Latest news with #AnnaPadilla
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Rio Grande lawsuit scheduled for June trial in Philadelphia
The Rio Grande at Isleta Blvd. and Interstate 25 on Sept. 7, 2023. (Photo by Anna Padilla for Source New Mexico) The federal judge overseeing the lawsuit between New Mexico, Texas and Colorado over Rio Grande water has ordered a 10-day trial in Philadelphia starting June 9 at the request of all the parties, who are also pursuing mediation talks to resolve the lawsuit in the meantime. The case, officially called Original No. 141 Texas v. New Mexico and Colorado, began more than a decade ago, sparked by escalating legal disputes around Rio Grande water below Elephant Butte between Texas and New Mexico. The U.S. Supreme Court allowed the federal government — which operates a network of dams, and nearly 140 miles of irrigation canals to deliver water to two irrigation districts in the region and Mexico — to enter as a party to the case in 2018. In the February status hearings, the federal mediator and attorneys for all three parties told United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit Chief Judge D. Brooke Smith, who is overseeing the case, that they were still seeking a resolution to the 12-year old case. Jeffrey Wechsler, the lead attorney representing New Mexico, said setting a trial date would help mediation talks. 'Deadlines help negotiations rather than hinder them,' Wechsler said, according to transcripts of the hearing. The New Mexico Department of Justice and other parties' attorneys confirmed to Source NM that mediation talks are ongoing as of April, with another mediation session scheduled for April 22, according to NMDOJ Chief of Staff Lauren Rodriguez. 'Meanwhile, the trial—focused on determining liability and establishing a baseline for apportionment under the compact—remains on schedule,' she wrote in a statement, 'if an agreement is not reached by then.' Any potential settlement or recommendation from Smith based on a trial would still need approval from the U.S. Supreme Court, the only court that handles interstate waters disputes. Last year, U.S. Supreme Court justices struck down a deal proposed by New Mexico, Colorado and Texas to end the litigation in a close 5-4 decision. They sided with objections from the federal government that the states' deal unfairly excluded the 'unique federal interests,' and sent the case back to the negotiation table and potentially trial. The alliances between the state and federal government in the case have dramatically shifted since 2022 as the nature of the dispute changed. Initially, Texas and the federal government agreed that New Mexico pumping below Elephant Butte threatened Rio Grande water for both Texas irrigation and treaty obligations to Mexico. However, since Colorado, New Mexico and Texas proposed a deal to measure Texas' water at the state line and include transfers of water between New Mexico and Texas irrigation districts to balance out shortfalls, the federal government is going to have to build its own case. 'Texas and the United States are no longer aligned,' federal attorney Thomas Snodgrass told Smith in February. He said the federal government was still preparing a case that New Mexico should be held liable for groundwater pumping impacts on the Rio Grande since 1938. The court already held one part of a two-part trial in October 2021, but the proposed settlement delayed the second part indefinitely. Weschler told Smith in February that if the case does proceed to trial in June, it will be shorter than the three-months set aside for trial in 2021. 'The case is prepared for trial. In fact, it's halfway through trial,' Weschler said. 'We've completed our discovery, we've completed disclosures — there's really not much more to do other than to begin.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
16-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Colleges could tackle housing and food needs with money in proposed budget
Students walking at the University of New Mexico on Sept. 7, 2023. (Photo by Anna Padilla for Source New Mexico) Last year, University of New Mexico researchers, in partnership with the state Higher Education Department, surveyed nearly 10,000 students at colleges and universities across the state. More than half of students, they found, had struggled to access food, especially nutritious food, and stable housing within the prior year — referred to by the researchers as basic needs insecurity. Some students reported they'd thought about leaving school to get a second job. Others said they had a hard time focusing in class because of hunger or sometimes skipped class to pick up extra shifts. This story was originally published by New Mexico In Depth The state budget proposal includes $4.5 million for 'student retention initiatives' at public four-year institutions for the next fiscal year. It also includes $6.5 million for the following year and $9 million for the year after that for those initiatives. The budget doesn't specify that the funding be used to address students' basic needs, but schools could choose to use it for that purpose, according to Higher Education Deputy Secretary Patricia Trujillo. 'The funding goes to the institutions, and they would make the decision, but with the idea that with all the work that we've been doing in basic needs, they would see that as a critical need in retaining students,' Trujillo said in an interview last week. The agency is also advocating for the funding to be available to both four-year and two-year schools, she said. The statewide average retention rate, which measures how many students stay enrolled from year to year, for the 2021-2022 academic year was 59%, according to the agency. While the Opportunity Scholarship makes colleges and universities tuition-free for most residents, New Mexico needs to pay more attention to the 'true cost of college,' Trujillo said. 'Food is more expensive. Housing is more expensive. We're kind of in this up and down. Vehicles are going to be more expensive. Transportation is going to be more expensive,' she said. 'And so when we think about how we continue to support higher education, I think that as New Mexico moves forward, it's really about thinking about what constellation [of policies] are we building to guide New Mexicans to those college degrees?' Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham recommended $8 million over the next fiscal year for basic needs and other student retention efforts, nearly double what's currently in the budget. Her administration continues to push for that full amount, Trujillo said. At the same time, she added, appropriations are 'only part of the work.' Members of the Basic Needs Consortium, a group made up of the state's colleges and universities, spent time at the Roundhouse this session, Trujillo said, to raise awareness among lawmakers and talk about new ways to better support students. Editors note: This story was updated to clarify the word 'constellation' reflected that the speaker was talking about a 'constellation of policies,' which she stated earlier in the interview.
