New Mexico

Bill limiting governor’s emergency powers passes through first committee 

8 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

On Wednesday, H.B. 80, sponsored by Rep. Greg Nibert (R-Chaves), passed through its first committee with vast bipartisan support. The bill would limit the New Mexico governor’s emergency powers to 90 days for a state of emergency, with intervention by the legislature.

The bill notes, “The special session called pursuant to Subsection A of this section shall convene no later than the ninetieth day after the initial declaration of the state of emergency.” 

During the House Government, Elections, and Indian Affairs Committee hearing, Nibert noted how he had consistently worked on this bill for years, beginning in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the governor commenced lockdowns via public health emergency orders. He noted how he has worked with former Rep. Daymon Ely (Sandoval, Bernalillo), who has been a longtime partner and co-sponsor on the bill.

All members of the public who testified on the bill signaled support for it, with no opposition whatsoever from the audience. 

House Majority Leader Gail Chasey (D-Bernalillo) made the case in the committee that the legislature was not a co-equal branch of government with the governor and thus must first “modernize” before making any such change. Others argued that this is exactly how to strengthen the legislative branch while keeping both the governor and the legislature accountable.

On the motion to pass the bill, all members but Chasey supported advancing the legislation.

The votes in support included Chairwoman D. Wonda Johnson (D-McKinley and San Juan), Vice Chair Natalie Figueroa (D-Bernalillo), Rep. Martin Zamora (R-Curry, DeBaca, Guadalupe, Roosevelt, and San Miguel), Rep. Janelle Anyanonu (D-Bernalillo), Rep. John Block (R-Otero), Rep. Dayan Hochman-Vigil (D-Bernalill0), Rep. Charlotte Little (D-Bernalill0), and Rep. Bill Rehm (R-Bernalillo).

Dems looking to resurrect extremist pro-voter fraud bill

8 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

Democrats are planning on resurrecting the failed bill they tried to pass in the last legislative session that was filibustered down by Republicans in the final hours. Sen. Bill Sharer (R-Farmington) spoke for hours on the final day of the 2022 Legislative Session, successfully blocking the legislation.

The previous piece of legislation, 2022’s H.B. 144, included ballot harvesting, unsecured ballot drop boxes for ballot stuffing, and automatic voter registration, among other measures to make New Mexico elections less secure.

The bill started out as a two-page simple elections bill but was amended by Democrats in the final hours to add hundreds of pages of regulations that made New Mexico elections extremely at risk of more fraud. 

Democrat Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver said to the Santa Fe New Mexican, “This legislation, I think, is even better because it has really been spearheaded and brought to life by the advocacy community [that wants] to continue to sort of pick up the ball and continue to move it forward on advancing voting rights here in New Mexico.”

According to the report, “The new chairwoman of the Senate Rules Committee, Sen. Katy Duhigg, D-Albuquerque, is one of the sponsors of the voting rights legislation, along with Martínez and House Majority Leader Gail Chasey, D-Albuquerque.” 

Duhigg claimed the bill will “protect the health of our democracy by helping ensure that here in New Mexico every eligible voter has access to the ballot and that every vote is freely cast and fairly counted.”

Republican Senate Leader Greg Baca of Belen said, “Last year, we followed the lead of our County Clerks and unanimously passed a bipartisan election bill out of the Senate that strengthened voter rights and improved election security,” but it was hijacked by the Democrat majority.

It is unclear if the bill will pass this legislative session, but if it does, it should expect roadblocks in the state Senate and the House from Republicans opposed to making it hard to cheat in elections. 

AG Torrez demands NM Supreme Court strike down pro-life ordinances

17 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

On Monday, newly elected Democrat New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez asked the New Mexico Supreme Court to intervene to overturn pro-life “sanctuary” ordinances passed by multiple county commissions and city governing boards.

KOB 4 reported, “At a news conference, Torrez said the ordinances are significant even in regions with no abortion clinics because they threaten to restrict access to reproductive health care in people’s homes. More than half of U.S. abortions are now done with pills rather than surgery.” 

“This is not Texas. Our State Constitution does not allow cities, counties or private citizens to restrict women’s reproductive rights,” Torrez claimed in a statement. “Today’s action sends a strong message that my office will use every available tool to swiftly and decisively uphold individual liberties against unconstitutional overreach.”

Torrez’s action targets Roosevelt and Lea counties and the cities of Hobbs and Clovis in eastern New Mexico.

“In his filing, Torrez argues that the New Mexico Constitution provides broader protection of individual rights than the U.S. Constitution — and that the local ordinances violate New Mexicans’ inherent rights, liberty and privacy,” the report noted.

On Monday, the City of Eunice in Lea County passed a pro-life ordinance with a 7-0 vote. 

