to cost between $4 and $8 million. The other is a site with chemically contaminated soil and groundwater estimated to cost $5 million to clean up, the agency reported in a bill analysis. The money would allow the state to 'begin to characterize more of the sites, do some cleanup work, and then lay the groundwork for a plan to do much broader efforts,' Steinborn said. He wants more specifically for uranium cleanup. He's sponsoring Senate Bill 276, a proposal to put $75 million in the uranium mine reclamation revolving fund. Since Steinborn was first elected to the Legislature nearly two decades ago, lawmakers have been talking about the need, he said, but weren't making progress — until 2022. During that session, lawmakers mandated the state develop a strategic plan for cleanup and created the revolving fund. But the fund has sat empty in the three years since then. Money deposited in the fund would be used for 'site assessments, safeguarding, closure designs, surface reclamation, groundwater remediation, and monitoring, where appropriate,' reads a November presentation state environment department staff gave lawmakers on the interim Radioactive and Hazardous Materials Committee. For some of the abandoned mines, there are owners that the state, including the attorney general, could go after legally, Steinborn said. But some of the companies don't exist anymore, and some of the mines aren't eligible for cleanup under any federal programs. That's where the state should step in, he said. With just a few weeks left in the session, Steinborn said he continues to advocate for $75 million for the revolving fund, but 'we're going to have to fight to ensure' $50 million for cleanup of contaminated sites more broadly — which would include abandoned uranium mines but wouldn't be exclusive to cleanup of those sites — stays in the budget. The Senate is 'having to make budget adjustments and fill some budgetary holes, as it's been explained, that weren't addressed in the House,' said Steinborn, who sits on the Senate Finance Committee, tasked with reviewing the budget. 'If they're having to come up with money to fill some holes, a $50 million pot of money sitting there, it could be attractive to some to say, 'Hey, let's make that number a little smaller and help fill a hole somewhere else.' So it's going to require continued advocacy and education to preserve that, which I will be doing and others should as well,' he said.
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bills, constitutional amendments addressing regent appointments and training move forward
New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez (right) and Rep. Javier Martínez (left) discuss legal against Western New Mexico University Board of Regents and outgoing President Joseph Shepard during a news conference Jan. 9, 2025. The Senate Education Committee unanimously advanced a proposal to overhaul oversight of university boards of regents in New Mexico Wednesday. Co-sponsor Rep. Nathan Small (D-Las Cruces) presented House Joint Resolution 12 to members of the House Education Committee, who passed it unanimously. The resolution, supported by Attorney General Raúl Torrez, would ask voters to approve a constitutional amendment that codifies regents' fiduciary duties; moves proceedings for removing regents from the state Supreme Court to district courts; and allows the attorney general or a majority of the board to initiate removal of a regent. HJR 12 now heads to the House Government, Elections and Indian Affairs Committee. The resolution is one of four bills and resolutions introduced thus far addressing the role of regents, how they are chosen and how they are prepared for serving in their roles. The legislation follows Western New Mexico University board of regents' authorization of a $1.9 million payout to outgoing university president Joseph Shepard, who is accused of wasteful spending and improper use of university funds. Several regents resigned in the aftermath. Senate Joint Resolution 7, co-sponsored by Sens. Jeff Steinborn (D-Las Cruces) and Harold Pope (D-Albuquerque), proposes an amendment to the New Mexico Constitution requiring the governor to select a regent for nomination from a list provided by a nominating committee for each university or community college. SJR 7 was passed unanimously through the Senate Rules Committee Friday, Feb. 7. Steinborn told Source that he thinks SJR 7 is the most important of his two regents bills because it gets to the crux of who is appointed to make decisions at universities and how. He said he has been working on this initiative for many years. 'Since my very first session, when I saw just how politicized these regent positions really were,' Steinborn said. 'I felt like we needed a better system – of taking these jobs really seriously, to make it based on merit, of who actually had the most to offer our universities.' Senate Bill 19, also sponsored by Steinborn, also passed through the Senate Rules Committee Friday with a unanimous vote and now heads to the Senate floor. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
