On June 28, 2019, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham announced the creation of a Cannabis Legalization Working Group. The task force will consist of at least 19 members including the Democratic and Republican legislators who sponsored unsuccessful legislation this year to authorize and tax recreational marijuana sales at state run stores. The group also includes representative of a labor union, sheriff’s department, health care business, Native American tribes, medical cannabis businesses, a county government association, and commercial bank and hospital company. Albuquerque City Councilor Pat Davis has been appointed the Chairman of the cannabis legalization working group.

https://www.krqe.com/top-stories/new-mexico-governor-seeks-ideas-for-recreational-pot-law/

The Working Group or Task Force will make recommendations to the governor that will be incorporated into proposed legislation to be introduced in the 2020 legislative session. Governor Lujan Grisham said after the Legislature adjourned on March 21, 2019 that she would add the issue of legalizing recreational marijuana use to the agenda of next year’s 30-day session.

Eleven states thus far have legalized recreational marijuana. Candidate for Governor Lujan Grisham said last year that she supports legalizing the recreational use of marijuana for adults but with a few caveats: it must be done in a way that addresses workplace intoxication and driving under the influence and it must be done in a way that keeps it away from children and meet other requirements of regulation, production, sale and distribution.

Governor Lujan Grisham in announcing the task force had this to say:

“I want New Mexico’s introduction and management of recreational cannabis to be the envy of the country … We can and will incorporate lessons learned from other states so that New Mexico provides for a well-regulated industry that, crucially, does not infringe on or harm our expanding medical cannabis program, upon which so many New Mexicans rely.”

Legalization of recreational marijuana has proven to very lucrative for the 11 states that have done so. It has also increased problems for those states. Governor Lujan Grisham suggested that revenue generated by legalizing recreational marijuana use and taxing its sales could be used at least in part to bolster New Mexico’s mental health treatment system.

https://www.abqjournal.com/1334408/nm-governor-creates-group-to-study-cannabis-legalization.html

SHORT LEGAL HISTORY OF RECREATIONAL USE OF MARIJUANA LAWS

Since 1970 the federal government has classified marijuana as an illegal Schedule I Control Substance, making it illegal to produce, possess and sell marijuana. However, voters have had a chance to weigh in on state legalization of marijuana in multiple states.

The first state to legalize medical marijuana was California in 1996. In 2007, New Mexico enacted laws allowing the medical use of marijuana, but not the recreational use. As of 2018, the most recent defeat of a medical marijuana measure was in Florida in 2014.

As of 2019, 33 states and Washington, D.C., have passed laws legalizing or decriminalizing medical marijuana. 13 states have legalized the use of cannabis oil, one of the non-psychoactive ingredients found in marijuana, for medical purposes. Seventeen of the states that have legalized medical marijuana did so through citizen-initiated ballot measures, and the other 16 did so through legislative action.

2012 is when the first states legalized marijuana for recreational use in state law. As of 2019, in nine states voters have approved ballot measures to legalize the recreational use of marijuana and Vermont legalized recreational marijuana through legislative action.

https://ballotpedia.org/History_of_marijuana_on_the_ballot

2019 NEW MEXICO LEGISLATURE’S ATTEMPTS TO LEGALIZE RECREATIONAL USE OF MARIJUANA

Attempts to legalize recreational marijuana use in New Mexico have been extremely difficult during the last 8 years, predominately because of strong opposition from the former Republican Governor “She Who Must Not Be Named” and those conservative Republican and Democrat legislators who should be named. During the 2019 New Mexico Legislature which ended March 15, 2019, that changed with the election of Governor Mitchell Lujan Grisham and the most progress was made when one bill actually made it through the New Mexico House of Representatives.

HOUSE BILL 356

On March 7, 2019 the state House passed House Bill 356 (HB 356) with a two-vote majority of 36 to 34. HB 356 was the first recreational marijuana proposal ever passed by one of New Mexico’s legislative chambers. HB 356 was legislation that was the result of bipartisan efforts and talks involving House Democrats and Senate Republicans. Every Republican Representative in the House voted against HB 356 joining 10 Democrats in opposition to it. All previous efforts of marijuana legalization have failed in the Senate because of skepticism from conservative Democrats in the Senate.

HB 356 bill included a provision for state run and regulated stores. The compromise bill required people to keep receipts showing they purchased their marijuana legally, and they could carry only 1 ounce of cannabis and couldn’t grow it on their own. House Bill 356 was a broad marijuana legalization proposal and dedicated some of the tax revenue from cannabis sales to research into cannabis impairment, purchasing roadside testing equipment for law enforcement and to train police officers as drug recognition experts when drivers are stopped. The bill made it clear that employers could still maintain drug-free workplace policies.

The bipartisan HB 356 stalled in the Senate and never made it to the full Senate for passage. The legislation failed when the session was adjourned on March 21, 2019.

SENATE BILL 577

Senate Bill 577 was the New Mexico Senate’s version of legislation that would legalize the recreational use of marijuana. It included state run stores. The 3 Republican Senator sponsors Cliff Pirtle, Mark Moors and Craig Brandt argue that legalization is inevitable and that state-run stores would help limit exposure to children and allow New Mexico regulators to respond to problems. State run stores appealed to many because it would have given the state strong regulatory controls and make it easier to keep cannabis products away from children.

Under the Senate proposed legislation, New Mexico itself would get into the cannabis business by operating a network of retail stores to sell marijuana to adults 21 and older. A state “Cannabis Control Commission” would have been created to operate cannabis shops by summer 2020. The marijuana would have been sold on consignment, meaning the state would not own the cannabis.

Under the Senate Bill, recreational marijuana would have been grown by private businesses under a complex regulatory system and sold only at state-run stores, with limited exceptions. It would have given the state tremendous control over where and how the products would have been sold and who could have gotten their product to customers. According to the Drug Policy Alliance, the system proposed for state run recreational cannabis stores would have been the first of its kind for recreational marijuana in the United States.

Senate Bill 577 never made it through the State Senate and the legislation failed when the session was adjourned on March 21, 2019.

CHANGES MADE TO NEW MEXICO’S MEDICAL CANNABIS LAW

There are over 70,000 people enrolled statewide in New Mexico’s medical cannabis program. During the 2019 New Mexico Legislative session, the legislature enacted changes to the medical cannabis laws giving more workplace protections to those enrolled in the program. In April, 2019, Governor Lujan Grisham signed into law the changes made by the legislature to the program and the changes took effect on July 1, 2019.

Two of the major changes involve work place protections for those enrolled in the program and are:

1. The law now provides that it is unlawful in most circumstances for an employer to fire or otherwise discipline a worker based on allowable conduct under the state’s medical marijuana program. It is not clear whether this change in the law will affect employers with policies that require drug testing of applicants before they are hired, with a positive test precluding their hiring regardless of whether they have a medical marijuana card.

2. The second major change to the law specifies that employers can still establish policies barring use of medical marijuana on the job or showing up under the influence of the drug and take action against employees who violate the policy. Concern has been raised in the business community that anything that would limit an employer’s ability to enforce their drug-free workplace programs would be problematic.

New Mexico State Senator Jerry Ortiz y Pino, the sponsor of the legislation, said in an Albuquerque Journal interview the changes are not intended to render drug-free workplace policies untenable, but acknowledged lawmakers may have to revisit the issue in the future to further fine-tune language in the law.

Three other major changes to New Mexico’s medical cannabis law include:

1. Allowing medical marijuana in schools, under certain circumstances.
2. Extending the length of an approved patient identification card from one year to three years.
3. Mandating that a licensed medical marijuana user cannot be denied an organ transplant on the basis of their participation in the program.

https://www.abqjournal.com/1335093/medical-cannabis-law-changes-may-spark-confusion-ex-business-leaders-concerned-about-enforcing-drugfree-workplace-rules.html

NEW MEXICO REDUCES CRIMINAL PENALTIES

During the 2019 New Mexico legislative session, lawmakers enacted legislation that reduces criminal penalties for possession of small amounts of marijuana. In April 2019, Governor Lujan Grisham signed into law Senate Bill 323 that makes first-time possession of up to a half ounce a petty misdemeanor offense, punishable by a $50 fine. It also decriminalizes possession of drug paraphernalia, making New Mexico the first state to do so in the country. The reduced criminal penalties go into effect on July 1, 2019.

