NM lieutenant governor announces support for 'office of school safety'
Feb. 20—Lt. Gov. Howie Morales called on educators to help him support proposed legislation to establish a Department of School Safety and a "czar" who would oversee it.
Morales said during the second annual New Mexico Safe School Summit on Wednesday that Rep. Brian Baca, R-Los Lunas, the ranking member of the House Education Committee, would sponsor the measure.
"We can have you as professionals communicate with that office and not have so much burden placed on yourselves and your shoulders," Morales said in remarks at the Santa Ana Star Casino Hotel in Bernalillo. "I think it would be absolutely instrumental."
Morales' comments during the second day of the statewide conference, which concluded Thursday, came as Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is asking lawmakers to approve recurring funds in the public school budget for ongoing and further school safety measures. At the same time, lawmakers have introduced a comprehensive crime package, known as House Bill 8, co-sponsored by Baca, that would include make a threat of a school shooting a fourth-degree felony. The legislation, with co-sponsors, Reps. Joy Garratt, D-Albuquerque and Andrea Reeb, R-Clovis, passed the Senate Judiciary Committee 7-1 on Wednesday.
Michael Coleman, communications director for Lujan Grisham, said Wednesday the Governor's Office is reviewing Baca's proposal on a Department of School Safety.
A spokesperson for the New Mexico Public Education Department referred the Journal to the governor's response to Baca's legislation.
Baca was not available for an interview Wednesday, but his office provided a prepared statement from him saying he is filing a memorial. The term describes a "formal expression of legislative desire," but does not have the same effect as law, according to the Legislature's website.
The memorial will study the creation of a new department under the Department of Public Safety or Homeland Security to make a Department of School Safety, according to Baca.
"This would allow school districts to be proactive in securing their schools and would provide them with resources," Baca said.
Lawmakers will study the creation of a new department and could file legislation to establish it depending on the findings, he said.
Ferlin Clark, education administrator with the Navajo Nation's Department of Diné Education, spoke with Morales following his remarks. Clark said in an interview he thought a Department of School Safety should be a Cabinet-level agency, and it cannot come soon enough.
"Just have somebody to take that leap and work with us," Clark said. "These things are not in the future; they're happening right now."
Morales said in an interview Wednesday that Baca's memorial was proposed following conversations with the PED and a public safety committee.
Aside from not overburdening schools, the office would provide "consistency" to schools in responding to safety incidents, said Morales, a former teacher.
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Indianapolis Star
2 hours ago
- Indianapolis Star
Secretary of State Diego Morales gets flak for overseas travel. Is he breaking any rules?
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If Morales were a member of Congress ― as he tried to become in 2018 ― Hoosiers would be able to find out a lot of information every time he hit the road. U.S. representatives and senators have to file travel reports for all "travel-related expenses reimbursed by non-government sources," known as "gift travel," as well as expenses related to all "official foreign travel." Their annual financial disclosure forms require great detail, including all sources and amounts of income and liabilities. Further, U.S. senators have to get approval 30 days in advance from the Select Committee on Ethics for privately sponsored trips. These requirements would likely have covered Morales's trip to India, which he said was initially sponsored by a private entity, as well as his second Hungary trip, for which he said CPAC Hungary covered his costs. But in Indiana, reporting requirements are far more lax. 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And even if that wasn't the case, Morales also billed the Hungary trip as "personal time," though he happened to also accept an invitation to speak in his official capacity at CPAC Hungary. "He's tourist Diego over in Hungary… but then he's public official Diego at the same time because they needed him," Vaughn said. "It's infuriating that there's this space in Indiana law that allows him to get away with this." His public speaking gigs likely fall through the cracks of campaign finance law, too, because Morales appears at such events as secretary of state and not as a secretary of state candidate ― even though he is now both of these things at once. The law doesn't necessarily account for activity that looks and feels like campaigning, even if it's not labeled as such ― like networking at CPAC Hungary with other high-profile conservative political figures, said Gregory Shufeldt, political science professor at the University of Indianapolis. 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He said a private business that doesn't work with his agency, but "saw the benefit of Indiana being represented in these conferences," paid for the travel arrangements. In response to many calls to disclose the funder's identity, Morales said he asked if he could, but the benefactor was "afraid of being targeted by the liberal media or the crazy left." More: Secretary of State Diego Morales faces criticism for 10-day India trip. Here's why he was there So Morales said he personally reimbursed the funder. In a statement to IndyStar, an office spokesperson said he did this "in an effort to be transparent and in respect of the business wanting to be anonymous." "Secretary Morales maintains the utmost commitment to transparency," the office said. But for observers, this action only made appearances worse. "The fact that he's working overtime to keep the original funder secret just makes it more suspicious," Vaughn said. 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Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Yahoo
Jailed Wisconsin Man Fooled ICE Barbie With Forged Death Threats Against Trump
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