Legislature Done - But Not for Long; Gov. Calls for Special Session

BYLINE: TRIP JENNINGS AND JEFF JONES Journal Capitol Bureau

SANTA FE - Good work. But see you back here Tuesday.

That was Gov. Bill Richardson's message to the state's 112 part-time lawmakers Saturday as they concluded a 60-day legislative session, only to have Richardson immediately call a special session to commence at noon on Tuesday.

Not passing before the regular session deadline at noon Saturday were several Richardson legislative priorities, including: a $200 million package for road construction; a state ethics commission and first-ever cap on campaign contributions; and a measure to give unmarried couples, either heterosexual or homosexual, the same rights and benefits as married couples.

He said he might ask lawmakers to work on several more issues in the special session, which he said he hoped would last just a few days.

"We've just completed the most productive legislative session in New Mexico's history," Richardson said. "Give the Legislature a hand."

But the governor said the list of what he wanted accomplished was incomplete.

"We still have business to finish," said Richardson, who returns to the presidential campaign trail today and Monday, with trips to Oklahoma and Texas in his bid for next year's Democratic nomination.

Richardson heaped praise on the Democratic-controlled Legislature for approving a heap of measures, including: more than $80 million in tax cuts; a mini- mum wage boost; a ban on cockfighting; marijuana use for certain medical purposes; a statewide smoking ban; new state-tribal gambling compacts; a limit on gifts to public officials; and first-ever state regulations for high-interest payday loan companies.

Lawmakers also sent the governor a $5.6 billion budget that increases state spending by nearly 11 percent and $622 million worth of public-works projects for most, if not all, of the 112 legislative districts around the state.

Unfinished business

But Richardson outlined a hefty agenda for the special session, including:

Effectively extend what are basically marriage rights to unmarried couples, whether heterosexual or homosexual, if they are registered as domestic partners;

His $200 million proposal for local road construction projects across the state, known as GRIP II;

Creation of an independent state ethics commission;

Capping campaign contributions to elected officials and political candidates and ending New Mexico's status as one of the few states in the nation with no limits on contribution amounts;

Extend public financing of elections to judicial candidates;

Pass more water infrastructure projects, which he had proposed as part of his "Year of Water";

Pass tougher domestic violence initiatives.

House leaders agreed with Richardson's view that the session should take only a few days, but resistance to many of the Richardson measures in the regular session came from the Senate, not the House.

"Everyone knows about the (issues now on the table)," said House Speaker Ben Lujan, DSanta Fe. "We've debated them."

Lujan appeared frustrated at watching the road construction proposal die in the Senate for the second year in a row.

"I thought we had an agreement," Lujan said. "Evidently, other issues got tied into it."

Advocates of ethics and campaign finance reform, meanwhile, were thrilled to get a second chance to pass their proposals in the special session.

"I think the public will feel very let down by the results of ethics reform during the legislative session," said Matt Brix, executive director of New Mexico Common Cause. "We barely took a baby step."

Advocates thought they saw relatively smooth sailing for ethics legislation this year, especially after the high-profile prosecutions of former state Treasurer Robert Vigil and his predecessor, Michael Montoya, on extortion charges.

"We need to do the right thing and revisit these issues and get them passed," Brix said.

The bill to put limits on campaign contributions in New Mexico died by one vote Saturday in the final moments of the session. Sen. Joe Carraro, RAlbuquerque, gave opponents a one-vote edge when he changed his mind on the procedural vote that killed the bill. "It was hard to lose on one vote," said the sponsor, Sen. Dede Feldman, D-Albuquerque. But she blamed lawmakers in her own party for killing the proposal.

Four Democratic senators voted against her contribution limits measure: Tim Jennings, D-Roswell, Linda Lopez, DAlbuquerque, John Arthur Smith, D-Deming, and Shannon Robinson, D-Albuquerque.

Out of a slew of bills introduced to address issues in the state's largest school district, Albuquerque Public Schools, only two made it all the way through:

New Mexico voters will decide if the state constitution should be altered to increase a schools board's membership from seven to nine once the district's local population reaches 200,000.

APS will be audited by the Legislative Finance Committee to determine the amount of the district's budget that goes to administrative costs.

Under other school legislation approved: freshmen in 2009 will face increased graduation requirements, including more math and science credits; principals and assistant principals, like teachers, will have minimum salaries; and school districts will have to report teachers who quit amid allegations of unethical behavior.

Among measures dying upon adjournment was a measure to provide $30 million in state financing for a private tilapia farm project in Hidalgo County.

Conciliatory tone

Democrats and Republicans agreed that Richardson won most of what he wanted in the regular session and said his new conciliatory tone played a big role.

Richardson raised lawmakers' eyebrows during his state of the state speech to start the session when he said, "I don't have all the answers, and I know I've made mistakes."

As time wound down last week, Richardson offered another olive branch by approving the Legislature's $622 million capital outlay measure - the one often called the pork bill - without any vetoes.

A similar proposal last year was shredded by his veto pen.

Richardson's conciliatory tone "was the key to the success he had" this year, said Senate Majority Leader Michael Sanchez, D-Belen. "In return, he saw a Senate that was more open to his ideas."

But Senate Minority Leader Stuart Ingle, R-Portales, said Richardson's presidential run had a lot to do with the new, kinder and gentler governor.

"He's running for president," Ingle said. "He wants to come out of here as easy as he can."

Richardson also was notably vocal in recent days in his support for the domestic partners legislation - which apparently will be high on his special session agenda - and he is scheduled to speak next week in Las Vegas to a national gay rights group.

He was asked by reporters Saturday whether his presidential aspirations have anything to do with his legislative agenda.

"I do things for what's right for the people of New Mexico, and also for what's right for the people of this country," the governor said.

Gabriela C. Guzman contributed to this report.