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

Albuquerque City Councilor Pat Davis has been appointed the Chair of the Cannabis Legalization Working Group. Pat Davis has a reputation as opportunist and always promoting himself and his own personal political agenda. Last year, Davis ran for US Congress in the First Congressional District but withdrew from the race when he polled at 3% and could not raise the money to run a viable campaign. Before Davis withdrew from the congressional race, Davis accused the then Democrat front runner of being a “racist” which was an absolute lie and he has never apologized for it. While he served on the City Task Force formed to propose changes to the City Public Finance law, Davis declined to advocate meaningful changes to Albuquerque’s public finance laws making it easier for candidates to qualify for public finance. The only change Davis agreed to was increasing the amount of money candidates get and not the process of collecting the donations to qualify and not expanding the time to collect qualifying donations.

The likelihood of the success of the task force should be considered high given the fact that it appears bipartisan and will consist of at least 19 state lawmakers, Cabinet secretaries, law enforcement officials and medical marijuana executives that will study other states’ experiences with legalizing cannabis use. The task force members consist of people that have actually worked on the issue of marijuana legalization and legislation on a statewide basis, they understand it completely and how the New Mexico legislature operates. You cannot say the same for the appointed chair of the task force. A member of the legislature such as State Senator Jerry Ortiz y Pino who has an understanding of the issue should be appointed to chair the task force.

With the creation and appointment of the Cannabis Legalization Working Group Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham is laying the groundwork for a legalization bill to make it to her desk in 2020. With over 6 months before the 2020 legislative session starts in January, it is very likely that the task force will be able to come up with a framework for a few proposed bills ready to go by late November, giving enough time for interim legislative committees to review the proposals and perhaps even finding sponsors.

One major option that should be considered is placing the issue on the ballot for voters to decide, which has been done in other states. Further, the task force will provide the opportunity to fine tune the language in the medical cannabis laws giving more workplace protections to those enrolled in the program so as not to render drug-free workplace policies untenable.

POSTSCRIPT

You can review related media coverage at the below links:

https://www.kob.com/politics-news/recreational-marijuana-bill-advances-in-legislature-/5273956/?cat=500

https://www.abqjournal.com/1289448/marijuana-compromise-emerges-in-capitol.html

https://www.krqe.com/news/bill-legalizing-recreational-marijuana-to-hit-senate-floor/1839034177

https://www.kob.com/politics-news/recreational-marijuana-bill-advances-in-legislature-/5273956/?cat=500

In 2014 the landmark case of “Yazzie-Martinez” was filed by the New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund. The lawsuit alleged that the state of New Mexico and the previous Republican Governor Administration violated the constitutional rights of at-risk students by failing to provide them with a sufficient education in reading, writing and math.

On July 20, 2018, after a two-week trial and days of expert testimony, a Santa Fe District Court found that the constitutional rights of at-risk students were indeed violated and ordered the state to properly fund the Public Education Department and implement new policies. Soon after assuming office on January 1, 2019, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham announced that her Administration would not appeal the District Court ruling setting the stage for public education reform and funding for the 2019 New Mexico legislative session.

After almost a full year after the court ruling and close to 4 months after the 2019 legislative session, the Plaintiff’s filed a status report on the State’s Public Education Department’s (PED) compliance with the Court’s ruling. Further, the PED announced a significant shortfall in fund programs for state prekindergarten classes in the coming school year.

This article is intended to give an overview of the court ruling, legislative funding, the court filed status report, and the reported shortfall in funding for pre-kindergarten programs.

DETAILS OF DISTRICT COURT RULING

The landmark lawsuit filed against the state and the Public Education Department alleged a severe lack of state funding, resources and services to help students, particularly children from low-income families, students of color, including Native Americans, English-language learners and students with disabilities. The court ruling confirmed what went on for 8 years with the state’s at-risk children under the former Republican Governor “She Who Must Not Be Named”. The Judge found that it was clear that many New Mexico students are not receiving the basic education in reading, writing and math they should be receiving in our public-school system. According to the court ruling, during the 8 years of the former Republican Governor Administration at-risk children finish each school year without the basic literacy and math skills needed to pursue post-secondary education or a career.

In the blistering written opinion, the Judge wrote:

“[The evidence presented at trial] proves that the vast majority of New Mexico’s at-risk children finish each school year without the basic literacy and math skills needed to pursue post-secondary education or a career. … Indeed, overall New Mexico children rank at the very bottom in the country for educational achievement. … The at-risk students are still not attaining proficiency at the rate of non-at-risk students … and the programs being lauded by [the Public Education Department] are not changing this picture.”

In New Mexico, 71.6% of the state’s public-school students come from low-income families, and 14.4% are English-language learners. Further, 14.8 percent of students have disabilities, and 10.6 percent are Native American. Judge Singleton addressing proficiency rates for Native American students said that in the past 3 years, those students’ reading proficiency was at 17.6% and their math proficiency was at 10.4%.

https://www.abqjournal.com/1200069/questions-surround-ruling-on-nm-education-funding.html

The Court found that New Mexico does not have enough teachers and that New Mexico teachers are among the lowest paid in the country and stated:

“The evidence shows that school districts do not have the funds to pay for all the teachers they need. … [An example is] Gadsden, one of the better performing school districts in the state, has had to eliminate over 53 classroom positions and 15 essential teachers since 2008.”

The Court also faulted the former Republican Governor’s Administration’s failure to provide access to technology in rural districts.

The Judge addressed the state teacher evaluation system implemented by the previous Republican Governor Administration by saying:

“[The teacher evaluation system] may be contributing to the lower quality of teachers in high-need schools. … In general, punitive teacher evaluation systems that penalize teachers for working in high-need schools contribute to problems in this category of schools.”

The Court rejected the former Republican Governor Administration’s arguments that no new funding is needed because at-risk student performances are improving.

In the original court ruling filed on July 20, 2018, the State was given until April 15, 2019 to present plans to come into compliance.

NEW MEXICO LEGISLATURE PED FUNDING

The 2019 New Mexico Legislature that ended March 15, 2019 approved a $7 Billion State Budget. The $7 Billion State budget includes a $3.2 Billion Public Education Department (PED) budget. The PED approved budget represents a 16% increase over last year’s budget. Included in the budget is $500 million in additional funding for K-12 education and increases in teacher pay. The massive infusion of funding to public education is the result of the District Court ruling that ruled the state of New Mexico is violating the constitutional rights of at-risk students by failing to provide them with a sufficient education.

Early childhood programs were also given a major increase in funding by the 2019 New Mexico legislature. Under the enacted 2019-2020 budget, every public-school district will be allocated significantly more funding. Teachers and school administrators were also given a 6% pay raises with more money to hire teachers.

A new “Early Childhood Department” was created starting in January 2020. This was a major priority of Governor Lujan Grisham. The new department will focus state resources on children from birth to 5 years of age. A major goal of the new department, coupled with other investments, is more New Mexico children growing up to secure gainful employment as adults who don’t require government services.

STATUS REPORT

On Friday, June 21 2019, the Plaintiff’s who prevailed in the landmark public education case against the state filed a pleading giving their update to the district court on the status of the case. According to the update pleading filed, the state and lawmakers still have not done enough to ensure all students have access to an adequate education.

According to the Plaintiff’s status report:

“The court was quite clear about what needed to be done. But instead of doing these things, the legislature again simply followed its old mode of operation: it took last year’s budget, made some adjustments, with some steps forward and some steps backwards, and, in the end, left us with a patchwork system of education and inadequate funding that continues to fail our students … The legislature failed to sufficiently fund the education budget to ensure schools had sufficient resources for their at-risk students. … [the] plaintiffs have determined from [their research] that the outcome of the 2019 Legislative Session was anything but the ‘moonshot’ as claimed by legislative leadership. … Instead, after making required raises, districts are left with little or no money to implement additional programming, supports and services for at-risk students.”