Pro-life advocate Mark Lee Dickson wrote on Facebook, “Tonight, Eunice, New Mexico (pop. 3,026) became the THIRD sanctuary city for the unborn in New Mexico and the SIXTY-FIFTH sanctuary city for the unborn in the United States! Eunice was also the FIRST city to pass such an ordinance since the State of New Mexico filed suit against the two cities and two counties in New Mexico which have passed similar ordinances.”

It is unclear if the state Supreme Court will take up pro-abortion Attorney General Torrez’s request since the ordinances are based on federal, not state laws that protect the sanctity of life in the womb.

Behar concocts conspiracy about ‘Rust’ shooting special prosecutor

11 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

Far-left The View co-host Joy Behar claimed Friday that state Rep. Andrea Reeb (R-Clovis), the former district attorney for the Ninth Judicial District, should be booted from the legal team as special prosecutor of the investigation into October 2021’s fatal shooting on the set of the movie Rust. 

Behar claimed that Reeb being “a big Republican” means she should be booted from investigating leftist actor Alec Baldwin, who shot multiple crew members, leading to the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.

Democratic Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies decided to charge Baldwin and head armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed for Hutchins’ death.

“The DA [special prosecutor] who is indicting him, or whatever the legal term is right now, she’s a big Republican. I’m only saying this because Alec Baldwin is a target for Republicans,” Behar claimed. “They cannot stand him. I’m not saying anything more than that.”

Behar was forced to issue a correction after the commercial break that she mixed up the Democratic district attorney, Carmack-Altwies, with Reeb, a Republican.

“I get them mixed up sometimes. So, sue me,” she said.

Carmark-Altwies told CNN in an interview Thursday that the investigation found there is “probable cause” to charge Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed because of lacking “safety standards” on the set. She said the tragedy would have been prevented if Baldwin and the others charged had “done their jobs.”

Photo credit: Walt Disney Television.

NM House committee hearing anti-gun bill on Tuesday

4 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

On Tuesday, the New Mexico House Consumer and Public Affairs Committee (HCPAC) will meet to consider an extreme anti-gun bill, H.B. 9, sponsored by state Rep. Pamelya Herndon (D-Bernalillo).  It is also co-sponsored by the chairwoman of HCPAC, Rep. Joanne Ferrary (D-Doña Ana).  

Herndon’s bill will force New Mexicans to lock up their firearms in “a gun safe or a device that prevents a firearm from being discharged or from being used to expel a projectile by the action of an explosion or a device other than a gun safe that locks a firearm and is designed to prevent children and unauthorized users from firing a firearm, which device may be installed on a firearm, be incorporated into the design of the firearm or prevent access to the firearm.”

If the gun owner does not lock up any and all firearms and their gun is somehow used in an offense by a minor causing “great bodily harm” or death, the parent of that child could be made a felon if the victim of the crime is killed or permanently disabled.

As noted by even some Democrats in the chamber during a July 2022 preview of the bill, it would be the first crime proposal to base a defendant’s sentence not on their own actions but that of someone else (a minor) who got ahold of a firearm. 

The bill does not, however, include provisions protecting the gun owner if the firearm was stolen, nor does it account for the de-facto tax it burdens the owner with being forced to find a new locking device to place it at all times. The bill is also blatantly unconstitutional.

Previous versions of this bill sponsored during the last two legislative sessions by state Sen. Antoinette Sedillo-Lopez (D-Bernalillo) have died.

The first anti-gun bill introduced by Democrats is one by state Rep. Patricia Roybal-Caballero (D-Bernalillo), H.B. 50, which bans all citizens who own firearm magazines greater than ten rounds and makes any offender a felon. 

The Committee will meet ten minutes following the House floor session, or approximately at 1:30 p.m. in Room 317 in Santa Fe. 

To join the meeting virtually, see the Zoom details below:

Please click the link below to join the webinar:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89037370054

Or One tap mobile :

 US: +13462487799,,89037370054# or +16694449171,,89037370054#

Webinar ID: 890 3737 0054

 International numbers available: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kdAYD2zIM2

To contact the members of the committee, see the contact information for their offices below: 

Chairwoman Joann Ferrary (D) 505-986-4844 joanne.ferrary@nmlegis.gov 

Rep. Angelica Rubio (D) 505-986-4210 angelica.rubio@nmlegis.gov 

Rep. Andrea Romero (D) 505-986-4243 andrea@andrearomero.com 

Rep. Liz Thomson (D) 505-986-4425 liz.thomson@nmlegis.gov 

Rep. Stefani Lord (R) 505-986-4453 stefani.lord@nmlegis.gov (NRA Endorsed in 2022)

Rep. John Block (R) 505-986-4220 John.Block@nmlegis.gov (NRA Endorsed in 2022)

Group sues City of ABQ over $250K Planned Parenthood donation

13 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

On Friday, it was revealed that the Rio Grande Foundation, in partnership with the Liberty Justice Center, is suing the City of Albuquerque over its $250,000 donation to the abortion giant Planned Parenthood.

