On January 16 the 2024 New Mexico legislative session began at noon and it ends on February 15 at noon.  The 2024 legislative session is a 30-day short session dedicated to financial matters where much of the session is devoted to exclusively approving the state’s annual budget.

On January 31, halfway through the session, the New Mexico House of Representatives voted 53-16 to send its nearly $10.2 billion 2024-2025 budget spending plan to the New Mexico Senate for approval and perhaps further amendments. House Bill 2 and House Bill 3 were combined for final approval by the House. The $10.18 billion budget has a 6.5% recurring increase from last years budget. On January 29, the bill passed the House Appropriations and Finance Committee on a 13-3 vote.

The overall $10.18 billion budget is very similar to the Legislative Finance Committee’s own recommended budget  than the $10.5 billion proposed  budget submitted by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham.  It’s a 6.5% recurring increase from last year, which is slightly more than the Legislative Finance Committee recommended and less than what the Governor’s Office wanted.

PRESS CONFERENCE HELD

Prior to the House floor session, Democrats from the House Appropriations and Finance Committee held a press conference to discuss the contents of the budget. House Appropriations and Finance Committee Chairman State Representative Nathan Small (D-Las Cruces) said this:

“We have worked hard through the interim hearing from state agencies and talking with New Mexicans from all across the state on how to build the most dynamic, durable budget that we’ve yet had. … [the budget process was] the most open and transparent process we’ve had [to date]. … We had lots and lots of public comments, over 60 public comments.  This is only the second year where the public has rightfully been able to [comment] on agency budgets … . This is a $10.18 billion budget which is a 6.5% recurring increase from last year. We’re investing heavily in areas like community safety, education, infrastructure, health care, housing, and much more.” 

OIL PRDUCTION LEVELING OFF REDUCING REVENUES

The proposed budget 6.5% increase is smaller than double-digit expansions enacted by lawmakers last year and the year before as New Mexico’s unprecedented surge in oil production begins to level off. Lawmakers are preparing for an eventual decline amid major U.S. government investments and incentives toward a transition away from fossil fuels. Members of the House Appropriations and Finance Committee, which assembles the proposed budget, acknowledged the increase in spending over the past few years was largely due to the oil and gas industry.

Recent Legislative Finance Committee projection suggest that the cash revenues from oil and gas production will begin drying up in the coming years. That’s why Democrat leaders say this year’s budget invests more than a billion dollars in trust funds and other endowments to be used in the future.

Notwithstanding, the budget still includes multi-million-dollar funding boosts for almost every state department, including a 4% pay raise for public school employees and state workers. Lawmakers highlighted major investments in career technical education programs, pre-K expansion, road maintenance projects, Medicaid reimbursement rate increases, and statewide conservation funds – all while keeping roughly a third of the budget in reserves.

HOUSE BUDGET PASSES

On January 31, after one hour of introduction and two hours of debate by the House, the bill passed will fund state government for the next fiscal year which commences on July 1, 2023 and ends on June 31, 2024. The budget passed on a 53-16  vote with a handful of Republicans joining the heavily Democrat majority.

Democratic leadership and sponsors are touted the budget as a historic investment in state programs.  It is also a budget that reflects the end of record revenues the state has enjoyed in recent years. According to State Representative Nathan Small, the budget enacted by the house represents an effort to spend the projected $3.4 billion budget surplus while also limiting spending growth to prevent sharper cuts in the future.  He touted the House budget as the product of hundreds of hours of work and the most transparent budget process in history, giving credit  to the amount of public comments the committee solicited in recent months.

Representative Small told lawmakers when asking for their votes at the end of debate:

“We are continuing to make new investments in the places that matter most for New Mexicans from economic diversification and new jobs, to health care professionals, our education system, public safety, infrastructure and housing. … This budget reflects all of those priorities in a considered and collaborative way.”

 REPUBLICAN BUDGET SUBSTITUTE  REJECTED

Members of the House Republican minority introduced an amended budget that they said would better reflect their priorities, seeking the consideration of a 238-page budget that would replace the majority’s 255-page budget. House Minority Leader T. Ryan Lane, R-Aztec, said that although he understands that the legislature is on a deadline, he had a floor substitute due to a worry that the proposed budget is “growing government, instead of growing the economy.”  Lane’s substitute kept the recurring funds intact while removing non-recurrent spending deemed unnecessary by Lane while adding more funding for roads. Small considered the substitute unfriendly due to it leaving out funding for Water Trust Board projects. The House quickly voted to table the substitute on a 43-to-25 vote.