The Plaintiff’s report to the district court alleges that notwithstanding the 16% increase and the $447 million spending infusion for public schools, the state and lawmakers still have not done enough to ensure all students have access to an adequate education. The plaintiffs argue the boosts in education funding primarily went to pay for mandated educator salary increases. The Legislature authorized pay raises of at least 6% for teachers and other school staff for the coming school year and set starting teacher pay at a minimum of $41,000 per year.

The update court filing takes notice of the uptick in an at-risk factor within the state’s school funding formula and highlights monies set aside for extended learning programs. However, the pleading says more needs to be done to make sure kids have the needed teachers, programs and services. The plaintiffs did not ask the judge to intervene and are working with the PED on an implementation plan to remedy and comply with the judge’s orders.

https://www.abqjournal.com/1334649/filing-state-not-doing-enough-for-atrisk-students.html

$7.3 MILLION MORE NEEDED FOR PRE KINDERGARTEN PROGRAMS

On June 20, 2019, officials with the Public Education Department (PED) reported that an additional $7.3 million is needed to fund programs for state prekindergarten classes in the coming school year. The additional funding is due to a significant increase in demand of the students who have applied for the 2019-2020 school year.

Last year, approximately 6,700 kids attended full- and half-day programs. According to PED officials, 7,767 applications have been submitted for the coming school year. Among the 7,767 applicants a much larger interest is shown in full-day programs. Full day programs are more expensive than half-day programs.

Last year, 3,554 kids were enrolled in half-day pre-kindergarten programs and 3,220 enrolled in full-day programs. According to PED officials, more than 5,000 students are applying to get into 2019-2020 full-day programs. Just 2,671 student applications have been submitted for half-day.

In 2018-2019, PED was allocated a total budget of $36.7 million for pre kindergarten programs. For the 2019-2020 school year, PED’s total pre-kindergarten budget is $42.5 million. According to the Legislative Finance Committee (LFC), the amount has gone up significantly over a decade, increasing by at least $9 million.

The Public Education Department is scrambling to determine where the needed $7 million could come from, including seeking money from New Mexico lawmakers or shifting around internal funds. PED can ask for more money in the form of supplemental appropriations from the Legislature, those appropriations can be authorized only when the full Legislature is in session, which is not scheduled to happen until January.

https://www.abqjournal.com/1330707/ped-7m-more-needed-to-fund-201920-prek-requests.html

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

The 2019-2020 approved budget enacted by the New Mexico legislature became effective July 1, 2019, meaning absolutely not a single cent of the $7 Billion Dollar budget could have been spent by any government agency until then. The $7 Billion State budget includes a $3.2 Billion Public Education Department (PED) budget with a massive 16% infusion of additional funding. It is for this reason it is very hard to determine how much credibility should be given to the June 21, 2019 Plaintiff’s status report when it reports:

“The legislature failed to sufficiently fund the education budget to ensure schools had sufficient resources for their at-risk students. … [the] plaintiffs have determined from [their research] that after making required raises, districts are left with little or no money to implement additional programming, supports and services for at-risk students.”

It is likely the State will be submitting it’s own status report in response to the June 21, 2019 Plaintiff’s status report and give it own version of what has happened in carrying out the Court’s order.

It is very hard to determine how much credibility should be given to the June 20, 2019 Public Education Department claim that an additional $7.3 million is needed to fund programs for state prekindergarten classes in the coming school year. The statistics offered by PED to explain the shortfall are that approximately 6,700 kids attended full-day and half-day programs last year and that 7,767 applications have been submitted for the coming school year. Among the 7,767 applicants, a much larger interest is shown in full-day programs but PED offers no details. In other words, PED is claiming it needs $7.3 Million more for 167 more students without giving a breakdown of the number of full-day applicants in the 7,767-applicant pool.

The Appropriation Committees and Education Committees of both the New Mexico House and Senate need to convene interim committee hearing and start asking some hard questions as to how the PED $3.2 Billion Budget is actually being spent.

It is going to take far more than one legislative session to repair the damage done during the last 8 years to the State’s education system. It will take years of sustained effort before New Mexico’s public education system will get better. It will take a real commitment by the New Mexico Legislature to realize that New Mexico has an education crisis and now is the time to act. For these reasons, the debate over using a small portion of the state’s $17 billion Land Grant Permanent fund for early childhood education, care and intervention needs to continue. Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham should continue her efforts to give major attention to use of the State’s Land Grant and Permanent Fund to finally solve many of our early childhood education, care and intervention problems.

You can read a related blog article at the below link:

NM’s Disgraceful Legacy of Child Hunger, Illiteracy and Well Being; Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s Goal To Ending Child Hunger Within One Year

The number one favorite photo opportunity of former Republican Governor “She Who Must Not Be Named” over her entire 8 years as Governor of New Mexico, was reading children’s books to kids ages 6 to 10 in public schools. New Mexico has learned the real reason why the Republican Governor was reading to the children: the kids were not proficient enough to read their own books out loud to the Republican Governor. Last year in a District Court landmark case, the court ruled that the former Republican Governor’s failed education policies contributed to New Mexico’s failed public education system.

It is also likely all those New Mexico school children the Republican Governor was reading to could only hear the sound of their empty stomachs “grumbling” from being empty from hunger. New Mexico’s is ranked #1 in child hunger. New Mexico has a shameful legacy of child hunger, child illiteracy and child well being, but there are reasons for hope.

DISGRACEFUL LEGACY OF CHILD HUNGER: STATE RANKS #1 IN CHILD HUNGER

Feeding America is the largest hunger-relief organization in the United States. It has a network of 200 food banks and 60,000 food pantries and meal programs scattered throughout the United States. Altogether, the network of organizations it has provides meals to more than 46 million people each year.

Every year, Feeding American conducts a survey known as the “Map the Meal Gap” annual report to identify the extent of at risk of childhood hunger and “food insecurity.” Food insecurity is defined as “inability of individuals or families to know where a portion of their food will come from at any given time.”

According to the just-released 2019 report from Feeding America, 24.1% of children and young teenagers age 18 and younger in New Mexico, or one of every four children, are at risk of childhood hunger and food insecurity making New Mexico’s rank dead last in the country. In 2018 the “Map the Meal Gap” also ranked New Mexico as dead last, and in the 2017, the state ranked 49th.

Arkansas is this year’s 49th place holder with 23.6% of children at risk for childhood hunger followed by Louisiana ranked 48th with 23% and Mississippi at 47th with 22.9%. According to the “Map the Meal Gap” report, the states with the fewest percentage of kids who are at risk of food hunger are North Dakota, ranked first with 9.8% of kids, followed by Massachusetts at 11.7%, New Hampshire with 12.3% and Minnesota with 12.6%.

What is striking is how pervasive hunger in New Mexico really is. The Map the Meal Gap reported that 324,000 people of all ages or 15.8% in the State of New Mexico are at risk of hunger. The report ranked the worst five counties in New Mexico with the highest percentage of child hunger and they are: McKinley County with 33.5%, Luna County with 33.4%; Cibola and Catron Counties each with 30.4%; and Sierra County 27.8%.

According to Roadrunner Food Bank spokeswoman, Sonya Warwick, the actual cause of the problem are many factors and she said:

“In some instances, that food insecurity results from adults in a family having unreliable seasonal jobs, or hourly workers suddenly finding that their hours were reduced, people who are unemployed or underemployed, those facing homelessness, domestic violence or health issues. … [Many people fall into the gray area] “where they’re still very poor, but make just over what might qualify them for federal food assistance programs.”

The biggest single factor causing New Mexico’s child hunger and “food insecurity” is the number of children who live in poverty. New Mexico is near the top of this list also. A spokeswoman for New Mexico Voices for Children, said 27% of kids in our state live in poverty, ranking us 49th on this list, tied with Mississippi, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Only Louisiana fares worse, ranked in 50th place with 28% of kids living in poverty.

https://www.abqjournal.com/1310364/new-mexico-again-leads-nation-in-child-hunger.html

DISGRACEFUL LEGACY OF CHILD ILLITERACY: STATE RANKS LAST IN PUBLIC EDUCATION

On January 22, 2019, the annual Quality Counts report by the national Education Week magazine was released. The study found that New Mexico is dead last or 50th out of 50 states and the District of Columbia, with a score of 66.2, or a D when it comes to public education. Mississippi edged out New Mexico with a D+ this year, earning a score of 66.8. Nevada earned 65 or a D grade. The national studies say that a high poverty rate is hindering children.

