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Citizens United Ruling Protested in NM at Albuquerque Fed'l. Court

from the New Mexico News Connection - A statewide news service for New Mexico
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - A march in the Duke City on Friday is part of a national Day of Action that stretches from Bangor, Maine to San Diego, Calif. It marks the two-year anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court "Citizens United" decision and what it has come to represent. 

 

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The ruling has generated more than 100 grassroots challenges to the idea that corporations have the same free-speech rights as individuals. For some, the events are part of an effort to amend the U.S. Constitution. However, that is something Peter Simonson, executive director of the ACLU of New Mexico, considers dangerous.

"Any time you talk about amending the Constitution, it's a perilous venture - but more so when you're talking about amending what is arguably the most important citizen right, which is that of free speech."

While Simonson acknowledges concerns about the influence of big money in the electoral system, he supports other methods for addressing the effects of "Citizens United." One he suggests is putting a more rigorous public financing program in place for political campaigns.

"There could be further requirements to disclose the sources of contributions. There are ways of expanding mass communications oversight."

Tom Dent, event coordinator for Albuquerque's "Occupy the Courts" day of action, says the march and open mic at the federal courthouse are part of an effort to educate the public.

"This is the start of work on the local level. We plan to work with Albuquerque city councilors to get a local resolution passed."

Dent says additional efforts are under way to convince members of the New Mexico Legislature to consider a similar resolution opposing the "Citizens United" decision.
The march on Friday starts from Robinson Park at 11:30 a.m. and ends at the Pete Domenici Federal Courthouse with a rally until 3 p.m.
Beth Blakeman reporting, nmnc@newsservice.org.

Hispanic Leaders Call for Protection of NM Public Lands

from the New Mexico News Connection - A statewide news service for New Mexico
LAS CRUCES, N.M. - Hispanic leaders in southwestern New Mexico are calling on Congress and the president to permanently protect the Organ Mountains and nearby Desert Peaks region. Hundreds of letters from Latinos are being sent to Washington, D.C., asking for greater protections for public lands. 

John Muñoz, president of the Hispano Chamber of Commerce de Las Cruces, says the area is culturally important - particularly to Hispanics and Native Americans.

"The Camino Real or the Butterfield Trail, those are key as far as settlers in early times. For the Native Americans, some of these lands are mystical, and have a religious and cultural connection."

The Organ Mountains-Doña Ana County Conservation and Protection Act (S 1024) is sponsored by Sens. Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall. It isn't the first time the two New Mexico lawmakers have tried to protect nearly 400,000 acres of public land in Doña Ana County.

Muñoz also sees protecting these lands as an opportunity for a long-term economic boost for Hispanic workers and business owners struggling to make a living in the area. It has tourism and research value as home to thousands of ancient Native American petroglyphs and pictographs on canyon walls. 

Some of these lands have received interim protection as Wilderness Study Areas, but Muñoz says others are vulnerable to a variety of threats.

"If we leave these lands open and not protected, leave them open to development, it would mar the land that we have. It's like taking a classic painting and coming to it with crayons and making a mess of it."

Communities in Action and Faith (CAFÉ) Executive Director Sarah Nolan says the area that her faith-based community organization is seeking to protect offers something unique. 

"The Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks region ranges from 9,000-foot mountains to volcanic craters. Some things we are used to seeing are desert mule deer and three different species of quail, and we have javelina come through New Mexico here."

Passage of the bill would mean more than 271,000 acres designated as wilderness, and the creation of a National Conservation Area of over 100,000 acres around the Organ and Doña Ana Mountains and parts of Broad Canyon.
Beth Blakeman reporting, nmnc@newsservice.org