Rep. Larry Scott, R-Hobbs, introduced an amendment that would have prevented the New Mexico Environment Department from implementing or enforcing any rule establishing a new vehicle emission standard including an electric vehicle mandate. Small asked Scott if this was the appropriate place for a policy discussion, to which Scott answered in the affirmative. The House tabled Scott’s amendment on a 43-25 vote.

TRUST FUNDS

As in recent years, it is the oil and gas industry that has contributed historic revenues to the state’s general fund.  The fossil fuel field works on a boom-and-bust cycle.  State officials are now  preparing to see a sharp decline in  oil and gas revenues.  According to a December report of the Legislative Finance Committee (LFC), state economists project general fund revenue growth will shrink 2.2% in fiscal year 2025, then return to a growth of over 3% in fiscal years 2027 and beyond

During the January 31 press conference,   House Appropriations and Finance Committee Chairman State Representative Nathan Small touted trust funds included in the  budget. He said these efforts will help protect the state when oil and gas revenues aren’t booming as they are now. Small said this:

“We’re at a unique moment in our state’s history, where we can be less fearful and more focused — less fearful on that roller coaster up and down; more focused on getting the very best bang for each buck and improving the lives of New Mexicans.”

There’s $1.2 billion in transfers from the general fund to trusts and other funds under the House approved budget bill, including $512 million for the government accountability trust fund. Small described the expendable fund as a reserve for the state should anything unforeseen happen. Of that, $216 million would be set aside and appropriated over a three-year period for evidence-based programs and approaches. Small said that would address things like an aging population, workforce and education. All of the appropriations are dependent on the passage of House Bill 196, or similar legislation, creating the government accountability and improvement trust and program fund, according to the bill.

Minority Floor Leader Rep. Ryan Lane, R-Aztec, said this expendable trust fund actually feels like recurring requests and would boost the budget’s recurring expenses to 8.35%. He said in an interview he supports project funding that impacts local communities but wants to be transparent about what it is.  Lane said this on the House floor

“I don’t even know that I have an issue with the concept of the fund itself. … I just think that we should call it what I think it is, which is recurring funding.”

In contrast, Small said it would amount to less than 1% annually, at less than $100 million each year. In addition to the trusts, Small noted the $1.26 billion in nonrecurring special and supplemental appropriations.

MAJOR HIGHLIGHTS OF HOUSE APPROVED BUDGET

Major highlights of the House approved budget include the following:

• $1.2 billion for natural resources, housing and innovation
• $24 million to judicial branch agencies
• $7 million to support victim advocates, sexual assault victims and supplement federal grants for crime victims
• $11.7 million for the New Mexico Department of Health
• $1.96 billion to the Health Care Authority Department and $180 million for Medicaid
• $3 million for tribal health councils
• $19.6 million to expand Pre-K
• $4.43 billion in recurring funds for public schools. Annual spending on K-12 education would increase by 6.1% to $4.43.
• $50 million to the tribal Educational Trust Fund
• $20 million to pilot and evaluate evidence-based strategies to improve the Children, Youth and Families Department
• The Higher Education Department will receive $1.3 billion in recurring funds
• $100 million to develop a strong workforce
• $10 billion to establish a new Green Bank
• $300 million in the Lands of  Enchantment Legacy Fund for water conservation, outdoor recreation, agriculture, and wildlife protection
• $150 million to the Department of Transportation for major infrastructure, maintenance and road improvements

HIGHLIGHTS IN SPECIFIC AREAS

Below are more details about how the House Budget in specific areas:

HEALTH CARE

Under the House plan, the state will  spend about $13.2 billion in recurring money each year on health care, along with more than $206 million in one-time spending called “special appropriations.” That figure includes the budgets for the newly created Health Care Authority, the Department of Health, the Retiree Health Care Authority, the Office of the Superintendent of Insurance, the Vocational Rehabilitation Division of the Public Education Department, the Miners’ Hospital of New Mexico, the Workers’ Compensation Administration, the Medical Board, the Board of Nursing and the Governor’s Commission on Disability. The House’s budget for health agencies is about $17,000 larger than the LFC’s recommendation, but $250,000 smaller than Lujan Grisham’s.