Quality Counts, now in its 22nd year, reviews three components of each state’s education system: funding distribution, student achievement and what the report calls its “chance-for-success” index. New Mexico earned a D + in the chance for success index which measures an education system’s effect on children from preschool to college and career. The state showed slight gains in the number of children enrolled in early childhood education programs and a bump in its high school graduation rate over the year.

New Mexico earned its worst grade, a D-, in achievement. Scores on standardized tests in the state remain dismal, with just 19.7% of students in grades 3-11 showing proficiency in math and 28.6% proficiency in language arts on the most recent round of PARCC exams, administered by a consortium of states called the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers.

https://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/education/report-n-m-ranked-next-to-last-for-public-education/article_19cf834f-9c1b-55dd-b863-762805fbc4b9.html

On July 20, 2018, a Santa Fe District Court ruled in the landmark case of “Yazzie-Martinez”, filed in 2014 by the New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund alleging that the state of New Mexico and the Republican Governor Administration was violating the constitutional rights of at-risk students by failing to provide them with a sufficient education in reading, writing and math. The lawsuit alleged a severe lack of state funding, resources and services to help students, particularly children from low-income families, students of color, including Native Americans, English-language learners and students with disabilities.

In the blistering District Court ruling against New Mexico’s Public Education System under the previous Republican Governor Administration, the District Court found “the vast majority of New Mexico’s at-risk children finish each school year without the basic literacy and math skills needed to pursue post-secondary education or a career. … overall New Mexico children rank at the very bottom in the country for educational achievement.” According to the court ruling, in New Mexico, 71.6% of the state’s public-school students come from low-income families, and 14.4% are English-language learners. 14.8 percent of students have disabilities, and 10.6 percent are Native American.

DISGRACEFUL LEGACY OF CHILDREN LAST IN CHILD WELL BEING

The Kids Count Data Book is published annually by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, a nonprofit that tracks the status of children in the United States. The evaluation examines the percentage of children in poverty, the share of fourth graders proficient in reading and a variety of other factors such as economic well-being and health care. The last two reports have been particularly revealing as to how bad things became for New Mexico’s children under the previous Republican Governor “She Who Must Not Be Named”

2018 KIDS COUNT ANNUAL REPORT

In 2018, for the first time in five years, the 2018 Kids Count Data Book found a steep drop in New Mexico’s ranking for health care measures which previously was a bright spot for the state. In 2018, New Mexico fell last among states when it comes to the economic, educational and medical well-being of its children. According to the 2018 Kids Count Data Book, 30% of New Mexico’s children were living in poverty in 2016, compared to 19% nationwide that year, the earliest figures available. In educational measures, the report says 75% of the state’s fourth-graders were not proficient in reading in 2017, compared to 65% nationally, and 80% of eighth-graders were not performing up to par in math in 2017, compared to 67% across the U.S.

http://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/education/report-new-mexico-ranks-last-in-child-well-being/article_0f6865fc-d34a-5050-9f74-21680e98a2a5.html

2019 KIDS COUNT ANNUAL REPORT

On June 17, 2019, the 30th edition of the Kids Count report was released. For the third time in seven years, New Mexico came in dead last out of 50 states for child well-being. The state was ranked 50th in 2016, again in 2017 and now in 2018 continuing in to 2019. According to the study, Louisiana was ranked 49th this year, bumping Mississippi up to 48th. Not at all surprising, it is New Mexico’s widespread poverty and lagging education among Native American and rural Hispanics that brings down the state’s overall rankings.

The Kids Count Data Book rankings are based on 16 indicators under four major domains:

1. Economic well-being
2. Education
3. Health and
4. Family and community.

ECONOMIC WELL BEING

Under the rating category for economic well-being indicators, the statistics break down as follows:

27% of New Mexico children are living in poverty which was a 3% improvement from last year.
28% of New Mexico children live in homes where an unusually large portion of family income goes toward housing costs, a 4% percentage point improvement.
36% of New Mexico children live in homes where parents lack secure employment which is virtually the same from last year.
10% of teens are neither working nor attending school, up 1% point from the previous year.

EDUCATION

Under education indicators, not much has changed from the 2019 report. The following statistics were reported:

56% of young children are not in school, a 1% point improvement.
75% of fourth graders are not proficient in reading, unchanged from the previous year.
80% of eighth graders are not proficient in math, unchanged from the previous year.
29% of high school students do not graduate on time, unchanged from the previous year.

HEALTH INDICATORS:

Under health indicators, the following statistics were reported:

9.5% of babies are born with low birth weight, a half percentage point worse than last year.
5% of children have no health insurance, unchanged from the previous year.
There are 32 child and teen deaths per 100,000 which is a 1 percentage point improvement.
6% of teens report abusing drugs or alcohol, a 1 percentage point improvement.

FAMILY AND COMMUNITY INDICATORS

Under Family and Community Indicators the following statistics were reported:

45% of children live in single-parent families, a 3% increase from last year.
16% of children live in families where the head of household lacks a high school diploma, a 2% increase from last year.
24% of children live in homes in high poverty areas of the state, 2% worse than last year.
28 babies are born to teens per 1,000 births, a 2% point improvement over last year.

GOVERNOR MICHELLE LUJAN GRISHAM PROMISES TO END CHILD HUNGER

On Wednesday, June 26, 2019, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham gave the keynote address at the annual “Kids Count Conference” organized by the nonprofit New Mexico Voices for Children and spoke to 500 people gathered for the conference.

During her key note address, Governor Lujan Grisham promised to end child hunger within one year by saying:

“We will look poverty in the face … It is an evil in our state, and it must be dealt a death blow. … Maybe that’s too high of a goal, I don’t care. … New Mexico needs to institute universal food security services and programs in this state and every single philanthropic partner has to be dedicated to making sure no child in this state will ever go hungry again, and I don’t care if it’s a universal snap program. … [It’s going to take] a “wrap around approach” [to fix problems created by the previous administration]. [The national Kids Count ranking] are not indicative, however, of who we are, and they are not indicative of what we are capable of. I unequivocally reject the notion that this is the way it will be because this is the way it has been. … Being 50th in anything is unacceptable … but when our children are at risk, it makes me sick in the pit of my stomach.”

Governor Lujan Grisham said she hopes to organize efforts by philanthropic groups and public agencies to get groceries to hungry New Mexicans, especially children and told the conference:

“Every single person can do something.”

During her keynote speech, Governor Lujan Grisham announced that the state’s Children Youth and Families Department (CYFD) receives about 900 referrals a month in Albuquerque alone. According to the Governor, the referrals usually detail allegations of child abuse and neglect. The governor said the state only has enough people to investigate 200 of those case.
For news media coverage see the below links:

https://www.abqjournal.com/1333618/governor-poverty-an-evil-in-our-state.html

https://www.kob.com/new-mexico-news/gov-lujan-grisham-aims-to-end-child-hunger-in-nm-within-a-year/5404065/

TANGIBLE REASONS FOR OPTIMISM

Democrat Governor Lujan Grisham took office January 1, 2019. After just 7 months in office, much has been set in motion that if sustained will indeed will make the goal to end child hunger achievable and make sure New Mexico children will get a quality education.

EDUCATION BUDGET ENACTMENT

On March 15, 2019, Democratic Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham finished her very first 60-day Legislative session as Governor. By all accounts, it was one of the most productive sessions in a long time when it comes to the future wellbeing of New Mexico children.

Financial stress over the budget process was greatly reduced from years past by a nearly $2 Billion in additional revenue generated by the Southern New Mexico oil boom and increased royalties filling the state coffers. The 2019 Legislature enacted over a $7 billion state budget. It was the largest budget ever enacted in state history. The legislature appropriated a total education budget at a whopping $3.2 Billion, 16% over last year’s budget, out of the total budget of $7 Billion.

