New Mexico Legislature Sends REAL ID Bill To Governor – Associated Press
New Mexico's Legislature has approved a plan to make New Mexico compliant under the federal REAL ID Act.
The House of Representatives voted 65-1 on Monday to approve a Senate-amended bill.
Republican Gov. Susana Martinez has praised the legislation that would require immigrants in the country illegally to submit fingerprints before getting new "driving authorization cards." Those fingerprints would be given to the FBI for background checks.
Immigrants in the country illegally who currently have New Mexico driver's licenses can skip the fingerprinting requirement.
All state residents could apply for REAL ID compliant licenses or just authorization cards. The REAL ID Act requires proof of legal U.S. residency for those who want to use state identification to access certain areas of federal facilities.
New Mexico Senate Approves Budget Cuts – Associated Press
New Mexico's Senate has approved a $6.2 billion budget for the coming year that cuts spending and dips into reserves to offset a plunge in revenues linked to low oil prices.
The Senate voted 39-1 on Monday for a plan to shave general plan funding by $7 million. The House of Representatives still must approve the proposal, a major overhaul of a bill that began in the House.
Some spending increases next year would be preserved for state prisons, the Department of Public Safety, public schools, Medicaid and child protective services.
Most agencies will have to trim spending. Funding to state colleges and universities would decrease by nearly $20 million.
State analysts last week slashed revenue forecasts by $125 million both this year and next.
Group Creates Fund To Help New Mexico Ranchers, Farmers – The Associated Press
The New Mexico Farm and Livestock Bureau has created a fund to help farmers and ranchers as they recover from a brutal winter storm that killed an untold number of livestock and derailed the dairy industry.
The bureau announced the creation of its relief fund Tuesday. Individuals and county farm bureaus are among the contributors.
Bureau President Mike White says agriculture families are experiencing significant financial hardships as a result of the storm.
The bureau will be accepting applications for assistance through May 1st. Money from the fund will be distributed beginning in June.
The storm brought about two feet of snow, 80 mph gusts and freezing temperatures to some parts of eastern New Mexico in late December. Animals were lost and barns and fences were demolished.
Feds Funnel More Money To Eastern New Mexico Pipeline – The Associated Press
The federal government is funneling another $2 million toward a pipeline project aimed at bringing billions of gallons of water a year to parts of eastern New Mexico.
Members of the state's congressional delegation announced the funding from the Bureau of Reclamation on Tuesday.
Supporters of the project say this is the largest financial award to date.
The pipeline would bring water from Ute Reservoir to Cannon Air Force Base, Clovis, Portales and other communities along the Texas-New Mexico border. Officials say about 70,000 people would be served.
The project has been decades in the making to ease the strain on the Ogallala aquifer. But the price has ballooned to more than $550 million, and the Bureau of Reclamation has acknowledged it could end up costing $750 million.
New Mexico Governor Gets Long-Sought Driver's License Reform – The Associated Press
New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez finally got lawmakers to pass her long-sought revision of a state law that grants driver's licenses to immigrants in the country illegally.
But it came at a cost.
Since taking office, the Republican and nation's only Latina governor faced charges of racism and pushing an "anti-immigrant agenda." Critics called her a bad Catholic and questioned her administration's effort to seek more extensions from the U.S. Department of Homeland on tougher federal REAL ID mandates.
Martinez says she wanted to change law because of fraud, not immigration.
This weekend, the New Mexico Democratic-controlled Senate and GOP-led House passed a bill that would allow residents could apply for REAL ID driver's licenses or just driving authorization cards. The measure would allow immigrants to obtain the driving cards after submitting fingerprints.
Ex-Police Evidence Technician Pleads Guilty To Felonies – The Associated Press
A former evidence technician for the Farmington Police Department has pleaded guilty to several felony charges.
The Farmington Daily Times reports that 28-year-old Ashley Goodvoyce was accused in 2014 of stealing 600 prescription pills and cash from an evidence room.
She pleaded guilty on Feb. 3 to embezzlement, forgery, tampering with public records and controlled-substance possession.
Prosecutors won't oppose a probation request for Goodvoyce, who has no prior criminal history.
Goodvoyce's attorney, Arlon Stoker, says his client didn't need drug counseling, but was seeing a therapist to address other emotional issues.
Prosecutor Dustin O'Brien says he wasn't aware of any cases being dismissed because of the missing evidence.
O'Brien says Goodvoyce took pills out of packages that were already slated for destruction because the cases had concluded.
Authorities Say Device Found Under Rental Car Was Hoax Bomb – Associated Press
Authorities now say a suspicious device found on a rental car at Albuquerque's airport was a hoax pipe bomb, not a real one.
The device was found Sunday under a returned car at a car-rental business next to Albuquerque International Sunport.
A bomb unit secured the device, which police spokesman Simon Drobik initially said Monday had a battery ignition system that included an electronic timer.
Drobik said federal authorities told police later Monday that the device was a hoax made to appear to be a real bomb.
A spokesman for the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, confirmed that the device was a hoax.