The Albuquerque City Council in August 2022 voted 5-4 to fund the abortion giant, claiming it was giving Planned Parenthood the money for supposedly necessary abortion procedures, including abortions.

“New Mexico’s constitution prevents politicians from using taxpayer funds like their own personal piggy banks,” says Daniel Suhr, managing attorney at the Liberty Justice Center. “Albuquerque’s grant to Planned Parenthood is pure politics, and the state constitution prevents that kind of abuse of taxpayer dollars.”  

“Taxpayers should not be compelled to subsidize Planned Parenthood or any other private group,” said Gessing, who is president of the free-market Rio Grande Foundation. “The anti-donation clause of New Mexico’s constitution is a bulwark for taxpayers against politically motivated earmarks just like this one.”  

73% of Americans, including pro-choice individuals, women, and millennials, oppose mandated taxpayer funding of abortions, according to a recent Marist/Knights of Columbus poll.

In a previous op-ed from New Mexico Sun, City Councilor Renee Grout wrote, “This is not a simple disagreement on a political issue. For many people, abortion is sanctioned murder. It is wasteful and wrong to give $250,000 of taxpayer money to a business that makes $1.3 billion every year advocating for and performing this procedure.”

Councilor Tammy Fiebelkorn, the sponsor of the $250,000 blank check to Planned Parenthood, was annoyed that the Council was revisiting the vote, saying, “Now is not the time to roll back something that we literally passed two months ago.”

NM state Reps. Stefani Lord, John Block sponsor bill mandating pedophile castration

21 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

On Thursday, New Mexico state Reps. Stefani Lord (R-Sandia Park) and John Block (R-Alamogordo) dropped a bill, H.B. 128, which will mandate the chemical castration of pedophilic sex offenders as a condition of parole.

The bill notes, “A person required to undergo chemical castration treatment shall begin the treatment not less than one month prior to the person’s release from custody of the corrections department and shall continue receiving treatment until the court determines the treatment is no longer necessary. The treatment shall be administered by the department of health.”

Furthermore, the offender must eat the cost of the chemical castration in addition to any court costs. 

Another section of the proposed bill reads, “In addition to any condition of parole under Subsection A of this section, as a condition of parole, a person released on parole under this section shall authorize the department of health to share with the parole board all medical records relating to the person’s chemical castration treatment. A person may elect to stop receiving the treatment at any time and may not be forced to receive the treatment; provided that the refusal shall constitute a violation of the person’s parole and the person shall be immediately remanded to the custody of the corrections department for the remainder of the sentence from which the person was paroled.” 

If the offender claims indigency, the pedophile would need to appear before a court and prove they are “not capable of paying the fees or costs within the reasonably foreseeable future.”

The legislation will be heard in House Health and Human Services Committee and then House Judiciary Committee. No date has yet been set on the bill. 

Editor’s note: Rep. Block is the founder and editor of the Piñon Post, New Mexico’s leading conservative online news publication.

Anti-gun bills referred to legislative committees

7 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

On the second day of the 2023 Legislative Session, progressive legislation was referred to House committees for consideration. Some of the proposals include sweeping gun bans to assault New Mexicans’ constitutional rights. Here are some of the bills that will be going through committees soon.

H.B. 9 by state Rep. Pamelya Herndon (D-Bernalillo), will force New Mexicans to lock up their firearms in “a gun safe or a device that prevents a firearm from being discharged or from being used to expel a projectile by the action of an explosion or a device other than a gun safe that locks a firearm and is designed to prevent children and unauthorized users from firing a firearm, which device may be installed on a firearm, be incorporated into the design of the firearm or prevent access to the firearm.”

If the gun owner does not lock up any and all firearms and their gun somehow was used in an offense by a minor causing “great bodily harm” or death, the parent of that child could be made a felon if the victim of the crime is killed or permanently disabled. 

H.B. 9 has been referred to House Consumer and Public Affairs Committee (HCPAC) and then House Judiciary Committee. No committee times have yet been posted for HCPAC, but hearings are expected within the week.

H.B. 50, sponsored by Rep. Patricia Roybal Caballero (D-Bernalillo), will ban magazines over nine rounds, making all owners of such firearms felons. The bill has been referred to House Consumer and Public Affairs Committee, House Judiciary Committee (HJC), and the House Appropriations and Finance Committee (HAFC). No dates have yet been set on HCPAC for a hearing.

H.B. 72, also by Roybal Caballero, would make it a felony to possess a bump stock, binary trigger, or anything else that “increased the rate of fire of a semiautomatic firearm.” The bill has been referred to Judiciary and HAFC. No dates have yet been set for a hearing yet.

