Renato Costa

Senate committees advance anti-gun, gender bills, delay vote on anti-police bill

6 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

On Wednesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee delayed a committee vote on S.B. 252, an anti-police bill that is disguised as a “use of force standard” sponsored by state Sen. Harold Pope (D-Bernalillo) and Rep. Angelica Rubio (D-Doña Ana). The move to delay the vote came after the committee lost its quorum and was not able to take action on the measure.

According to the bill’s fiscal impact report (FIR), “The bill establishes a process for law enforcement agencies to report officer-involved injuries or deaths to the Department of Public Safety (DPS) and for DPS to report annually on all incidents to the governor, Legislature, and the public.” 

Furthermore, “Law enforcement agencies that fail to comply with these reporting requirements are ineligible to apply for any state-agency-administered grants. The bill also requires law enforcement agencies to adopt and publish use of force policies that include a range of requirements” (emphasis added). 

DPS noted major concerns about the constitutionality of the bill. The FIR stated, “DPS asserts that SB252’s definitions of police homicide are unconstitutionally vague because they establish subjective criteria to determine whether an officer failed to evaluate the totality of the circumstances provided in the bill.”

Regarding police dogs, DPS noted that a provision of the bill “to disallow law enforcement officers from bringing police dogs to a protest or demonstration is that it may prevent officers from bringing [bomb sniffing] dogs to protests or demonstrations, a safety measure.”

Many law enforcers showed up at the state Capitol on Wednesday to oppose the bill, including even leftist sheriffs who stood opposed. 

Also in the Senate Judiciary Committee, S.B. 116 by Sen. Carrie Hamblen (D-Doña Ana) to ban firearm purchase and possession for those under 21 stalled on a 4-4 tie vote.

Another extreme bill, H.B. 9, which would make New Mexicans felons if they do not lock up their guns and a third party accesses them, passed the Senate Finance Committee and now heads to the Senate floor, where it will face intense debate. 

The Senate Health and Public Affairs Committee advanced H.B. 7, which would force public bodies to facilitate abortions and “gender-affirming care” after intense debate in that committee. It will next be heard in the Senate Judiciary Committee. 

Senate committees advance anti-gun, gender bills, delay vote on anti-police bill Read More »

ABQ Public Schools official admits to sneaking in woke gender policies

10 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

A recent undercover video from Project Veritas revealed that Albuquerque Public Schools (APS) officials are admitting to instituting woke gender ideology in the state’s largest school district.

Angela Ruiz, an employee of APS’ Student Health and Life Skills, said school employees are “required to use the name and pronouns” requested by the student without parental consultation.

“If we don’t have family input, we call it a conversation,” Ruiz said in the newly released video. She told teachers, “If you’re intentionally using the wrong pronoun, that can be a Title IX violation,” and, “How they identify at school determines which restroom they choose to use.”

Following the release of the video, New Mexico Alliance for Life executive director Elisa Martinez wrote, “These bills, combined with the revelations from Project Veritas, prove that radical leftist lawmakers are trying to make New Mexico the next California.” She added, “In an effort to profit off of the exploitation of our youth, New Mexico Lawmakers are ignoring the safety of our children. These bills are setting up New Mexico to become the premier abortion and gender-affirming destination by targeting vulnerable children in schools and circumventing parental rights.”

Currently, New Mexico’s legislature is considering a radical bill, H.B. 7, which would force public bodies to facilitate abortions and “gender-affirming care.”

Rep. Ryan Lane (R-Aztec) asked the sponsors in House Judiciary Committee, “Does this bill apply to an 8-year-old?” The bill’s sponsor admitted, “Yes.” This bill applies to an 8-year-old without parents being consulted or informed whatsoever. 

The Senate Health and Public Affairs Committee will consider the extreme bill on Wednesday, March 1, 2023, at 1:30 p.m. 

Register to speak via Zoom with the following information by emailing SHPAC.Zoom@nmlegis.gov. 