Yahoo
12-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
NM Legislative Recap March 11: Where things stand with 12 days left
The Seal of the State of New Mexico inside the Roundhouse on Jan. 10, 2024. (Photo by Anna Padilla for Source NM) The chart above illustrates how the 2025 legislative session compares to the last five 60-day sessions in New Mexico. If the prior sessions serve as any indication, right now constitutes the calm before the storm in terms of bills passing both chambers in the session's home stretch. It's day 48, and the House and Senate have so far passed three bills, excluding the 'Feed Bill' that pays for the Legislature and typically passes in each session's opening days. That's a smaller number of bills passed at this point during recent previous sessions, but not by much: The Legislature had passed five bills by this point in 2023; five bills in 2021; 12 in 2017; and three in 2015. The year 2019 counts as the biggest outlier, the year of the so-called 'rocket docket,' during which lawmakers fought back against a slew of vetoes from then-Gov. Susana Martinez by re-passing several dozen bills they'd passed the previous year in the first month of the legislative session. By day 48 that year, both chambers had signed off on 42 bills. And, as Democratic leaders of both chambers are quick to point out, not all bills are the same. The bills passed so far this year are actually omnibus bills — representing months of work by both chambers and parties — to tackle the state's behavioral health and criminal justice challenges in multi-faceted legislation. 'We've made great progress in this year's session,' said Sen. Peter Wirth (D-Santa Fe), the Senate Majority Leader, in an emailed statement to Source NM. 'We hit the ground running and met our commitment to deliver a comprehensive behavioral health and public safety package to the Governor in 30 days, and those bills are now signed into law. There hasn't been early action like that since the 'rocket docket back' in 2019.' The Senate's next priorities include reform of the Children, Youth and Families Department, passing the budget and taking up more public safety bills, Wirth said. He's confident that the Legislature will, come closing day March 22, have 'delivered meaningful results for the people of New Mexico.' Speaker Javier Martínez (D-Albuquerque) echoed the sentiments that lawmakers are 'well on track to deliver results,' noting the passage of the behavioral health and public safety packages. 'We will continue at a strong, steady pace in the final days of the session, as many more bills move through the final steps of the legislative process up to the Governor's desk,' Martínez said in a written statement. Still, Republican leaders this week criticized the Democratic majority for delays and refusing to hear bills they sponsored, a tactic that is preventing real anti-crime measures from getting a fair shake. Late Tuesday afternoon, the House considered a rare amendment to a memorial, which, as non-binding statements used to express the House's agreement that something should be honored or memorialized, typically aren't amended. House Memorial 37, titled 'Mount Taylor as Cultural Property,' seeks to honor the mountain's cultural significance and decry the impact uranium mining in the area has had on land, water and communities, particularly Indigenous communities, in the decades since uranium was extracted there. The memorial from Rep. Michelle Abeyta (D-To'hajilee) reads, in part: 'Whereas, uranium mining operations create environmental hazards through the transport and storage of uranium ore, increasing the risk of contamination of land, air and water resources and exacerbating the health threats already faced by Indian and non-Indian communities alike.' Rep. John Block (R-Carlsbad) sought to strike that language from the memorial, which he said stigmatized the uranium industry, noting that it was written in the present tense. The industry is much safer now, he said, and could serve a vital source of energy for America and revenue for the state. 'I find it to be offensive to the great people of this state because we're speaking on behalf of them, and what we're saying is we don't want these kinds of industries,' Block said. Long-stalled NM uranium mines now 'priority projects' at Cibola Forest, leader tells employees Block also said he was unaware of any pending mining activity on the mountain, which is one of four sacred to Navajo people. In fact, two long-stalled mine proposals in the area are now 'priority projects,' the Cibola National Forest Supervisor told staff in a meeting last month, according to a recording obtained by Source New Mexico. Block's unusual attempt to amend drew more than an hour of debate, including from Republicans lauding the uranium industry and Democrats recounting its long legacy of harm here. 'Given the legacy of unreclaimed lands in not only tribal lands but in New Mexico that has devastated the people, the land, the air, the water, it is unconscionable to strip the intent of this memorial,' said Rep. Derrick Lente (D-Sandia Pueblo). Block's amendment failed by a vote of 38-23. At 6 p.m., the House passed the memorial by a similar vote. A similar Senate memorial passed the Senate earlier Tuesday. Senate Memorial 14 expresses New Mexico's opposition to new uranium projects at Mount Taylor that would threaten its cultural and environmental integrity. The House bounced a bill aiming to phase out products with intentionally added PFAS back to committee Monday, after no Republicans expressed willingness to sponsor floor amendments. Rep. Joanne Ferrary (D-Las Cruces), a co-sponsor of House Bill 212, told Source NM Tuesday the House Judiciary scheduled HB 212 for a Friday hearing to amend the bill. If the committee accepts amendments, the bill would return to the House Floor, leaving it little time to clear committees and the floor in the Senate. 