Included in the budget is a $500 million in additional funding for K-12 education and increases in teacher pay. The massive infusion of funding to public education is the result of a District Court ruling that ruled the state of New Mexico is violating the constitutional rights of at-risk students by failing to provide them with a sufficient education. The District Court found that many New Mexico students are not receiving the basic education in reading, writing and math they should be receiving in our public-school system.

Early childhood programs were given a major increase in funding. Under the enacted 2019-2020 budget, every public-school district will be allocated significantly more funding. Teachers and school administrators will be given 6% pay raises or more with more money to hire more teachers.

IS MORE NEEDED?

Notwithstanding the 16% increase in education budget over last year’s budget given by the 2019 New Mexico Legislature, the plaintiffs in the landmark District Court case “Yazzie-Martinez” filed a status report on June 29, 2019 describing the state’s efforts to comply with the court order as not being sufficient. They say the state and lawmakers still have not done enough to ensure all students have access to an adequate education, a right guaranteed under the state constitution. You can review the full report at the below link:

https://www.abqjournal.com/1334649/filing-state-not-doing-enough-for-atrisk-students.html

PROTECTING CHILDREN

During her keynote address to the annual “Kids Count Conference” Governor Lujan Grisham told the audience that that the one thing that has kept her up at night is when she learned that the state Children, Youth and Families Department (CYFD) receives hundreds more referrals based on child abuse and neglect allegations than it has the staff to handle. According to the Governor, the problem is being addressed by expanded hiring efforts to boost staffing and other temporary measures.

Albuquerque and New Mexico for the last 4 years have been shocked and haunted with the news of the tragic and brutal killing of children by their own parents. Media reports all too often have included reports where those children had fallen through the cracks of law enforcement and the New Mexico’s Children, Youth and Families Department. Lujan Grisham’s enacted budget that takes effect July 1, 2019 calls for an additional $36.5 million for the chronically understaffed CYFD. Under the enacted budget, 102 new social workers are to be hired by the agency’s child’s Protective Services Division. During the Kid’s Count Conference, Lujan Grisham revealed that the state has held hiring events to recruit more CYFD employees and said:

“CYFD is boosting hiring in their protective services division. We did a rapid hire series of events statewide.”

DEPARTMENT OF EARLY CHILDHOOD

A new “Early Childhood Department” was created by the 2019 New Mexico Legislature starting in January 2020. This was a major priority of Governor Lujan Grisham. The new department will focus state resources on children from birth to 5 years of age. A major goal of the new department, coupled with other investments, will be more New Mexico children growing up to secure gainful employment as adults who don’t require government services.

ANALYSIS AND COMMENTARY

The rankings and financial numbers relating to New Mexico’s children are depressing and staggering with some downright disgraceful:

** New Mexico ranks 50th for at risk of childhood in hunger and “food insecurity.”
** New Mexico is dead last among states when it comes to the economic, educational and medical well-being of children.
** 27% of New Mexico kids live in poverty, ranking New Mexico 49th on this list.
** 75% of the state’s fourth-graders were not proficient in reading in 2017, compared to 65% nationally, and 80% of eighth-graders were not performing up to par in math in 2017, compared to 67% across the U.S.
** In 2019, the New Mexico legislature approve an education budget of $3.2 Billion out of a $7 billion budget, increasing the education budget by 16% over last year’s budget which still may not be enough.
**The 2019 New Mexico legislature approved $36.5 million for the chronically understaffed Children, Youth and Families Department after 8 years of budget cuts.

When Governor Lujan Grisham told the Kids Count conference “Being 50th in anything is unacceptable … but when our children are at risk, it makes me sick in the pit of my stomach”, the truth is, ranking dead last in child well being, first in child hunger and last in education should make every New Mexican sick to our stomach. It is very difficult to read, let alone accept, that New Mexico ranks dead last the third year in a row for child well-being. With that in mind, the state now has only one direction to go now and that is up when it comes to the welfare of our children.

There is a direct correlation between a family’s overall income and child well being. When employment rates go up, child well being also goes up. After 10 years of the great recession, the New Mexico’s unemployment rate is appears to be finally coming down. The national unemployment rate in April, 2019 was 3.6 percent, down from 3.8 percent in March 2019 and 3.9 percent in April 2018. On April 17, 2019, the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions reported that New Mexico’s adjusted unemployment rate was 4.3 percent, when in 2010, New Mexico’s unemployment rate was 8.1%. Source: https://www.statista.com/statistics/190696/unemployment-rate-in-new-mexico-since-1992/

The 16% increase in the education budget, the creation of the Department of Early Childhood, the $36.5 million increase for the understaffed Children, Youth and Families Department which includes funding for 102 new social workers for the agency’s child’s Protective Services Division, and the decline in New Mexico’s unemployment rate, reflects that progress is indeed being made towards improving the future of New Mexico’s Children.

No doubt many will say Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham’s promise to end child hunger within one year was for show and not realistic. It is likely these are the same people who believed that the former Republican Governor reading to kids was not for show and that those kids could read their own books. At least real commitments have now been made. Governor Lujan Grisham no doubt realizes voters will hold her to her promise, but even if it takes her entire 4 years in office to end child hunger, not just the one year as promised, and improve New Mexico’s rankings in child wellbeing, so be it and her legacy will last generations.

It will take time before New Mexico’s public education system will get better and our child well being ranking made any better. For that reason, the debate over using a small portion of the state’s $17 billion Land Grant Permanent fund for early childhood education, care and intervention needs to continue. Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham should continue her efforts to give major attention to use of the State’s Land Grant and Permanent Fund to finally solve many of our early childhood education, care and intervention problems.

With a little persistence and hard work, in 4 years, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham could be doing photo ops with kids ages 6 to 10 reading their children’s books to her while at the same time looking forward to the lunch being prepared in their school cafeteria. However, it will also take a real commitment by the New Mexico Legislature to realize the crisis is real and now is the time to act. Our kids’ lives, health, education and future depend on it.

You can read a related blog article at the below link:

Enacted NM $3.2 Billion Dollar Public Education Budget Claimed Not To Be Enough; $7.3 Million Shortfall For Pre-Kindergarten Programs Announced

On Sunday, June 30, 2019, the Albuquerque Journal did an “exit interview” article of Jeremy Fishbein, the highly successful coach of the UNM Soccer Coach team. You can read the full article at the below link:

https://www.abqjournal.com/1334832/fishbein-closes-the-door-on-unm-career.html?fbclid=IwAR3i_p7QeVez4hei4MbI_QNZ2WlQgzp3qfqG3k6u3s8nZH0AN4O-vX-MW5U

To quote the article:

“For more than 18 years, this relatively nondescript office in the heart of the University of New Mexico athletics complex on the South Campus was the hub of one of the top programs in school history. Although now there is but one unlabeled box and a generic statue sitting on an otherwise empty shelf, this is where Jeremy Fishbein built the Lobos from a nice little regional men’s soccer team into a national power with international scope.

But now, as June comes to a close, the program is no more, shuttered by a new administration not concerned so much with past successes as future revenue and Title IX challenges. The men’s soccer team is one of four sports cut, effective Monday [July 1, 2019] along with men’s and women’s skiing and beach volleyball.”

To repeat: “the hub of one of the top programs in school history … “Jeremy Fishbein built the Lobos from a nice little regional men’s soccer team into a national power with international scope” .

AMPUTATING SUCCESSFUL ATHLETIC PROGRAM TO SAVE NECROTIC PROGRAMS

On July 20, 2019, the University of New Mexico Board of Regents voted to eliminate four UNM Lobo sports teams under a plan they proclaimed would improve the ailing athletic department’s overall health. The UNM regents approved cutting men’s soccer, men’s and women’s skiing, and women’s beach volleyball. All three programs are considered 3 of the more successful programs at UNM, especially the UNM Soccer Program

Athletes, coaches, parents, alumni and other community members delivered impassioned pleas and some withering criticism of the proposal advanced by athletic director Eddie Nuñez and President Garnett Stokes. The two called the cuts a critical step toward addressing long-standing financial problems and newly surfaced Title IX compliance concerns. The regents voted 6-0 to adopt the recommendation.

