Latest news with #KathleenCates
Yahoo
15-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Librarian protection, rural library bills in limbo with a week left
At the start of this year's legislative session, lawmakers seemed eager to provide more protections for New Mexico's librarians and ban, well, book bans. House Bill 27 — a measure that would effectively bar libraries from banning books based on political objections to them or their authors — advanced relatively quickly during the first half of the session. But after passing through two House committees, HB 27 has sat on the calendar of the state House since Feb. 18. With a week left in the session, Rep. Kathleen Cates, D-Rio Rancho, considers the bill effectively dead. 'If it was put on tomorrow, it's not enough time to get it through the Senate,' she said in an interview Friday. Cates said she brought the bill in the wake of an unsuccessful effort in 2023 by conservatives in Rio Rancho to take books dealing with LGBTQ+ issues out of the city's library collection. She said it is a public safety issue for librarians who feel physically unsafe when facing controversies over books, and added that goes hand-in-hand with providing the public a 'clear and diverse access of knowledge.' So, seeing the bill founder once again — Cates introduced the same proposal last year — left the representative 'in the middle of grieving it.' 'I don't know why it is not prioritized to be on the floor, especially during the session of public safety,' she said. In an email, House Democratic spokesperson Camille Ward said the chamber is 'working diligently to advance legislation that will make a difference for New Mexicans.' 'You can expect us to move quickly through the House Floor calendar as we approach the final days of this session,' she wrote. '... We greatly value our public libraries and the librarians who keep them running.' Shel Neymark, director of the New Mexico Rural Library Initiative, said another essential component of protecting libraries is increasing funding for the state's smaller, more rural libraries, who he argued face significant risk from assaults on book collection decisions. Because those libraries tend to operate on shoestring budgets, they often rely on volunteer or part-time, staff, meaning they have little capacity to divert their attention to book challenges. 'Librarians are just overwhelmed and underpaid with the amount of work they do — they do so much in their communities,' he said. '... Putting a lot of energy into a fight like that is not going to be easy for these small libraries if it happens.' Neymark and others have called on lawmakers to set aside $29.5 million for the state's rural library endowment fund, a currently over-$30 million pot of money they hope to grow to $60 million, enough for $1 million for each rural library in the state. However, the measure to make that appropriation, Senate Bill 209, faces an uphill battle. Sen. George Muñoz, D-Gallup, the chair of the Senate Finance Committee, indicated before the session the state's spending plan for the coming fiscal year did not account for rural libraries' request, and SB 209 has sat on the Senate Finance Committee's calendar since Feb. 12. That being said, rural libraries are not necessarily going home empty-handed, should their appropriation to the endowment fund not pass. Ward pointed to the current draft of the state's proposed spending plan, House Bill 2, which calls for $3.5 million for rural libraries, which would provide $50,000 to each library for spending through fiscal year 2027. While that wouldn't be the Christmas morning rural libraries were hoping for — Neymark noted it's challenging to hire library staff with that type of appropriation, since it's unclear if a library would get it again in coming years — former Sen. Jerry Ortiz y Pino, who serves on the Embudo Valley Library and Community Center board, said $50,000 is not nothing. 'It's a bird in the hand, and, you know, prospects of having a bush in the future,' he said in an interview.