The Zoom details are available here:

The meeting may be viewed via Webcast at www.nmlegis.gov

For public participation, please click the link below to

join the zoom webinar

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81287336647

or via telephone +1 719 359 4580, webinar ID: 812 8733 6647

Contact the committee members here:

ABQ Public Schools official admits to sneaking in woke gender policies Read More »

Senate committee shoots down extreme anti-gun bill

13 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

On Monday, the New Mexico Senate Judiciary Committee tabled 6-3 an extreme anti-gun bill, S.B. 171, by Sen. William Soules (D-Doña Ana). 

According to the bill’s fiscal impact report, it would have prohibited “the manufacture, sale, barter, trade, gift, transfer or acquisition of… Assault pistols; Automatic firearms; Rifles with barrel lengths less than 16 inches; Shotguns with barrel lengths less than 18 inches; Mufflers, silencers, or devices for deadening or muffling the sound of discharged firearms; Any type of ammunition or any projectile component thereof coated with Teflon or any other similar coating designed primarily to enhance its capabilities to penetrate metal or pierce protective armor; and Any type of ammunition or any projectile component thereof designed or intended to explode or segment upon impact with its target.” 

The panel’s chairman Sen. Joseph Cervantes (D-Doña Ana), joined all Republicans and Sens. Bill O’Neill and Daniel Ivey-Soto (D-Albuquerque) in tabling the bill.

After the bill was defeated, Senate Republican Leader Sen. Greg Baca wrote in a press release, “Like most of the gun bills being considered this Session, Senate Bill 171 needlessly targets law-abiding citizens and threatens them with a felony for exercising their Second Amendment right.”

The committee’s overwhelming rejection of the extreme ant-gun bill could be a sign that another extreme attack on the Second Amendment, H.B. 101 by Rep. Andrea Romero (D-Santa Fe), could die. The bill would make most New Mexican gun owners felons by banning nearly all firearms over ten rounds.

H.B. 101 previously passed the House Consumer and Public Affairs Committee on a party-line vote and awaits a hearing in the House Judiciary Committee. If it survives that committee, it would then need to pass the entire House and the Senate, where it is likely to die in Senate Judiciary Committee. 

Also on Monday, the House Government, Elections, and Indian Affairs Committee advanced a bill along party lines to ban firearms within 100 feet of polling places. This would include ballot drop boxes and ban concealed carry at the polls.

Senate committee shoots down extreme anti-gun bill Read More »

Lujan Grisham refuses to withdraw Indian Affairs Dept. pick despite rape charge

17 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

James Mountain, a former San Ildefonso governor who is Democrat Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s pick to lead the New Mexico Indian Affairs Department, was previously indicted on charges of rape, kidnapping, and aggravated battery back in 2007.

According to KUNM, “in 2010, the charges were dropped because the prosecution had insufficient evidence to proceed to trial, and court records were then sealed.” 

The Santa Fe New Mexican reported at the time: 

Mountain threw the victim down on the bed and got on top of her, the report says. The victim said she told Mountain “no,” and he should stop when he began to touch her breasts under her shirt and “get aggressive,” according to the report. Mountain took off her jeans and underwear and raped her, the report says.

“When (the victim) began to scream for (her cousin) to help her, James covered her face with a white pillow he had grabbed from the head of the bed,” the report says. “(The victim) told James she could not breathe and explained she thought she was going to lose consciousness.”

When Mountain finished, the victim ran out the bedroom door, which had been locked, and woke up her cousin, the report states. She told the cousin what had happened and the cousin called 911, according to the report.

The Associated Press reported, “On Friday, as calls for Mountain’s recusal from state leaders and activists continued to surface, a spokesperson for New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said the governor was ‘aware’ of the allegations against Mountain but does not intend to withdraw her nomination.” 

Democrat state Sen. Antoinette Sedillo-Lopez said that Mountain should be “fully vetted” before being confirmed by the state Senate for the role.