The UNM Athletics Program missed budget eight times in a 10-year span and had accrued a $4.7 million deficit to the university’s reserves by the end of fiscal year 2017. Financial management issues also prompted investigations or other scrutiny from the state auditor, attorney general and higher education department.

https://www.abqjournal.com/1198470/unm-regents-approve-cutting-four-sports.html

ATHLETIC DIRECTOR CHARGED BY ATTORNEY GENERAL

On February 6, 2019, Former University of New Mexico athletic director Paul Krebs, who left in 2017 amid questions over spending, was charged with fraud, money laundering and other felonies, state prosecutors said.

The attorney general’s office said in a criminal complaint that Krebs used his position “to pursue his private interest by planning and participating in a trip to Scotland that was paid for by the University of New Mexico using public money.”

Prosecutors said Krebs intentionally misappropriated public funds and used them to pay for him and other associates to be part of the Scotland golf tour. Krebs then circumvented university policy and signed a contract committing the school to pay up to $250,000.

For more see:

https://www.denverpost.com/2019/02/06/paul-krebs-new-mexico-fraud-charge/

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

During the last 30 years, soccer in Albuquerque has flourished and excelled in Albuquerque, especially in grade schools, high schools and pre school programs. Today, it is very common to find grown men in their 30s who played soccer in grade school, mid- school and high school and who play in city adult leagues.

Soccer is now part of the city’s fabric with programs for children, adolescence and young adults. Soccer programs throughout the city have proven far more important and more inclusive for Albuquerque athletes than football programs could even hope to imagine.

Thank you UNM Board of Regents for pouring millions of dollars down failed athletic programs such as UNM Football that for decades has been a black-hole of failure hoping for a winning season that has never materialized for decades.

Now is the time for the University of New Mexico Board of Regents to stop pouring millions of dollars of taxpayer money down failed athletic programs and dedicate itself to delivering quality college education. To hell with Title IX compliance.

On June 26, 2019 it was announced in its annual report by the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) that Albuquerque metropolitan statistical area for the 3rd year in the row has ranked number #1 in auto thefts in the country. The #1 ranking is despite a 27% decrease in auto thefts. The Albuquerque metropolitan statistical area includes the 4 counties of Bernalillo, Sandoval, Torrance and Valencia counties.

The country as has seen a decrease in auto theft overall, but Albuquerque area has made even bigger and more significant gains in reducing auto thefts. According to the annual NICB report, in 2018 almost 2,700 fewer cars were stolen in the Albuquerque area than the year before, a 27% decrease. In 2017, 1,096 cars were stolen per 100,000 residents and in 2018 that figure was 780 cars stolen per 100,000 residents .

Notwithstanding the 27% decrease in auto thefts, it was not enough to reduce the Albuquerque metropolitan statistical area as the number one ranking area in the country for stolen vehicles per capita in the country. While the Albuquerque area had 27% fewer stolen vehicles in 2018 than in 2017, the city of Albuquerque saw a slightly higher decrease of 29%. According to APD data, there have been 1,135 fewer stolen vehicles so far this year over the same time period last year. (2019: 1,718 compared to 2018: 2,853)

During a June 26, 2019 news conference at the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) headquarters, law enforcement officials stressed that local and statewide agencies have made huge gains in tackling the auto theft problem which explains the 27% decrease in auto thefts.

Devin Chapman, the executive director of the Office of Superintendent of Insurance’s NM Auto Theft Prevention Authority had this to say about the auto theft statistics:

“We haven’t been emphatic enough about the hole we were in when this thing started a couple of years ago. … Our numbers in Albuquerque were so far beyond anybody else’s in the country. It’s something we’ve been digging out of ever since.”

Chapman went out of his way to point out that in 2017, in the Albuquerque area, almost 300 more vehicles were stolen per 100,000 residents than in the number two spot of Anchorage, Alaska. Chapman added that while the biggest drop has been seen in Albuquerque, auto theft numbers also declined in the 3 surrounding counties of Sandoval, Torrance and Valencia counties. APD deputy chief Harold Medina added:

“Nobody had a larger decrease in the top five and, in the top 10, only one other agency had a larger decrease.”

https://www.koat.com/article/albuquerque-comes-in-1-in-auto-thefts-nationally-again/28188855

https://www.abqjournal.com/1333048/abq-auto-thefts-drop-but-metro-still-no-1.html

HISTORY OF INCREASING AND DECLINING AUTO THEFT STATISTICS

In 2013, a total of 2,743 auto thefts were reported in Albuquerque. From 2013 to 2017, Albuquerque saw more than a three-fold increase in auto theft along with climbing rates of armed robbery, larceny and burglary. More than 20 vehicles were being stolen each day in 2016 and 2017. More than 10,000 vehicles were stolen in 2016 in Albuquerque and Bernalillo County combined or more than 27 vehicles a day. In 2016, Albuquerque accounted for approximately 65% of the stolen vehicles in the state with the city having about 30% of the state’s total population. In 2017, the number of auto thefts reported was 7,684, which was slightly down from 2016 when 7,710 vehicles were stolen. The APD initial reports for 2018 showed auto thefts were down to 5,447 auto thefts.

According to statistics released by APD and the NMSP, the number of cases generated and handled by APD and NMSP in 2018 was 200 auto theft cases with 154 felony arrests and 136 stolen vehicles recovered. The statistics released by APD and the NMSP for the first quarter of 2019 reflect 85 auto theft cases generated with 77 felony arrests and 68 stolen vehicles recovered. In the first quarter of 2019, APD reported that there were 28% fewer auto thefts, a total of 1,787, than in the same period in 2018, when there were 2,482.

LAW ENFORCEMENT RESPONDS, DEDICATES RESOURCES

The three largest law enforcement agencies in the State of New Mexico are the Albuquerque Police Department (APD), the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Department (BCSO) and the New Mexico State Police (NMSP).

On March 21, 2018, a little more than a year ago, it was announced that APD, BCSO, NMSP were joining forces to address the city’s and the county’s out of control auto theft rates. The initiative is called the “Bernalillo County Auto Theft Suppression Effort”. The auto theft suppression effort includes tactical operations that combine technology, resources, manpower and intelligence from all three of the law enforcement agencies to arrest more suspects and recover more stolen vehicles.

APD for the past year has been concentrating on auto theft sting operations with assistance from BCSO and NMSP. In 2018, APD’s first auto theft sting resulted in 22 felony arrests and 23 recovered vehicles and in the first two months of the year the APD recovered a total of 843 vehicles and made 137 arrests. BCSO auto theft unit and its “Fugitive Apprehension & Surveillance Team” have assisted APD and the NMSP with joint operations.

In late 2017, the New Mexico Office of Superintendent of Insurance organized a metro area task force to identify repeat auto thieves. During the 2018 legislative session, legislation was enacted and signed into law giving the office authority to investigate and prosecute auto thefts.

In February 2018, Bernalillo County District Attorney Office (DA) created a team of 10 attorneys to solely focus on prosecuting car thieves. According to officials with the DA’s office, it targets defendants with multiple arrests in order to more efficiently prosecute cases. Prior to the changes in the DAs office, if a defendant had several cases against pending against them, different attorneys would be assigned to each one. Now, one prosecutor follows all of a defendant’s car theft cases.

All four law enforcement agencies have dedicated a considerable amount of resource to deal with auto thefts as has the Office of the Superintendent of Insurance Auto Theft Team and the Bernalillo county District Attorney’s Office. The breakdown is as follows:

1. The APD Auto theft Unit consists of 7 detectives, 1 sergeant and 1 lieutenant. In early 2018, APD began hiring paralegals to help APD Detectives compile all the necessary paperwork needed for a complete a final offense report file forwarded to the District Attorney’s Office.

2. The BCSO Auto Theft Unit consists of 5 detectives, 1 sergeant and 1 lieutenant.

3. The NMSP Auto Suppression Unit consists of 3 detectives, 1 sergeant and 1 lieutenant. Prior to February 2018, before the joint law enforcement effort to combat auto theft, the State Police did not have a unit dedicated specifically to auto theft.

