Local legislators hear Capital Outlay requests

A quartet of Republican lawmakers, including rookie Alan Martinez, listened intently to Capital Outlay requests as well as comments on current or possible future legislation Saturday afternoon at a 2 ½-hour legislative town hall in the boardroom of the Rio Rancho Public Schools district offices.

The four were expected to be in Santa Fe on Tuesday when the New Mexico Legislature’s 60-day session was to begin. In addition to Martinez, who defeated former RRPS Board of Education member Ramon Montano for the District 23 seat in the House, were Reps. Carl Harper (District 57) and Joshua Hernandez (District 60), plus state Sen. Craig Brandt (District 40), the Senate’s minority whip.

The state has $3.6 billion – “with a B,” Harper noted – in estimated “new dollars,” the difference between projected revenue and current spending levels.

“We want to make sure we are spending that money correctly, wisely, being prudent with our money,” Harper said. “We come together as your Rio Rancho representatives and pool our resources to try to fully fund projects, and there’s always more asked than there is money.

“We do our best to work together and prioritize requests,” he said. “We try to help wherever we can.”

“Open and transparent,” Harper added, was the way the local legislators want to be with their constituents, hence the annual get-together. “The session starts next week. What’s important to you and what should we be focusing on?”

Some of the lists were long – namely, those from the city of Rio Rancho and Rio Rancho Public Schools. Some were quite short, but all of the requests were necessary, as entities sought money for new buildings, shoring up old buildings, vehicles, etc.

Rio Rancho Mayor Gregg Hull broke his requests into three sections: quality of life, public safety and infrastructure.

Rio Rancho Public Schools Chief Operation Officer Mike Baker emphasized the district’s quest to open and equip its new CTE building and the need to streamline traffic flow in that area – including the need for a traffic light at Zenith Court’s intersection with NM 528, in spite of its proximity to a traffic light on NM 528 at Obregon Road/Corrales Road.

Also logging time speaking before the four legislators were Sandoval County Manager Wayne Johnson, administrators for two city charter schools (The ASK Academy and SABE), and the Southern Sandoval County Arroyo and Flood Control Authority (SSCAFCA).

“We can spend anything you have – anything you give us,” was the way new Corrales Mayor James Fahey put it.

A handful of individuals spoke after the Capital Outlay requests, commenting on topics like rental property, artificial intelligence, the Public Regulation Commission, pro-life and the maximum size of magazines for guns.

The legislators also briefly outlined legislation they will be “carrying” during the sessions. Among those the lawmakers discussed were:

Harper: $1 million benefit for fallen firefighters; tax reform, and gross receipts tax as it applies to internet sales.

Martinez: Improving accountability and transparency in the Children, Youth and Families Department.

“I was shocked to hear that their standard operating procedures are not available to the general public, which means that if I want to be a foster parent, I don’t even know what the requirements are, because they won’t tell me.”

Also, he said he’s opposed to the bills that are “anti-gun.”

“I will stand against every gun bill that has been introduced to this point. I am a responsible gun owner and I don’t want to be punished for somebody else doing something bad with a gun, because criminals don’t really care – that the gun they’re using carries more than nine bullets – but I am going to be punished if my gun carries more than nine bullets.”

He’ll also carry some veterans bills, “some bills that I think are very common-sense.”

Hernandez: Economic, small business and a retail crime package.

Brandt: Once again, he’s focused on making gun threats a felony, rather than a misdemeanor; phoning in a bomb threat is a felony, yet making threats of shooting up a school, for example, is labeled as a misdemeanor.

“I was going to limit (new bills) to four, but I’m up to eight.” Among them is a term-limit bill, with senators and their six-year new terms and four-year terms for House representatives limited to three terms, and making judges non-partisan throughout the state.

Brandt, who basically ran the session and, although it wasn’t necessary, gaveled it to a close at about 5:30, said, “I always appreciate the public comment. I knew about all the bills, but it’s kinda good to hear from your constituents that they feel the same way that you are about those bills.

“And I didn’t really know about the AI; that was kinda new,” he said. “I’m real excited about the future of AI … I think we would be much safer with cars that drove themselves, because the No. 1 cause of accidents is human mistakes – driver error … I drive back and forth from Florida because my daughter lives there, and if I can sleep all the way there, I’d be a happy man.”