Page 5 - Robert Nott News Today

By Robert Nott, The Santa Fe New Mexican  bill that would stymie, if not stop, efforts to build a radioactive waste disposal storage site in the southeastern  part of the state is getting closer to the legislative finish line. The House Government, Elections and Indian Affairs Committee voted 6-3 Saturday to approve Senate Bill 53, which […]

By Robert Nott, The Santa Fe New Mexican After hearing sometimes raw testimony from victims of human trafficking, members of the House Consumer and Public Affairs Committee unanimously voted Wednesday in support of a bill that would enact tougher penalties for the crime. House Bill 445 also would broaden the definition of human trafficking and require […]

By Robert Nott, The Santa Fe New Mexican A bill updating New Mexico’s high school graduation requirements for the first time in over 15 years has made its way halfway through the legislative marathon. The state House of Representatives voted 64-3 to approve House Bill 126 Wednesday. The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Andrés Romero, D-Albuquerque, told members […]

By Robert Nott, The Santa Fe New Mexican One of the state’s most renowned archaeologists was working under the floorboards when he got the call early last week. Within the hour, he found out he was fired.  “I was terminated,” said Eric Blinman, the longtime director of the New Mexico Office of Archaeological Studies. “No cause was […]

By Robert Nott, The Santa Fe New Mexican Jen Paul Schroer, Cabinet secretary of the New Mexico Tourism Department, told lawmakers Tuesday, “We serve the public better when we are in our offices.” Schroer and about 20 other Cabinet secretaries and deputy secretaries showed up at a legislative committee hearing in opposition to a bill that […]

By Robert Nott, The Santa Fe New Mexican An effort to increase New Mexico’s alcohol excise tax for the first time in 30 years — a measure intended to help the state rein in a problem that takes the lives of more than six people a day — stumbled Monday when the House Taxation and […]

By Robert Nott and Daniel J. Chacón, The Santa Fe New Mexican Rushing from one room to another on a recent hectic day at the state Capitol, Rep. John Block paused to consider a question lawmakers themselves have been mulling. How was the freshman Republican from Alamogordo feeling at the midway point of this year’s 60-day […]

By Robert Nott, The Santa Fe New Mexican A bill favored by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham that would cut the state’s gross receipts tax to benefit New Mexico’s small businesses has been sent back to the drawing board. Members of the House Taxation and Revenue Committee unanimously voted to temporarily table House Bill 367, which […]

By Robert Nott, The Santa Fe New Mexican Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced a number of initiatives Thursday to address long-standing challenges with one of the state’s most problematic agencies: the New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department. “We are embracing as professionals that this department is dysfunctional,” Lujan Grisham said at a news conference […]

By Robert Nott, The Santa Fe New Mexican A bill to make missing or murdered Indigenous people or their dependents eligible for economic relief earned unanimous support from a Senate committee Thursday. Native victims and their family members currently do not fall under the qualifying guidelines under the state’s Crime Victims Reparation Act, said Sen. Shannon […]