THE PRISONS

Prisons will  get $372.8 million each year, along with $16.2 million in special appropriations.  That includes spending for the New Mexico Corrections Department, the juvenile justice facilities run by the Children Youth and Families Department, the Sentencing Commission and the Parole Board. The House budget for the Corrections Department is the same as LFC’s proposal but nearly $21 million smaller than Lujan Grisham’s.

THE COURTS

Overall, the House budget for the state’s judicial branch is $5.8 million larger than the proposal from the Legislative Finance Committee, but about $11,000 smaller than Lujan Grisham’s. The courts would receive $294.7 million annually, along with more than $26 million in special appropriations. That includes every district court in the state, the Bernalillo Metropolitan Court, the Court of Appeals, the Supreme Court, the New Mexico Compilation Commission and the Judicial Standards Commission.

POLICING

The House budget for public safety is $2 million larger than the LFC suggestion, and $25,000 smaller than Lujan Grisham’s. Police and military would get $240.3 million each year, and more than $29 million in special appropriations. That includes the Department of Public Safety, the Department of Military Affairs and the Office of Military Base Planning and Support.

PROSECUTION

Prosecutors will  receive $147.8 million every year, and about $14.4 million in special appropriations. That includes all 14 district attorneys’ offices across the state, the Administrative Office of the District Attorneys and the New Mexico Department of Justice.

LEGAL DEFENSE

Public defenders and family advocates will get $87.2 million each year, along with nearly $2.6 million in special appropriations. That includes the Law Offices of the Public Defender and the Office of Family Representation and Advocacy.

HOUSING TRUST FUND

The four parties who have so far recommended spending to address New Mexico’s housing crisis  offered four very different numbers for how much that will cost. Sen. Nancy Rodgriguez (D-Santa Fe) is asking lawmakers to deposit $500 million in the state’s Housing Affordability Trust Fund, overseen by the New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority. She doesn’t expect the Legislature to ultimately fulfill that request, but she said the trust fund has proven itself effective with a little more than $60 million it’s received over the last 17 years.  The trust fund uses public money to support an array of government, nonprofit and private entities with developing affordable housing complexes, helping first-time buyers afford down payments and other programs. Officials claim the program has a 16-to-1 return on investment.

EDUCATION

The  House education budget largely reflects the Legislative Finance Committee’s recommendations, bucking some of Lujan Grisham’s proposals. Among notable absences is the governor’s proposed literacy institute, for which she requested $30 million to build. The Legislative Finance Committee recommended $3 million for planning and design.

The House budget adopts  the following investments in line with both House and Senate Education Committee priorities:

• $49 million for literacy, career technical education and community school programs
• $14 million in early literacy support
• $55 million for culturally relevant and bilingual materials
• $62.7 million for 2% salary increases, bringing all school personnel up to $15 per hour
• $43 million to expand early childhood care
• $750,000 to support adult literacy programs
• $2 million for attendance programs

NATURAL RESOURES

The  $201 million total budget for the New Mexico Environment Department, smaller than the $215 million ask from the governor, was enacted. The 19% increase  go toward staff salaries and rental costs, and help “bolster “ the agency’s regulatory responsibilities, according to the budget summary.

In one-time appropriations, House lawmakers agreed to give the environment department $1 million for pollution accountability, $1 million to “develop and implement initiatives that protect the public” from per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances – also known as “forever chemicals.”

The surface water discharge permitting program is getting a boost. State officials raised concerns over the vulnerability of New Mexico’s waters after the U.S. Supreme Court last year changed what constitutes pollution-protected waters.

In addition to carrying over $680,000 from last year and accepting the executive’s ask for another $600,000, lawmakers added $7 million from the water quality management fund to develop and implement state surface water and groundwater permitting programs.

State lawmakers increased the Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department budget by 12% to $188 million which is smaller than the governor’s $198 million request.

In one-time money, the House committee allocated $250,000 for legal counsel, $1.7 million to match federal funds, an additional $2.5 million to address inspection and compliance backlogs in the oil conservation division and $225,000 to create a Rio Grande trail commission office.

Lawmakers approved another $10 million for a contract to provide low-interest loans for low-income communities for wind, solar, weatherization and geothermal energy intended to reduce carbon emissions.