'This is going to be a nail-biter,' Ferrary said. Per-and-polyfluoroalkyl substances, shortened to PFAS are a class of toxic chemicals manufactured to withstand breaking down in water, heat or other environmental conditions and are used in everyday items from cookware to carpets to firefighting foams. PFAS exposure has been linked to certain cancers, fertility issues, low birth weights or fetal development issues, hormonal imbalances and limiting vaccine effectiveness. PFAS contamination caused the euthanization of more than 3,600 dairy cows and impacted water sources around New Mexico. HB 212, if adopted, would ban the sale of items with added PFAS and carve out exceptions for essential uses, including in pharmaceuticals, electronics and cars. Two PFAS bills scheduled for Saturday House Energy and Natural Resources committee The amendments update some of the definitions and updates some of the product exemptions, similar to previous amendments, said New Mexico Environment Department Secretary James Kenney. 'We've worked hard during this session to turn HB 212 into a bill every legislator can get behind, because it affects every single New Mexican,' Kenney said in a written statement. 'The committee substitute we're presenting to the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday is, we hope, the final step to achieve that goal.' The Senate Conservation Committee passed House Bill 93, which would allow public utilities to include advanced power grid technology projects in their grid modernization plans; House Bill 284, which would allow fertility control, relocation and adoption of free-roaming horses; and Senate Memorial 3, which would ask three state agencies to come up with a beaver management plan by October. The Senate Health and Public Affairs Committee passed Senate Bill 146, which would fix language in the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children; Senate Bill 247, which would require the Public Education Department to publish annually statewide testing results and break them down by race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status and special education status; Senate Bill 315, which would make tortillas the official bread of New Mexico; and Senate Bill 404, which would create greater protections for health records related to reproductive health care, gender-affirming care, mental health care, and alcohol or substance use disorder treatment. The Senate Judiciary Committee passed Senate Bill 66, which would prohibit criminal convictions from automatically barring an applicant from public employment or a professional license; a substitute version of Senate Bill 166, which redefines defining 'harm to self' and 'harm to others,' in state law; Senate Bill 259, which would make third-party vendors helping a charitable organization raise money subject to state regulation; Senate Bill 357, which would create a framework for the state to help local government infrastructure projects; Senate Bill 364, which would allow people with work authorizations from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to work as police officers; Senate Bill 488, which would strengthen the powers of and make permanent the interim Legislative Health and Human Services Committee; House Bill 47, which would create property tax exemptions for veterans approved by voters in November; and House Bill 214, which would establish a voluntary credentialing process for doulas, allowing them to enroll as Medicaid providers. The Senate Tax, Business and Transportation Committee passed House Bill 11, which would create a state-administered paid leave program. The Senate Finance Committee passed Senate Bill 327, which would create a special 'lowrider capital of the world' license plate; Senate Bill 377 which would create a special New Mexico United license plate; and Senate Bill 434, which would require schools to notify parents if their student has having math or reading deficiency. The Senate passed Senate Bill 376, which would cut health care premiums paid by more than 60,000 state and local public sector workers while fixing a budget shortfall in their insurance plan; and Senate Memorial 19, which would ask two state agencies to ensure that at least half of the beef, cheese and milk served in public schools is locally sourced. The Senate unanimously passed Senate Bill 105, which would allow licensed social workers to practice in 22 other states in a licensure compact, and for those from other states to practice here; Senate Bill 159, which would allow independent theater owners to obtain a special wine and beer license; and Senate Memorial 2, which would require the Legislative Council to study and recommend policies for avoiding and mitigating wildfires. Without debate, senators unanimously passed Senate Bill 213, which would require motorists to yield to public buses when they merge into traffic from a designated bus stop, or face a $25 fine; Senate Bill 118, which would require the Motor Vehicle Division to distribute to other state agencies' organ donor application materials; and Senate Bill 221, which would prohibit insurance companies from requiring insured people to obtain a denial of coverage letter from an insurer in order to claim federal benefits, like they did during recent wildfires and floods.
