Wednesday, January 21, 2004

Local legislators aim to protect store clerks, make ATVs safer, fight gambling addiction

Jane Moorman News-Bulletin Staff Writer; jmoorman@news-bulletin.com

State legislators arrived in Santa Fe Tuesday for the 2004 30-day legislative session with ideas about how to develop the state's budget for the upcoming years.

Some legislators will be taking bills they hope their fellow legislators will pass and Gov. Bill Richardson will sign. And each legislator will be working to bring home money for projects in their districts.

But the main goal for the elected officials is to develop a budget that balances with the state's revenues for fiscal year 2004.

"There is a lot more to this session than capital outlay appropriations," said Sen. Michael Sanchez, D-Dist. 29. "It's about balancing the cost of running the government and its ability to provide for the health and welfare of its citizens with the revenue it receives from taxes. It's a very difficult task."

Sanchez warns that people have to realize how tight the revenues are, and, as the tax cuts that were approved during last year's session become a reality in the future, things will become tougher.

"We have been told that we're headed for trouble," Sanchez said of the Legislative Finance Committee (LFC) report. "It may not be this year, but, a year or two down the road, the funds will be scarce and it's going to be difficult."

He says a good legislature looks 10, 20, 30, 50 years down the road to protect the state's finances for future generations.

"We've been careful over the last eight to 12 years to protect our reserves, which are there for times of bad economy," he said. "Other states have looked at New Mexico and asked how we have maintained a government that operates on a balanced budget. The state constitution's balanced-budget requirement keeps us there."

When comparing the Legislative Finance Committee's budget to the one prepared by the governor's finance council, there are differences.

One example is increased funds for public education. Richardson's budget includes $90 million of new funding while the LFC budget increases last year's funds by $69 million.

"It's hard to compare the two budgets at this point," Sanchez said on Friday. "I don't think they are so far apart. But there are differences in the plans. We're going to have to go page by page, line by line and decide how we want to spend the money."

While this legislative session's primary task is passing the state's budget, other bills will be introduced. Sanchez said this can be a problem with the amount of time available in a 30-day session.

"This means we have to split our time between the budget and other bills," he said. "When there are too many other bills, it means the legislature can't give its full attention to the bills or the budget.

"If we don't do the budget correctly and don't review the bills correctly, we aren't living up to our constitutional duties. And we would be doing a disservice to everyone."

Sanchez said he plans to introduce a bill regarding safety measures for convenience store clerks. "It will deal with proving a bullet-proof barrier between the clerk and public, having less cash on hand, visibility and requiring at least two employees on duty during all shifts," he said.

He also plans to re-introduce a bill regarding insurance companies using a credit-check rating to set rates for their customers.

Rep. Fred Luna, D-Dist. 8, who is entering his 34th year of serving in the House, said he will be looking to secure special appropriations for his county and working on bills introduced by the committees on which he serves.

Rep. Kandy Cordova, D-Dist. 7, will be a co-sponsor for an All Terrain Vehicle (ATV) safety requirements that will include mandatory training for the rider, licensing, minimum age requirements and helmets.

"I also plan to be more insistent regarding the gambling bill I have introduced during past sessions," Cordova said. "I want a study on the impact of Indian gaming on gambling addiction in our state. The bill passed both houses but was vetoed by the governor last session."

She also plans to present a bill that will give a tax break to people who are caregivers for elderly and ailing relatives.

Cordova also will introduce a bill requesting money to implement a solid-waste-collection plan for Valencia County.

Rep. Don Tripp, R-Dist. 49, plans to introduce a bill that will require proposed power plants to have water conservation plans.

"I'll introduce the bill that gives gross receipts tax relief on food-item sales. The bill allows the cities and counties to be held safe-harmless. Only the state portion will be reduced," Tripp said of the bill he has carried to the legislature for four years before Richardson made the issue one of his gubernatorial campaign projects.

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