Ministry Advocates for NM's Poor in 2012 Legislative Session

from the New Mexico News Connection - A statewide news service for New Mexico
SANTA FE, N.M. - The 2012 legislative session could mean quality-of-life improvements for low-income New Mexicans, according to the Lutheran Advocacy Ministry-New Mexico. It is part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), and promotes state public policies and action for social and economic justice. 
Regarding the forthcoming session, Ruth Hoffman, director of the Lutheran Office of Governmental Ministry for New Mexico, says her organization will be focused primarily on holding the economic line for the state's lowest-income residents.
"We're looking at making sure that no further cuts are made to programs that impact people living in poverty in New Mexico, hoping to restore some of those cuts that were made in the last years."
The Lutheran Advocacy Ministry has developed an ambitious agenda for the legislative session. It includes a campaign called "Invest In Kids Now," to focus on getting a constitutional amendment on the ballot this fall to increase funding for early-childhood programs in New Mexico.
Hoffman says tax issues will also be a focus of the Lutheran Ministry. The group wants to be certain that whatever tax bills are passed, there is still enough revenue to meet the state's basic needs. She says one particular tax proposal that the ministry has supported for years is state Senator Peter Wirth's Combined Reporting bill - although so far, without success. Wirth is a Democrat from Santa Fe.
"This would require out-of-state corporations to pay corporation income tax here in New Mexico, just like in-state corporations do."
On the hunger front, Hoffman wants to see funding restored for food banks. Her organization also hopes to maintain the elementary school breakfast program. 
In terms of housing and homelessness issues, Hoffman says ELCA wants lawmakers to continue funding for shelters, and more.
"We're also supporting an increase in funding for our State Housing Trust Fund."

The State Housing Trust Fund is a grant fund for bricks-and-mortar projects that serve low-income people.

Also on this year's advocacy agenda are health care and immigration issues, including reinstating driver's licenses for undocumented immigrants

Beth Blakeman reporting, nmnc@newsservice.org.

Changes Proposed to NM Legislative Lottery Scholarship Program

from the New Mexico News Connection - A statewide news service for New Mexico
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Scholarships from the New Mexico Lottery could be getting harder to win. Some 75,000 students have benefited from the scholarships since 1996. However, the lottery is now predicting flat sales and flat revenues through 2016, in part due to casino competition. 
Gerry Bradley, research director with New Mexico Voices for Children, expects there will be more eligible students than money under the current application criteria.
"The lottery scholarship now is restricted to New Mexico high school graduates who go directly into college and maintain about a C average."
That means a lot of eligible students, and making matters worse is that tuition has continued to rise. Bradley sees additional trouble on the horizon with the possible emergence of online gambling, which could add even more competition for the lottery.
Bradley's organization suggests that the problem could be eased by reserving the lottery scholarships for those in financial need.
"Because of the pressure on the lottery scholarship, it would be redirected to students who meet a set of income eligibility requirements."
One area where the pressure could ease up a bit is tuition. Bradley says the legislature is considering increasing expenditures for higher education in fiscal year 2013 by 5.4 percent. 
"It looks better to me because the legislature is proposing to pay more into higher ed."
The New Mexico Legislature meets for a 30-day session beginning Jan. 17. The House Education Committees begin meeting Jan. 11.

When Small Business Really Means Big

from the New Mexico News Connection - A statewide news service for New Mexico
SANTA FE, N.M. - New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez has made boosting opportunities for small businesses in the state a priority, but several groups dealing with environmental and health care issues say those efforts are falling short.

One of the groups crying "foul" over the small business initiatives is Food and Water Watch. State organizer Eleanor Bravo says one of Martinez's early actions upon taking office was to form the "Small Business Friendly Task Force." Bravo says small is not what this task force is about.

"Well, it is neither small, nor business-friendly. It is made up of big lobbyist corporations."

Bravo says Martinez has been the target of numerous complaints that campaign contributors were recipients of special treatment resulting in regulation relief that led to the dismantling of rules already in place and to questionable lease awards.

The governor says she simply is trying to "create an environment where small businesses and entrepreneurs can thrive and hire workers." She added that "requires New Mexico to be competitive with other states so that New Mexico businesses do not flee elsewhere."

Barbara Webber, executive director of Health Action New Mexico, says big business is also calling the shots on health care reform. She points to the governor calling for a Medicaid redesign for New Mexico without involving the legislature, and sweeping health insurance changes, as prime examples.

"Transparency that she campaigned on has not always been in force. There may be an agenda and we don't know what that agenda is for sure."

Webber says the Martinez administration appears to be leaning toward big business in its dealings concerning the Health Insurance Exchange - so suspected because the industry-member group, Health Insurance Alliance, has been appointed to the exchange's board of directors. The Alliance has representatives from Lovelace, Presbyterian, Blue Cross-Blue Shield and United Health Care on its board, all large organizations.
Beth Blakeman reporting, nmnc@newsservice.org