There’s another $5 million for geothermal projects – half for a loan fund, and the other $2.5 million for development – contingent on several pieces of legislation passing.

For the New Mexico Office of the State Engineer, the House Appropriations and Finance Committee followed the LFC recommendation of $49.5 million, just under the $50 million request from the executive request. The agency requested a flat budget for most of its programming, but asked for $3.4 million for 38 more staff to implement and negotiate water rights. The Legislative Finance Committee recommended a $2.2 million increase from the General Fund.

Some one-time funds include $20 million over the next two years to settle water rights disputes with Pueblos and tribes.

The quoted breakdown of the budget is here.

Rep. Nathan Small said he wants the House to get the budget back from the Senate by the 21st day of the session, which is February 6.

WHAT’S NOT IN THE BUDGET

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham asked state lawmakers for much more in her proposed budget, including $30 million for a new literacy institute. That’s not in the budget, but lawmakers did include millions for literacy programs. The governor also asked for $500 million for affordable housing initiatives. House lawmakers only included about $120 million, but they say that’s still a monumental investment.

The House voted to approve a general fund budget of $10.18 billion, an increase of $621 million, or 6.5%, over last year. It’s less than the $10.5 billion Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham wanted to spend in the 2023-2024 fiscal year, but slightly more than what the nonpartisan Legislative Finance Committee recommended. The budget also maintains nearly one-third in reserves of the total recurring funding approved.

HOUSE REJECTS 180-DAY MINIMUM SCHOOL YEAR

A proposal from Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham would require schools across the state, including some in rural areas that historically have only met four days a week, to meet the 180-day minimum. The change drew major skepticism and opposition from rural Democrats and Republicans and many voted together add a clause to the budget bill that money appropriated to the New Mexico Public Education Department not be used to require school districts to meet for 180 days a year.

It was Gail Armstrong (R-Magdalena) who convinced lawmakers to adopt the one-sentence amendment to the budget to address how the state would fund public education. Armstrong told colleagues that putting the language in the budget was a way for the Legislature to assert its powers and show a unified voice against the governor’s policy. A bipartisan group of representatives voted to include the amendment in the House budget bill.

Links to quoted news sources are here:

https://sourcenm.com/2024/01/31/nm-house-passes-10-2-billion-budget/

https://nmpoliticalreport.com/nmleg/budget-with-6-5-increase-approved-by-house/

https://www.kob.com/new-mexico/house-lawmakers-approve-10-1b-state-budget-proposal/

https://www.koat.com/article/new-mexico-state-budget-2024-passes-house/46614930

https://www.abqjournal.com/business/house-passes-the-budget-with-education-amendment/article_b36998ea-c095-11ee-9fce-13113d6dabc1.html#tncms-source=home-featured-7-block

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

Wednesday, January 31 was the halfway point of the 2024 Legislature. Lawmakers will likely be having longer days and nights and packed schedules getting bills through the House and Senate committees and ultimately voting on the chamber floors. Legislation that will likely consume a large percentage of the remaining  time is all the gun control legislation that is still pending and awaiting committee hearing. A related blog article on crime and gun control legislation can be found below.

There is very little doubt that the Senate will want to make changes, additions and deletions to the final budget. Notwithstanding, the House approved budget can be described as a very reasonable budget and it is likely to be approved quickly by the Senate.

Links to related blog articles are here:

https://www.petedinelli.com/2024/01/05/gov-mlg-proposes-10-5-billion-state-budget-for-2024-2025-fiscal-year-with-9-9-budget-increase-legislative-finance-committee-expected-to-release-its-own-budget/

https://www.petedinelli.com/2024/01/12/nm-legislative-finance-committee-introduces-2024-2025-proposed-budget-slimmer-5-9-budget-increase-from-governor-mlgs-9-9-budget-increase/

2024 NM LEGISLATIVE UPDATE ON GUN CONTROL: 14 Waiting Day Period For Gun Sales Passes 2 Committees; Rebuttable Presumption Killed In Committee; No Guns At Polling Places Passes Senate

On January 31, a US Senate Judiciary Committee hearing took place that gave Republican US Senator Lindsey Graham and other Republican Senators a chance to grandstand on an issue and  the problem of social media and kids.  The title of the hearing was  “Big Tech and the Online Child Sexual Exploitation Crisis” but the topics touched on  were wide-ranging.  In addition to discussing the harms to children and teens via social media platforms that have been well documented, senators repeatedly raised the issue of Section 230,  the part of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 that has historically shielded social media  platforms from legal liability for the content posted by their users.  Being grilled at the hearing were  Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, X CEO Linda Yaccarino, TikTok CEO Shou Chew, Snap CEO Evan Spiegel, and Discord CEO Jason Citron. Hours of remarks by senators and questions to the CEOs were made.