“I’m very troubled by the idea of having someone with his kind of record in that position that oversees the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Relatives Task Force,” she said.

State Sen. Shannon Pinto (D-Tohatchi) said, “I’ve been fighting this, will fight it ‘til the end,” adding, “There’s not any compromise for me in it to support it in any manner. It’s just not something that can happen right now. This is not the time. This is not the place. This is not the position that can be compromised, as far as the figurehead representing Native American people within our state.”

It is unclear if Mountain will make it through the Senate confirmation process amid the rape allegations that still loom large over his confirmation. 

Lujan Grisham refuses to withdraw Indian Affairs Dept. pick despite rape charge Read More »

NM Senate panel narrowly passes paid family leave bill

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The New Mexico Senate Finance Committee narrowly passed S.B. 11 by Sen. Mimi Stewart (D-Bernalillo), which would create “ a 12-week Paid Family Medical Leave (PFML) benefit for nearly all workers in the state,” according to the bill’s fiscal impact report.

“The bill would require employee contributions of 0.5 percent and employer contributions of 0.4 percent of wages into the newly established PFML fund.” However, businesses with five employees or fewer would be exempt.

Sen. George Muñoz (D-Gallup) joined the four Republicans on the panel to reject the bill, although it squeaked by on a 6-5 vote.

According to the Albuquerque Journal, Sen. William Sharer (R-Farmington) said, “We want to be compassionate. We just don’t want to have our hands tied about how compassionate we have to be.”

Terri Cole, the president and CEO of the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce, said during testimony, “If you pass this bill, New Mexico will become more corporate and less unique.”

The Journal noted, “Specifically, the bill analysis projected the fund could face a $516 million deficit by the 2028 budget year — a figure that could cause the state Workforce Solutions Department to order an increase in the premium amount that businesses and employees would have to pay into the fund.”

Democrat Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has not yet endorsed the bill, although it is likely she would if it came to her desk.

Leftists have been ramming extreme bills through this session, including proposals to force public bodies to facilitate abortions and transgender surgeries (H.B. 7), new gun bans (H.B. 9), bills to weaken New Mexico elections (H.B. 4), and eco-left bills (H.B. 95), which have already passed the House.

S.B. 11 now heads to the Senate floor for a full vote, and if it is successful, it will need to pass the House in the fewer than four weeks left in the 2023 Legislative Session.

NM Senate panel narrowly passes paid family leave bill Read More »

Tucker ponders if Biden regime will shoot down ABQ balloon fiesta balloons

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On Friday, Tucker Carlson, host of Fox News’ Tucker Carlson Tonight, pondered what a “helpful” balloon is after Kamala Harris recently said in an interview that the Chinese spy balloon was “not helpful.”

 “Surely and certainly, that balloon was not helpful, which is why we shot it down,” Harris said in an interview with NBC News.

Carlson said in his monologue, “A new policy has been announced by Kamala Harris, and that is that all ‘non-helpful’ balloons will be shot down.”

“Now, unfortunately, hot air balloon season is starting soon in Albuquerque and around the country. Are they going to be shot down? Are they helpful balloons or non-helpful balloons ‘in terms of’ shooting them down?” 

He added, “Balloonists across America need some clarification on that.” 

Although tongue in cheek, Carlson’s point notes how apparently clueless the Joe Biden administration is in handling the Chinese spy balloon, which crossed over the entire country and likely took aerial photographs of key United States military installments before being shot down in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of South Carolina.

This week, multiple unidentified flying objects have also been shot down by the Department of Defense, and others have been shot down over the country of Canada.

Watch Carlson’s monologue here:

Tucker ponders if Biden regime will shoot down ABQ balloon fiesta balloons Read More »

NM House passes bill to codify the Green New Deal into state Land Office

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On Friday, the state House of Representatives passed H.B. 95, which would codify the “Renewable Energy Office” to fulfill the Energy Transition Act (New Mexico’s Green New Deal) into the state Land Office. 