Yahoo
15-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Librarian protection, rural library bills in limbo with a week left
At the start of this year's legislative session, lawmakers seemed eager to provide more protections for New Mexico's librarians and ban, well, book bans. House Bill 27 — a measure that would effectively bar libraries from banning books based on political objections to them or their authors — advanced relatively quickly during the first half of the session. But after passing through two House committees, HB 27 has sat on the calendar of the state House since Feb. 18. With a week left in the session, Rep. Kathleen Cates, D-Rio Rancho, considers the bill effectively dead. 'If it was put on tomorrow, it's not enough time to get it through the Senate,' she said in an interview Friday. Cates said she brought the bill in the wake of an unsuccessful effort in 2023 by conservatives in Rio Rancho to take books dealing with LGBTQ+ issues out of the city's library collection. She said it is a public safety issue for librarians who feel physically unsafe when facing controversies over books, and added that goes hand-in-hand with providing the public a 'clear and diverse access of knowledge.' So, seeing the bill founder once again — Cates introduced the same proposal last year — left the representative 'in the middle of grieving it.' 'I don't know why it is not prioritized to be on the floor, especially during the session of public safety,' she said. In an email, House Democratic spokesperson Camille Ward said the chamber is 'working diligently to advance legislation that will make a difference for New Mexicans.' 'You can expect us to move quickly through the House Floor calendar as we approach the final days of this session,' she wrote. '... We greatly value our public libraries and the librarians who keep them running.' Shel Neymark, director of the New Mexico Rural Library Initiative, said another essential component of protecting libraries is increasing funding for the state's smaller, more rural libraries, who he argued face significant risk from assaults on book collection decisions. Because those libraries tend to operate on shoestring budgets, they often rely on volunteer or part-time, staff, meaning they have little capacity to divert their attention to book challenges. 'Librarians are just overwhelmed and underpaid with the amount of work they do — they do so much in their communities,' he said. '... Putting a lot of energy into a fight like that is not going to be easy for these small libraries if it happens.' Neymark and others have called on lawmakers to set aside $29.5 million for the state's rural library endowment fund, a currently over-$30 million pot of money they hope to grow to $60 million, enough for $1 million for each rural library in the state. However, the measure to make that appropriation, Senate Bill 209, faces an uphill battle. Sen. George Muñoz, D-Gallup, the chair of the Senate Finance Committee, indicated before the session the state's spending plan for the coming fiscal year did not account for rural libraries' request, and SB 209 has sat on the Senate Finance Committee's calendar since Feb. 12. That being said, rural libraries are not necessarily going home empty-handed, should their appropriation to the endowment fund not pass. Ward pointed to the current draft of the state's proposed spending plan, House Bill 2, which calls for $3.5 million for rural libraries, which would provide $50,000 to each library for spending through fiscal year 2027. While that wouldn't be the Christmas morning rural libraries were hoping for — Neymark noted it's challenging to hire library staff with that type of appropriation, since it's unclear if a library would get it again in coming years — former Sen. Jerry Ortiz y Pino, who serves on the Embudo Valley Library and Community Center board, said $50,000 is not nothing. 'It's a bird in the hand, and, you know, prospects of having a bush in the future,' he said in an interview.
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Lawmakers want to get rid of grass on most state-owned property
SANTA FE, N.M. (KRQE) – Lawns around state buildings could soon be no more if a new proposal passes. As New Mexico faces repeated droughts, lawmakers want to get rid of non-functional turf. Story continues below NM Film: Storied New Mexico movie ranch transitions into a new era Investigation: 'I'm scared to death': Defense attorney at center of DWI scheme reports burglary Real Estate: $16M Abiquiu farm for sale offers chance to live inside an O'Keeffe painting Within a couple of years, under HB 85, state-owned or state-funded buildings would no longer be allowed to install grass. Rep. Kathleen Cates (D- Bernalillo & Sandoval) is co-sponsoring a bill that would prohibit state-funded property from installing nonfunctional turf, starting in 2027. This means turf that only serves aesthetic purposes such as lawns wouldn't be allowed. 'So that we can lead the way in our water conservation, this is grass that is strictly for aesthetic purposes and it will help us to save our potable water,' said Rep. Cates. Rep. Cates said the bill came about after a water study from New Mexico Tech that predicted the state would lose up to 25% of its drinkable water in the next 50 years. If the bill were to pass, starting in 2032, only recycled or reclaimed water could be used to irrigate existing nonfunctional turf on state property and any turf that's removed would also have to be replaced with drought and climate-resilient landscaping. The bill would not affect grass in places like sports fields because the grass serves a purpose. It would also not affect universities, since they already use recycled water. In committee on Wednesday, opponents shared concerns. 'We respectfully oppose this bill. We believe this is an unfunded mandate that would result in significant costs in our municipalities,' said Jared, an opposer of the bill. Some supporters said they wanted to make sure the initiative is implemented in a responsible way. 'In Albuquerque, they went through with this type of action and they didn't take care of mature trees, so we had a lot of mature trees die from lack of watering,' said Danny Maki, lobbyist for the New Mexico Architect Association. Rep. Cates said the clock is ticking for New Mexico. 'We are under a water crisis right now and it is an opportunity for our state to be able to take a lead on this and be able to conserve the water,' said Rep. Cates. Repr. Cates postponed a vote on the bill in order to make some changes, in response to concerns from committee members about how it would be implemented. Once those changes are made, the bill will return to committee. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