Internal emails from Meta, which have been previously reported on and which were brought up by the senators, show that Zuckerberg appeared to rebuff calls to bolster the safeguards for children and teens. And in one 2022 exchange with Nick Clegg, Meta’s president of global affairs, Zuckerberg appeared to ignore a suggestion to hire 45 new employees dedicated to safety issues and well-being of users across Meta’s apps. Clegg followed up months later with Zuckerberg with a trimmed-down proposal for 25 new hires, saying this was “the bare minimum needed to meet basic policymaker inquiries” on child welfare issues.

Republican Tennessee Senator Marsha Blackburn  had a dramatic exchange with Zuckerberg in which she raised a dollar figure that was found in internal Meta documents which put a “lifetime” valuation on each teen user of Meta’s apps at $270. Senator  Blackburn said this:

“How could you possibly even have that thought? It is astounding to me. … Children are not your priority. Children are your product.”

Republican Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana said that social media platforms had become “a killing field of information” with algorithms that have been developed “to punch people’s hot buttons.” After being berated by Missouri Republican  Senator Josh Hawley, Zuckerberg stood up in the hearing room to face families of kids who have died in connection with their social media use. Zuckerberg said this:

“I’m sorry for everything you have all been through. No one should go through the things that your families have suffered and this is why we invest so much and we are going to continue doing industry wide efforts to make sure no one has to go through the things your families have had to suffer.”

Senator Lindsey Graham, the ranking member of the Judiciary Committee, was the most pointed and dramatic in his remarks. Graham said this discussing the harms to children and teens via social media platforms to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and X CEO Linda Yaccarino, TikTok CEO Shou Chew, Snap CEO Evan Spiegel, and Discord CEO Jason Citron:

“I am tired of talking. I’m tired of having discussions. Open up the courthouse door. Until you do that, nothing will change. Until these people can be sued for the damage they’re doing, it is all talk. … Mr. Zuckerberg, you and the companies before us, I know you don’t mean it to be so, but you have blood on your hands. You have a product that’s killing people.”

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

You would hope Republicans like Lindsay Graham, Marsha Blackburn, John Kennedy and Josh Hawley would feel just as strong about the “blood on the hands of gun manufactures” who are actually manufacturing products that are killing people. You would think they would demand apologies from gun manufactures to the families and the parents of all the children killed in mass school shootings.  Instead, they are in the pockets of the National Rifle Association (NRA) as they accept millions and millions  in campaign donations each year and oppose any and all reasonable gun control measures. What a pack of immoral tools these Republicans clowns are.

https://sfist.com/2024/01/31/lindsey-graham-tells-social-media-companies-you-have-blood-on-your-hands-and-more-drama-from-todays-senate-hearing/?fbclid=IwAR3VxR_-etS0MhEKot6S08O_0llLdZQwMh2girmuDyV-25ECQqAK24XkY_g

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/01/31/senate-hearing-child-safety-tech-ceos-zuckerberg/

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/mark-zuckerberg-instagram-child-safety-congress-z9j90trwp

https://www.the-sun.com/news/10249813/zuckerberg-blood-hands-hearing-kids-worth-more-social-media

Notwithstanding that the 2024 legislative session being a 30 short budgetary session, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham has announced her support of 21 measures she wants lawmakers to consider during the session to address public safety. The bills include raising the age to purchase a gun, regulating assault weapons, and increasing penalties for a range of crimes.  The governor is also asking lawmakers to discuss a handful of crime-related bills backed by both Democratic lawmakers as well as Republicans.

There are a number of gun control measures and crime measures that are now making their way towards passage by the 2024 New Mexico Legislature while others are being killed in committee. This blog article reports on 6 specific measures.