Currently, the Renewable Energy Office is a function of the Land Office under Democrat state Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard, but the bill would make this office permanent for all future land commissioners. 

During the debate, the sponsor, state Rep. Tara Lujan (D-Santa Fe), admitted that despite wind energy making up around 30 percent of the state’s energy generation, the industry only brought in an annual $10 million in revenue to the Land Office, while oil and gas produced over $2 billion. 

According to the bill’s fiscal impact report, “The office currently has 39 active long-term

renewable energy leases (27 wind and 12 solar) and 33 lease applications under review.” 

It is unclear if there is an exhaustive list of what is included in “renewables,” but the sponsor noted how nuclear energy and extractive industries, such as oil, gas, and coal, were not within the office’s definition of renewable.

“The Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department contends in-state renewable energy is key to meeting the goals of the Energy Transition Act, enacted in 2019,” the fiscal impact report further states.

The bill passed the House. It now moves over to the state Senate for consideration on whether or not the state will codify the Renewable Energy Office.

NM House passes bill to codify the Green New Deal into state Land Office Read More »

Heartbeat bill to be heard Friday in House committee

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On Friday, a pro-life bill, H.B. 258, will be heard in the House Health and Human Services Committee at 8:30 a.m. The bill, sponsored by state Rep. John Block (R-Alamogordo), is dubbed the “New Mexico Heartbeat Act” to protect children in the womb from the moment a fetal heartbeat is detected.

The bill reads, “A health care provider who knowingly performs an abortion and thereby kills a human fetus without determining, according to standard medical practice, whether the fetus has a detectable heartbeat; without informing the pregnant woman of the results of that determination; or after determining, according to standard medical practice, that the fetus has a heartbeat is guilty of a third degree felony resulting in the death of a human fetus.”

Block’s legislation also reaffirms that the woman would not be liable, but rather the doctor performing the illicit procedure. It reads, “Nothing in this section shall be construed to

allow the prosecution of a woman who receives an abortion.”

Contact the members of the committee to urge their support. Their contact information can be found here: 

  • Chair: Elizabeth “Liz” Thomson (D). District 24 (Bernalillo). Room 314B, 986-4425. Email: liz.thomson@nmlegis.gov
  • Vice Chair: Pamelya Herndon (D). District 28 (Bernalillo). Room 206B, 986-4248. Email: pamelya.herndon@nmlegis.gov
  • Ranking Member: Jenifer Jones (R). District 32 (Doña Ana, Hidalgo & Luna). Room 203A, 986-4227. Email: Jenifer.Jones@nmlegis.gov
  • Member: Kathleen Cates (D). District 44 (Bernalillo & Sandoval). Room 203BN, 986-4254. Email: Kathleen.Cates@nmlegis.gov
  • Member: Eleanor Chavez (D). District 26 (Bernalillo). Room 205B, 986-4242. Email: Eleanor.Chavez@nmlegis.gov
  • Member: Joanne J. Ferrary (D). District 37 (Doña Ana). Room 314C, 986-4844. Email: joanne.ferrary@nmlegis.gov
  • Member: Tara Jaramillo (D). District 38 (Doña Ana, Sierra & Socorro). Room 203AN, 986-4255. Email: Tara.Jaramillo@nmlegis.gov
  • Member: Stefani Lord (R). District 22 (Bernalillo & Torrance). Room 203HN, 986-4453. Email: stefani.lord@nmlegis.gov
  • Member: Reena Szczepanski (D). District 47 (Santa Fe). Room 134C, 986-4777. Email: reena.szczepanski@nmlegis.gov
  • Member: Harlan Vincent (R). District 56 (Lincoln & Otero). Room 203FN, 986-4467. Email: Harlan.Vincent@nmlegis.gov

To testify at the meeting, it will be held at 8:30 a.m. in the state Capitol, room 307. To join via Zoom, the video conference details are below: 

Please click the link below to join the webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84266137922 Page 6 of 10 Or One tap mobile : US: +16699009128, 84266137922# or +17193594580, 84266137922# Webinar ID: 842 6613 7922 International numbers available: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kbtl0LBS50 

Heartbeat bill to be heard Friday in House committee Read More »

Pastor responds to ‘faith leaders’ celebrating abortions

15 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

On Wednesday, so-called “faith leaders” gathered in a committee room at the state Capitol in Santa Fe to promote killing children through abortions. At the press conference, the individuals showcased a letter organized by the “​​New Mexico Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice.” 