4. The New Mexico Office of Insurance Auto Theft Team consists of 6 agents, 2 prosecutors and 2 paralegals.

https://www.abqjournal.com/1302964/tackling-albuquerques-auto-theft-problem.html

NM LEGISLATURE FAILS TO INCREASE FUNDING

During the 2018 legislative session, the New Mexico Legislature created the “Auto Theft Prevention Authority” under the Office of Superintendent of Insurance. The authority works with local, county, state and federal law enforcement agencies to tackle auto thefts. The authority asked for more funding during the 2019 legislative session, but the bill died in a Senate Committee. The Auto Theft Prevention Authority expects to close out the year with fewer than 4,000 total stolen cars, or a 30% decrease over the previous year.

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

Frustration is being upset or annoyed because of an inability to change or achieve something you work so hard to achieve and not achieving it. When it comes to law enforcement in Albuquerque, the city ranking #1 one in auto thefts for the 3rd year in a row with a 27% decrease in auto thefts fits the very definition of frustration. Notwithstanding the frustration, law enforcement is making significant progress when it comes to reducing auto thefts in Albuquerque and the surrounding area.

All taxpayers and voters of Albuquerque, Bernalillo County and the State of New Mexico pay for, in one form or another, to maintain APD, BCSO, the NMSP, the DA’s Office and the New Mexico Office of Insurance. Government agencies in one form or another are in constant competition with each other for personnel, funding and resources from the State and Federal governments. Usually law enforcement agencies are highly territorial in many respects and that is to be expected and needs to be respected given the nature of law enforcement.

There are many times that three agencies of APD, BCSO and NMSP do cooperate and collaborate with each other in cases, especially cases involving SWAT call outs, high profile emergencies such as school shootings, police officer involved shootings, and with tasks forces involving federal authorities. However, the three law enforcement agencies normally do not work together to investigate day to day crime in that each law enforcement agency have their own cases to deal with exclusively.

When the all the agencies work together, exchange data and coordinate resources for a common goal, without concern the big winners are always the citizens and voters. The formation of “Bernalillo County Auto Theft Suppression Effort” is a recognition by all three agencies just how much they need each other for the common good of serving and protecting the citizens of New Mexico. The Bernalillo County Auto Theft Suppression Effort has been a major step in reducing our out of control auto theft rates. If the statistics now being reported on auto thefts are any indication of what can be accomplished with cooperation between all the agencies, the city should see even further decline in the number of auto thefts.

No doubt auto thefts are still too high in Albuquerque. When your car gets stolen you will not believe auto thefts are down and the numbers will mean absolutely nothing to you. However, the efforts to reduce the city’s auto theft rates by 27% are working and need to continue. Sooner rather than latter another city will rank number one in auto thefts.

The State of New Mexico is a “self-insured” government, generally meaning that it does not carry liability insurance to pay for claims against the state. Civil lawsuit defense and settlements are paid out of risk management funds, which is taxpayer money. The New Mexico Legislature funds each year what is known as the “Public Liability Fund” to pay claims against the state.

The Risk Management Division (RMD) is a Division of the State’s General Services Department with a Governor appointed Cabinet Secretary. The RMD has a Division Director, usually an attorney, and 6 Bureaus: Alternative Dispute Resolution, Employee Benefits, Finance, Loss Prevention & Control, Property and Casualty, and Workers Compensation. The New Mexico State Risk Management Division (RMD) provides legal representation to state agencies.

RMD insures state agencies against tort claims, claims alleging civil rights violations, personal injury claims, including Workers Compensation claims filed by state employees when injured on the job. RMD also provides insurance for some local government bodies. When it comes to defending lawsuits filed against the state, the RMD contracts with private attorneys and firms that competitively bid to provide what is considered insurance defense work. Last fiscal year upwards of $10 Million or more was paid by the state to private law firms to defend the state against claims.

https://www.generalservices.state.nm.us/riskmanagement/

The New Mexico Department of Finance and Administration (DFA) is considered one of the most powerful or influential departments in New Mexico Government which is overseen by a Governor appointed Cabinet Secretary. The DFA provides fiscal advice and problem-solving support to the Governor, and is suppose to provide budget direction and fiscal oversight to virtually all state agencies. The DFA is required to provide strict fiscal oversight of virtually every Department and Division within State Government, including the Risk Management Division.

DISCLOSURE OF SETTLEMENT PAID BY RMD

On June 23, 2019, the Albuquerque Journal did a report entitled “NM Approved at least $7.9M in settlements in 2018” on settlements paid by the state in an 9-month period. The Journal submitted an Inspection of Public Records (IPRA) request in order to review the settlement documents not readily available to the public. You can read the entire article here:

https://www.abqjournal.com/1331956/nm-approved-at-least-79m-for-settlements-in-2018.html

Frankly, the headline is very misleading when it says $7.9 million was paid during the 9-month period. The headline was misleading because buried in the article is the fact the state actually paid $32 million of taxpayer money from July 1, 2017, to June 30, 2018 on legal defense and settlements.

Highlights of State litigation settlements provided by the State Risk Management Division reveal the following approved settlements paid during the 9-month period:

1. New Mexico authorized approximately $7.9 million in settlements of at least $20,000 during a nine-month period.

2. $2.5 million was paid to resolve allegations of sexual harassment and discrimination in the Corrections Department. 6 correctional officers who worked at the state prison in Los Lunas said they endured a “sexualized, violent environment” in which male colleagues exposed themselves, made derogatory comments and inappropriately touched female officers. The suit alleged that female officers were “subject to unthinkable and constant sexually based violence and harassment.”

3. $1.5 million was paid to 1 of 6 developmentally disabled adults entrusted to state care who failed to get the protection from abuse and neglect they were entitled to. Six plaintiffs accused the state Department of Health and others of failing to provide adequate services and violating their constitutional rights. The attorneys in the case participated in an arbitration before arbitrator and retired District Court Judge William Lang to determine how much the state should pay. The range set and agreed to by the parties was at $500,000 to $1.5 million. Lange issued a $7.5 million award in the plaintiffs’ favor. The state paid $1.5 million, the maximum the parties had agreed to before the proceeding began. Former District Court Judge Lang has been recently appointed Chairman of the new Ethics Commission.

4. $775,590 was paid to Otis and Melissa Morehead, who filed a claim with the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center concerning medical services provided to Melissa and a third family member.

5. $250,000 was paid to plaintiff Damian Horne and his attorney. Horne had worked in the Public Defender’s Office and filed a whistleblower lawsuit in 2016, contending the office had put him on leave and intended to fire him as retaliation for expressing his opinions about problems in the office.

6. $165,000 was paid to Plaintiff Diane Kretschmer to resolve claims against the state Livestock Board and several of its agents.

7. $150,000 was paid to Plaintiff Karl Rougemont, who filed a lawsuit in 2015 alleging he was injured during a defensive tactics demonstration while he was a cadet at the law enforcement academy.

8. $80,000 was paid to settle claims that then Governor Susana Martinez’s security team defamed and assaulted two people who showed up at a political event in Deming. The plaintiffs in that case run a youth ranch and wanted to deliver a petition to the governor. The allegations center on a 2014 incident at a motel in Deming. The plaintiffs said the Republican Party of Luna County had invited them and others to meet the governor that day, but State Police officers improperly threatened them with arrest when they showed up and forced them to leave, they allege. The Plaintiff’s were represented by private attorney Pete Domenici, Jr., the son of longtime New Mexico United State Senator Pete V. Domenici.

9. $25,000 was paid to settle a lawsuit filed by a woman who accused New Mexico State University of refusing to hire her because she is a Christian and heterosexual. According to the plaintiff, the school improperly rescinded an offer to make her an assistant basketball coach. The Plaintiff was a former college basketball star, and alleged she had initially been offered a job as an assistant women’s basketball coach but that the offer was rescinded after the coach saw an online interview, she’d participated in. In an interview, the Plaintiff explained that she gave up same-sex relationships because they conflicted with her Christianity, and she described homosexuality as “wrong” and sports as “evil.”

https://www.abqjournal.com/1286041/lawsuit-settled-against-nmsp-chief-department-of-public-safety.html

FACTS OF $1.7 MILLION SETTLEMENT YET TO BE FULLY DISCLOSED

Absent from the report on RMD settlements is the $1.7 million settlement in a lawsuit alleging that the former New Mexico State Police Chief Pete Kassetas engaged in “blatant, ongoing and systematic discrimination” during his time as New Mexico State Police Chief, including at one time “mooning” his employees. According to the lawsuit, Kassetas described his employees as “dumb [‘efing’] bitches” and he once sent an image of a man’s testicles blocking out the sun to a Deputy Cabinet Secretary in the Department of Public Safety, all allegations Kassetas presumably denied. The case was settled in December, 2018 after two days of negotiations.