H.B. 100, by Rep. Andrea Romero (D-Santa Fe), would mandate a 14-day waiting period before someone could purchase a gun from a Federal Firearms License (FFL).

H.B. 101, also by Romero, aims to ban magazines, but for those that are ten and under, while also banning so-called “assault weapons.” The legislation has not yet been referred to a committee.

S.B. 44, by Majority Senate Leader Peter Wirth (D-Santa Fe), would ban firearms at polling places. That bill has been referred to the Senate Rules Committee and then the Senate Judiciary Committee. No dates have yet been set for a hearing as of publication.

Keep track of bills scheduled for the committees by visiting the NMLegis.gov website’s “What’s Happening” page.

Opening day: MLG goes leftward, Dems boot moderate from powerful chair post

20 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

On Tuesday, the New Mexico Legislature met for the first session of the 56th Legislature, which is meeting for 60 days this year. 17 new members were sworn in, and Democrats elected Rep. Javier Martínez (D-Bernalillo) as the next state House speaker, succeeding former Speaker Brian Egolf (D-Santa Fe). 

Democrat Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham also gave her annual “State of the State” address, where she made clear her priority to ram through $10 million in funding for a new Las Cruces abortion facility and codify abortion up to birth into law.

She also announced she wants socialized “universal health care” in New Mexico, taxpayer-funded paid family leave, expanded “free” college programs, as well as millions more to fund the state’s already failing schools that rank behind all other states and the District of Columbia. She also called for a new state department, the “New Mexico Health Care Authority” to help enact her universal healthcare dreams, as well as universal gun bans in the state.

But the most surprising takeaway from the meeting of the 56th Legislature on opening day was the removal of more moderate Rep. Patricia Lundstrom (D-Gallup) from the powerful House Appropriations Committee. Speaker Martinez put progressive Rep. Nathan Small in the spot instead, garnering confusion about the leadership mixup.

According to the Santa Fe New Mexican, Lundstrom said following the news, “This is unbelievable.” She told the Albuquerque Journal, “I’m incredibly disappointed, and I’m absolutely shocked.” She said Martínez “said I don’t meet his vision.”

“The speaker has the responsibility and the prerogative to organize the House committees as he feels best meets the current needs of New Mexico,” House Democratic spokeswoman Camille Ward told the Journal. “With new leadership on both sides of the aisle and on many of our committees in this session, Speaker Martínez is beginning a new chapter to move New Mexico forward.”

Another member making a large move is Rep. Christine Chandler (D-Los Alamos), who was moved from the chairwoman of House Taxation and Revenue to the powerful House Judiciary Committee, succeeding Rep. Gail Chasey (D-Bernalillo), who was recently elected Democrat House floor leader.

Initiatives Democrats seek to pass during the legislature include many of Lujan Grisham’s proposals, as well as “modernizing” the state legislature from a “citizen legislature” to a “professional legislature” where members of the House and Senate are paid, while they each are granted funds for district offices in their respective areas of the state. 

Report: Suspect arrested in connection with shootings targeting Dem politicians

14 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

On Monday, the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) revealed that Solomon Peña, a former GOP candidate for state House of Representatives District 14 was arrested at his Albuquerque home. He is charged with conspiracy to pay four men to shoot at Democrat lawmakers’ homes.

As we previously reported, the politicians who were apparently targeted included outgoing Bernalillo County Commissioner Debbie O’Malley, Commissioner Adriann Barboa, and two legislators. Sen. Linda Lopez and newly appointed Sen. Antonio “Moe” Maestas were apparently targeted, although gunshots were heard near Maestas’ office, not his home.


Later, Democrat New Mexico House Majority Leader Javier Martínez (D-Bernalillo) reported he found gun holes and bullet remnants at his Albuquerque home. 

APD Chief Harold Medina told the Albuquerque Journal, “Peña, an unsuccessful legislative candidate in the 2022 election, is accused of conspiring with, and paying four other men to shoot at the homes of two county commissioners and two state legislators.”

Police officers executing the arrest said outside of Pena’s home, “Solomon Peña please come out with your hands up, we have the place surrounded.”

The suspect prevously served seven years in prison for involvement in a “slash and grab” robbery “scheme,” the Journal noted. 

Immediately following the revelation of Peña’s arrest, House Republican Leader Ryan Lane (R-Aztec) wrote in a statement, “We appreciate law enforcement’s diligence in pursuing this investigation and we are still learning of this development just as the rest of New Mexico is. New Mexico House Republicans condemn violence in any form and are grateful no one was injured. This is yet another example of a convicted felon unlawfully gaining access to firearms, which they are barred from owning or possessing, and using the weapon in a manner that causes public harm.”

1 … 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 … 197

Stay Updated

Exit mobile version
Exclusive Piñon Post Updates

We will NEVER charge you for our news!

We promise not to spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Invalid email address
Thanks for subscribing!