Roundhouse Report #5

It has been two weeks since I reported to my constituents about my work and the action at our State Capitol.  In this report, I will bring you up to date on several pieces of legislation that I have sponsored.

Senate Bill 313, Cruelty to Animals Includes Abandoment, passed through two committees very easily; Conservation (7-0) and Judiciary (8-0).  The Bill was supported by Animal Protection Voters and Animal Protection New Mexico.  The legislation includes starvation and dehydration on an animal as a criminial offense and set penalties, potential incarceration and fines, for acts when intentially and knowingly done.

Senate Bill 312, School District Clerk Minimum Salaries, provides for a minimum salary framework for unlicensed clerks, bookkeepers, and secretaries in New Mexico school districts.  These essential employees in school operations universally garner much lower wages than their licensed coworkers such as administrators, teachers and coaches.  This bill easily passed out of the Education committee(6-0) and then was assigned to be heard in the Finance Committee.  Unfortunately, the bill apparently will die without ever being heard by that committee because to bring the initiative to fuition would require some $4 million dollars per year and a new appropriation of that size is highly unlikely durig this session because of the dire straits of the State Budget.

Senate Memorial 32, Valles Caldera Management Hearings, was passed out of the Senate Rules Committee by a vote of 7-0, and then moved to the Senate floor where I defended the Memorial before the entire body.   The Memorial passed with a vote of 32 in favor and 3 opposed.  This Memorial requests that the United States Congress re-evaluate the overall management plan of the Valles Caldera with an eye to making its funding system more effective and permanent while also opening up this extraordinary landscape to more visitors.