The letter proclaimed that the signers “feel called to declare our support for a woman’s ability to access abortion and other reproductive healthcare services as a basic issue of health and safety for women and their families.”

“Our religious principles are grounded in a love and acceptance of all people, and we believe deeply that means ending the shame and stigma associated with abortion and increasing access for all women to a full range of reproductive healthcare options.”

“These women are our neighbors, our co-workers, our friends, and our peers. As people of faith and as New Mexicans, we believe in loving our neighbors and treating one another as we would like to be treated—with dignity and respect,” and therefore, they back aborting children.

At the press conference, the speakers, which included the heads of groups like “Catholics for Choice,” claimed there was a “false narrative” that faith leaders were against abortion. 

Robert Tso, pastor of Victory Life Church in Shiprock, and Republican Party of New Mexico Executive Committee member responded to the pro-abortion so-called “faith leaders.”

“More than ever, faith leaders need to speak up for life and confront progressive politics that seek to compromise God’s word. We should lead young women to the grace and love of Jesus Christ, not the abortion clinic,” he wrote in a statement. 

“Our Christian faith does not stand for the murder of innocent life and as faith leaders, we must ‘let our yes be yes, and our no be no’ without compromise on this matter (Matthew 5:37). Scripture says, ‘Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you,’ affirming every unborn life has value and purpose (Jeremiah 1:5). Let us continue to pray for the end of abortion and for a state that honors the sanctity of life.”

The Republican Party of New Mexico wrote in addition, “The Republican Party of New Mexico strongly opposes anti-life bills like HB 7 and other legislation pushed by progressive Democrats that will solidify New Mexico as the nation’s abortion capital.” 

House committee advances bill pushing abortion, ‘gender-affirming care’

Pastor responds to ‘faith leaders’ celebrating abortions Read More »

Minimum wage hike bill dies in committee

8 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

On Monday, the New Mexico House Commerce and Economic Development Committee voted 6-4 to table H.B. 28, a bill by Rep. Miguel Garcia (D-Albuquerque) to increase the minimum wage by tying it to the Consumer Price Index, an inflation calculator.

Two Democrats joined all the Republicans on the panel in tabling the bill.

The move likely spells doom for another bill by Rep.Christine Chandler (D-Los Alamos), H.B. 25, which would dive up the minimum wage to $15.50 by January 1, 2025. 

Garcia described his bill as “dead.”

Following the meeting, Chandler told the Santa Fe New Mexican, “I still think we need to increase the minimum wage and apply the [consumer price index],” claiming she feels “pretty good” about her bill’s chances of passage. 

Chandler’s bill reads, “On January 1, 2026 and on January 1 of each successive year, the minimum wage rate provided by Paragraph (4) of Subsection A and Paragraph (5) of Subsection C of this section shall be adjusted by multiplying the minimum wage as of January 1, 2025 by a fraction, the numerator of which is the consumer price index ending in September of the previous year and the denominator of which is the consumer price index ending September 2024; provided that the minimum wage rate shall not be adjusted downward as a result of a decrease in the consumer price index. By November 1, 2025 and by November 1 of each successive year, the workforce solutions department shall post on its website and otherwise notify employers of the minimum wage for the next year.”

Rep. Linda Serrato (D-Santa Fe) said, “Minimum wage shouldn’t be determined by a legislative body.”

Now, as the committee moves to consider Chandler’s bill, hesitancy by a majority of the panel’s members could mean it will meet a similar fate. 

Minimum wage hike bill dies in committee Read More »

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