The Plaintiff’s alleged discrimination based on gender and sexual orientation and retaliation for whistle blowing activities. The attorney representing the three law enforcement officials who filed the suit, said she could confirm there was a settlement in the case but a confidentiality clause barred her from discussing how much money was paid to each of the Plaintiffs by saying:

“There was a settlement, but they have us bound and gagged in terms of state money. I can’t tell you the amount.”

A KRQE News 13 investigation found that the Kassetas lawsuit resulted in a confidential settlement that cost taxpayers a total of $1.7 million. According to the news report, the Risk Management Division paid a group of disgruntled public employees huge sums of money in order to keep alleged compromising information about then Republican Governor. KRQE News 13 learned Risk Management officials did not assign investigators before settling the cases in the last days of the Republican administration. The settlement was fast tracked and the case settled within 30 days contrary to the normal 6 months usually taken.

https://www.krqe.com/news/larry-barker/1-7-million-paid-in-confidential-state-settlements/

WHAT WAS PAID IN SETTLEMENTS FOR A FULL FISCAL YEAR

According to the State Risk Management Department, the state’s Public Liability Fund spent approximately $32 million during the fiscal year of July 1, 2017, to June 30, 2018, on legal defense and settlements. The legal defense costs include paying outside counsel to defend the case, costs of depositions, submission of interrogatories, answering interrogatories, and assembling documents and evidence for disclosure known as discovery. The cost of defending the state in attorney fees and similar expense accounted for $10 million of the liability fund’s spending in fiscal 2018. The cost of settlements, such as “indemnity payments,” made up $22 million, according to state records.

The state’s Risk Management Division report warned that it is “highly unlikely that cost of defense trends will experience an appreciable decrease in coming years.” According to the report “the Public Liability Fund’s total spending has fluctuated over the last seven years from $28 million to $43 million. The cost of legal defense has ranged from $10 million to $15 million a year, and the cost of settlements has ranged from $16 million to $30 million a year.”

https://www.abqjournal.com/1286041/lawsuit-settled-against-nmsp-chief-department-of-public-safety.html

NONDISCLOSURE PROVISIONS

When the State Risk Management Division settles a case, it denies any and all wrongdoing, and demands that the settlement makes it clear the State is agreeing to end the case as a compromise or to avoid further litigation costs. This is standard practice in most civil lawsuit settlements and common even in the private sector. The parties usually agree to avoid disparaging each other or speaking about the terms and conditions of the settlement.

Under state law, state Risk Management Division (RMD) settlement terms and conditions cannot be disclosed to the public for 180 days, or a full six months. All too often, because of language and the terms in the settlements, it is unclear which claims have been settled or when they can be released to the public.

Under the current law, the timeline for mandatory disclosure is not clear. Current State law provides that the confidentiality period can start on 4 dates:

1. The date the settlement is signed
2. The date the claim is closed administratively by the state, or
3. The date all litigation is completed or even
4. The date all statutes of limitations have run on a claim.

EFFORTS TO DISCLOSE SETTLEMENTS TO PUBLIC

During the 2019 legislative session, a bill jointly sponsored Bernalillo County Republican State Senator Sander Rue and Santa Fe Democrat State Representative Linda Trujillo calling for the state to publish settlements in discrimination claims, the agency they were lodged against and the total amount of state money paid to settle the case, including damages and attorney fees. The legislation would have required settlements paid be published on the state’s sunshine portal after a certain amount of time elapsed. General Services Department Cabinet Secretary Ken Ortiz supported the legislation. The proposal passed the New Mexico Senate, but it did not make it through the New Mexico House of Representatives.

Cabinet Secretary for the General Services Department Ken Ortiz announced he is working with staffers to start automatically publishing the state settlement agreements. The goal is to post all settlements online as soon as the legally required confidentiality period of 180 days (6 months) expires. Secretary Ortiz supports clarifying the law that sets the initial 180 days of confidentiality with the goal to precisely define when the 180-day period starts. Ortiz wants to make making it clear the 180 days starts on the day the settlement is reached.

https://www.generalservices.state.nm.us/riskmanagement/LCPBOverview.aspx

CONFLICTS BETWEEN DFA AND RMD

Confidential sources within the Department of Finance and Administration (DFA) reported that for the entire 8 years of the former Republican Governor Administration, Republican defense lawyers who had the Governor’s ear and considered her allies and supporters were awarded lucrative defense contracts. The same confidential sources disclosed that there were times the previous Governor’s office would intervene and force the hiring of Republican political operatives who were attorneys and who had lost elections be given jobs at the State Risk Management Division.

The most disturbing information provided by DFA confidential sources is that the State Risk Management Division would often block or fail to get approval of settlements from DFA. According to the confidential sources, DFA was repeatedly and essentially left in the dark about settlements agreed to be paid by RMD. The DFA was not allowed to participate in settlement discussions nor allowed to have any say in the amount of the settlements. Further, according to one source, DFA was not allowed to participate with selection of attorney defense contracts with the RMD carrying out the orders from the former Republican Governor’s office as to who was to be chosen.

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

The Albuquerque Journal headline “NM Approved at least $7.9M in settlements in 2018” is very misleading when it says $7.9 million was paid during the 9 month period because buried in the article was the truth that the state spent $32 million from July 1, 2017, to June 30, 2018, on legal defense and settlements. The Public Liability Fund’s total spending fluctuated over the last seven years from about $28 million to $43 million, all paid under the Administration of former Republican Governor “She who must not be named.” During the same time period, the cost of legal defense ranged from $10 million to $15 million a year, and the cost of settlements ranged from $16 million to $30 million a year.

The fact that former Governor “She who must not be named” was not even mentioned by the Albuquerque Journal in the article on settlements paid is truly amazing, but comes as no surprise to political observers. For the entire 8 years of the previous Republican Governor Administration, the Albuquerque Journal consistently and very openly supported most if not all of the actions of the former Republican Governor. Ditto for the full 8 years of the former Republican Mayor of Albuquerque. But the truth has a way of always coming out, such as the amounts paid in settlements by the state and the incompetence of managing a police department by a Mayor and the failure of a legacy project known as ART.

Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham should issue executive orders mandating that the Department of Finance and Administration (DFA) be given far more authority over the State Risk Management Division (RMD). In particular DFA needs to be given at a minimum some say on the final approval of all settlements negotiated by RMD as well be allowed to give input on attorneys selected to do defense work for the state. The RMD should never be used as a “dumping ground” for political operatives or cronies looking for jobs. Too much taxpayer money is at stake.

It is extremely disappointing that the 2019 New Mexico legislature failed to enact the legislation requiring the state to publish the nature of discrimination claims, the agency against whom they were lodged and the total amount of state money used to settle the allegation, including damages and attorney fees. Notwithstanding, even that legislation did not go far enough. The current state law that provides 4 separate dates when the 180 day or 6-month confidentiality period starts to run should be repealed or drastically amended by the legislature.

Six months for the public to have to wait to find out the terms and conditions of a settlement is outrageous. In the interest of full disclosure and transparency, all settlements should be posted within at least 30 days if not sooner from the date the settlement is agreed to by the parties. There should be absolutely no confidentiality clauses when it comes to the settlement. It is taxpayer money and the legislature need to act in the interest of complete transparency.

Kudos go to Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham and Cabinet Secretary Ken Ortiz working with information technology staffers to start automatically publishing the state settlement agreements with the goal to post all settlements. What should also be posted on the sunshine portal are the names of attorneys or firms awarded state contracts to defend the state, the amounts of the contracts awarded, the term of the contracts, and the hourly rate being charged.

The settlements are taxpayer money being paid as are defense fees paid to private attorneys and taxpayers have the right to know what was paid, why and to whom.