ATF spokesman Tom Mangan said the device appeared real but that an examination found that it lacked explosive material and was a hoax.
DA Will Appeal Ruling On Sentencing Of Teen In Murder Case – Associated Press
A New Mexico prosecutor says she'll appeal a judge's decision to sentence as a juvenile a teen who pleaded guilty to killing his parents and three younger siblings.
Bernalillo County District Attorney Kari Brandenburg announced Monday that her office decided late Friday to appeal the ruling regarding 18-year-old Nehemiah Griego because of what Brandbenburg called "our continued pursuit of justice."
A children's court judge ruled Thursday that he would sentence Griego as a juvenile because Grieg had shown he is receptive to psychological treatment.
Sentencing as a juvenile would mean that Griego would be released from state custody by the time he turns 21. He was 15 when his five family members were shot and killed.
Griego has been undergoing therapy since May 2014 at a state facility for adolescents.
CNM To Eliminate 100 Jobs – KOB-TV
Central New Mexico Community College said it would eliminate 100 jobs.
KOB-TV reports that CNM officials cited cuts in state funding and lower tuition revenue from enrollment drops as the reason behind the announcement.
CNM says it has offered employees eligible for retirement an added incentive of $500 annually for each year they worked at CNM.
Officials said they will try to cut back through retirement packages but it may need to explore other ways to eliminate those positions.
Corrales Judge Already Suspended From Job Agrees To Resign – Albuquerque Journal, Associated Press
A Corrales municipal judge suspended from his job last month has resigned.
The Albuquerque Journal cites court records that say Luis Quintana's resignation went into effect late Monday.
The state Supreme Court issued a Jan. 11 order that suspended Quintana.
A petition by the Judicial Standards Commission explained that Quintana had been accused of, among other things, misappropriating a client's workers' compensation settlement funds and failing to make full restitution.
Judicial Standards Commission Executive Director Randall Roybal says Quintana and the commission reached an agreement in which he would resign in lieu of further disciplinary proceedings.
Quintana was disbarred in July, more than a year and a half after the client had filed a complaint claiming that her $4,500 settlement check was never turned over to her.
New Mexico Supreme Court Censures Judge For Improper Contact – Associated Press
The New Mexico Supreme Court has censured a Santa Fe-based state judge who acknowledged she shouldn't have discussed a case with an attorney for one of the sides.
The Supreme Court on Thursday censured Judge Sarah Singleton of the 1st Judicial District while accepting a settlement between Singleton and the Judicial Standards Commission.
Singleton acknowledged she shouldn't have spoken on the phone with the lawyer for a man who had just won a $165 million jury award FedEx in a wrongful death case in Singleton's court.
Singleton disclosed the contact to all parties in the case and stepped down from the case. The jury verdict is now being appealed.
Singleton agreed in the settlement agreement to have the Supreme Court's censure of her published in a New Mexico legal publication.
Senate Committee OKs Bill On Mexican Gray Wolf Release – Associated Press
The Arizona Senate attorney responsible for reviewing the constitutionality of legislation says a measure requiring prior state approval for the release of Mexican gray wolves into the wild is likely pre-empted by federal law.
The Senate's Republican-controlled Rules Committee advanced the measure anyway Monday on a party-line vote.
Sen. Gail Griffin of Hereford is sponsoring Senate Bill 1243. It requires the Arizona Game and Fish Commission to approve any wolf release, prevents release near state trust land or private property and requires a full DNA profile of each released wolf.
About 110 Mexican gray wolves roam a portion of Arizona and New Mexico nearly two decades after the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service released 11 wolves.
Senate President Andy Biggs says he doesn't necessarily agree with the committee attorney's analysis.
New Mexico State Police issued an endangered child alert late Monday on behalf of the Valencia County Sheriff's Department.
State Police Issues Endangered Child Alert - KOB-TV
KOB-TV reports they are looking to find 24-year-old Nicholas Vallejos to question him about a boy named Kenneth he was seen with Monday in Los Lunas.
State police say that if Kenneth is not located soon, he is believed to be in danger.
Vallejos is described as 6-foot-2 and 175 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes.
He was last seen driving a white 1999 Honda Accord two-door with New Mexico plate MZF141.
Congressional Panel Seeks Fetal Tissue Information – Albuquerque Journal
The University of New Mexico and an Albuquerque abortion provider along with a California company are slated to get subpoenas for not complying with an investigation.
The Albuquerque Journal reports Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., plans to seek information from Southwestern Women’s Options, UNM and StemExpress, a California company that prepares human fetal tissue for research.
StemExpress said in a statement that the Select Investigative Panel on Infant Lives is seeking confidential client information and the identity of scientists and researchers. Blackburn was not immediately available for comment.
An attorney for Southwestern Women’s Options said the clinic has provided the information sought by the committee. A UNM spokesman said staff would meet the Feb. 16 deadline to submit documents.
Abortion providers are banned from selling fetal tissue but they can transfer it to medical researchers and recover costs of processing and shipping the material.