Latest news with #Garratt
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
‘A good place to work': Westside ABQ lawmakers open offices, part of modernization push
Albuquerque-area lawmakers cut the ribbon Saturday to mark the official opening of their new legislative offices at CNM Westside, part of a broader modernization push. Lawmakers Sen. Harold Pope, center, along with Rep. Charlotte Little, second from left, and Rep. Joy Garratt, while share the office space. (Photo by Patrick Lohmann / Source NM) A trio of Albuquerque-area Democratic lawmakers opened an in-person office space in a community college campus Saturday, one of several recent office openings that the legislators hope will boost services for constituents and also build momentum for a professional, paid Legislature in the near future. Newly hired district legislative aides for Sen. Harold Pope, state Rep. Joy Garratt and state Rep. Charlotte Little will regularly work from a newly leased office space at Central New Mexico Community College's Westside campus. The office is in the 'WSII' building on the north side of campus. Thanks to a provision in the state budget two years ago, at least 20 House lawmakers have opened individual or shared office spaces since late last year in or near their districts, according to Pamela Armstrong, spokesperson for the office of House Speaker Javier Martinez (D-Albuquerque). More offices are expected to open soon, she said. The same provision allowed lawmakers to hire paid legislative aides. NM legislative recap Feb. 12: It's still too cold to harvest, but the session is heating up Garratt, whose District 29 covers from Albuquerque's West Side to Laguna Pueblo, told Source New Mexico at the Saturday ribbon-cutting that, outside of the obvious benefit of the office being 'a good place to work' where constituents can reach their representatives year-round, the new office could demonstrate to the public why a more professional, modern Legislature is needed. 'Step one is actually having a staff person. Step two is having a space other than Starbucks, Panera Bread and a local coffee shop. Step three, and this is something I've worked on for three sessions, is modernization, paid legislators,' she said. New Mexico's remains the only unpaid Legislature in the country, though lawmakers receive per diem payments during the session and for interim committee meetings. Lawmakers and good-government advocates say paying lawmakers would elicit better candidates and reduce the influence of lobbyists or other outside interests. 'I think if people see the effectiveness of being able to easily contact your state legislator, I think there would be greater public support,' Garratt said. 'If we do our jobs. They'll see it's beneficial. People don't know their state legislators. I got an angry phone call yesterday saying, 'Congressman Garratt, what are you going to do about the Trump budget?'' Lawmakers this year considered a joint resolution, which, if approved by voters, would create a commission that would determine and approve lawmaker salaries. But it never made it out of the Senate. An independent review of the legislation noted that a base salary of $50,000, for example, for 112 lawmakers would be cost taxpayers about $5.6 million annually.
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Lawmakers want to raise New Mexico teacher salaries by $5,000
SANTA FE, N.M. (KRQE) – Lawmakers are hoping to keep teachers in the state, by giving them a bigger paycheck. House Bill 156, proposes to tack another $5,000 a year onto base teacher salaries. In 2022, New Mexico teacher salaries increased by $10,000. The lead Democratic sponsor of this new bill says another increase is needed due to inflation and to bring teachers to New Mexico. 'It recognizes the professionalism in a career that we have to attract people and retain them,' said Rep. Joy Garratt (D-Albuquerque). Story continues below Traffic and Roads: Three killed in 11-car pileup west of Lordsburg Don't Miss: Navajo storyteller brings representation in front and behind the camera Crime: Six suspects arrested in connection to home invasion in Taos County In 2022, the state raised teacher salaries by $10,000, bringing the base salaries based on vocational license to $50,000, $60,000, and $70,000 a year. Three years later, Rep. Garratt said that's not enough to keep up with the cost of living. 'And even though we raised the salaries several years ago, this deals with number one, inflation, which all educators feel. Number two it deals with the rising cost of insurance,' said Rep. Garratt. In comparison to other states, Rep. Garratt said New Mexico's teacher salaries fall short and it's getting harder to attract them to the state. 'At the moment, although our salaries are ranging above our surrounding states, they're still below the national average, in California it's more like $75-80,000. East Coast it's much higher,' said Rep. Garratt. The bill passed its first committee hearing unanimously. Rep. Garratt said she's confident it will make it through this session because the money needed for the raise is already available in the budget. 'I think it's really important to pass this bill with the teacher raises because our teachers are raising up the future New Mexicans,' said Rep. Garratt. The bill passed unanimously Tuesday evening and now heads to the House floor. If the bill were to pass, it could be rolled into the House Democrats' nearly $11 billion proposed budget. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Pared-down gun seizure bill clears second committee
Speakers, including members of Moms Demand Action, line up in favor of House Bill 12 during a House Judiciary Committee meeting Wednesday. The bill amends an existing law allowing a judge to order the seizure of a person's guns if they pose a risk to themselves or others. (Photo by Patrick Lohmann / Source NM) A bill that would make it easier and faster for police to seize guns belonging to a person deemed a risk to themselves or others passed a judiciary committee test Wednesday afternoon on a party-line vote. A more-expansive version of the bill was among Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham's legislative priorities last legislative session, but it died without escaping the House of Representatives. The governor applauded its passage Wednesday in a news release: 'This revision to existing law closes a dangerous gap that puts lives at risk,' she said. 'I commend the House Judiciary Committee for their swift action on this legislation, and I strongly urge both chambers to act with the same sense of urgency this issue demands.' House Bill 12 amends a 2020 law that created a civil procedure enabling a judge to approve a temporary seizure of a person's guns based on requests to law enforcement from family members, employers, school officials and others. The 2020 law says gun owners may have up to 48 hours to surrender their weapons after a judge approves an officer's petition. In a news release, House Democrats shared a few other public safety bills that have passed their first committee and are slated to be heard in House Judiciary in the coming days; House Bill 31: Fourth-Degree Felony for Shooting Threat House Bill 38: Possession of Weapon Conversion Device House Bill 39: Juvenile Record in Firearm Background Checks House Bill 50: Penalties for Vehicle Thefts House Bill 4: Criminal Competency and Treatment House Bill 86: Human Trafficking Changes House Bill 73: Childhood Sexual Abuse Statute Of Limitations The amended version, sponsored by Rep. Christine Chandler (D-Los Alamos) and Joy Garratt (D-Albuquerque), seeks to clarify that if an officer deems a person a risk in the course of their official duties, the officer doesn't need a request from a third party before seeking a judge's approval to order a weapons seizure. The bill also eliminates the 48-hour window and requires a gun owner served with an order to surrender firearms 'immediately' to police. In 2024, according to state court data, judges in 15 counties reviewed 94 petitions to grant year-long seizure orders and approved 74 of them. Eighteen were denied or dismissed, and judges extended two others. Garratt said the denied petitions demonstrate that judges aren't rubber-stamping police requests to receive weapons. 'They go before a judge,' Garratt said. 'They're not automatically granted.' The bill passed by a vote of 7-4, along party lines, and now heads to the House Floor. Republican lawmakers said they were concerned the bill didn't actually do much, was overly broad or created permanent records of a brief moment of crisis. The bill sponsors countered that the bill simply clarified that officers can bring these petitions themselves, which has caused judges in different judicial districts some confusion. Opponents in the audience said the bill was too punitive for people who had not been convicted of crimes, but supporters, including members of Moms Demand Action, said acting quickly to remove firearms from volatile situations can save lives. The 2024 version would have allowed health care professionals to request that a judge consider a temporary gun seizure. It would have also permitted district courts to issue 24/7 search warrants over the phone if a person refused to surrender their guns.