SENATE BILL  5  (BANNING FIREARMS NEAR POLLING PLACES)

On January 30, the New Mexico State Senate passed Senate Bill 5 on a 26-16 vote that will ban most firearms near polling places. It prohibits firearms within 100 feet of polling stations. An exception was created to allow voters to leave their guns in the car while casting a ballot. Postal boxes were removed from the 100-foot radius. People walking past, but not voting at, a polling place in the mall won’t be included. Off-duty law enforcement officers would still be allowed to carry their firearms. Violators would be charged with a petty misdemeanor and could face up to 6 months in jail and/or a maximum $500 fine.

Sen. Peter Wirth, D-Santa Fe, said he sponsored the bill after several poll workers in his district shared accounts of intimidation when people brought guns to their polling places. Wirth said this in a statement:

“Schools that act as polling places already have protections in place. … This bill simply levels the playing field and ensures that voters and our valued poll workers can feel safe and free from the threat of gun violence or intimidation at any polling location. Guns and voting simply don’t mix.”

https://www.abqjournal.com/news/local/senate-endorses-firearms-ban-at-new-mexico-polling-places/article_3afb692a-357a-569c-b50d-2f0dc254bbab.html

https://www.kob.com/new-mexico/bill-to-ban-guns-at-polling-places-in-new-mexico-passes-senate-committee/

https://nmpoliticalreport.com/nmleg/senate-approves-bill-banning-firearms-near-polling-places/

SENATE BILL 69 (14 DAY WAITING PERIOD TO PURCHASE GUNS)

On January 28, Senate Bill 69, which is the 14 day waiting period before a gun sale becomes final, passed the House Consumer and Public Affairs Committee on a 4 to 2 vote as well as the Senate Health and Public Affairs Committee on a 5 to 4 vote. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Joe Cervantes is sponsoring the measure along with Democratic  state Rep. Andrea Romero carrying the House version.  In the House,  conservative Democrat Rep. Patty Lundstrom was unable to stop the bill.  Supporters of the bill argue the longer waiting period will  save lives taken by impulsive acts of suicide and domestic and other violence.  Opponents argued  it will  simply thwart legal gun owners while the illegal purchase of guns continue.

The Senate Bill 69 version carves out an exception to the 14-day waiting period for people who already have their concealed-carry license, which some commenters speaking in opposition still applauded. Bill sponsor Sen. Joseph Cervantes, D-Las Cruces, and a gun owner, said the 14-day period is based on other states that have adopted waiting periods that have not been challenged in court. Hawaii also has enacted a 14-day waiting period.

Cervantes said the measure would close a federal loophole that, regardless if a background check has been returned, allows someone to receive a gun after three days by “default.” Cervantes said this:

“We think that there’s a background check being run. … But the default is that if they’re behind, or they’re slow … the presumption is, you get a gun.”

Senate Republican Gregg Schmedes, R-Tijeras,  questioned whether the measure is constitutional because of a 2022 Supreme Court opinion from Justice Clarence Thomas asking that firearm regulations follow the “historical tradition” of restrictions in the United States. Schmedes ask:

“Naturally, my question … is, is a 14-day waiting period consistent with our historical tradition of firearm regulation?”

Cervantes responded by saying he anticipated the court would reverse that decision.

Supporters of Senate Bill 69 argued it could save lives by providing a “cool-off” period for people experiencing suicide ideation. Sen. Martin Hickey, D-Albuquerque, said people struggling with addiction or mental illness sometimes experience “flares” of instability or high emotion. Hickey said this:

“I am very afraid that without a law like this we are going to continue to see the deaths of people who really don’t mean it.”

HOUSE BILL 114 (FIREARMS INDUSTRY ACCOUNTABILITY ACT)

On Friday, January 26, House Bill 114, called the Firearms Industry Accountability Act would make members of the firearms industry subject to civil penalties in certain cases received a do-pass recommendation in the House Judicial Committee by a 7-4 vote.  The bill would allow the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office and district attorneys to bring civil actions against people involved in the sale, manufacturing and marketing of firearms.

The bill also would allow private individuals to file civil lawsuits “to recover actual or punitive damages against a firearm industry member” who fails “to exercise reasonable controls” over the sale and manufacture of firearms.

Bill sponsor Christine Chandler, D-Los Alamos, told committee members  that one intent of the bill is to provide civil remedies for people harmed by straw-buyers — purchases by a person on behalf of someone prohibited from legally owning a firearm.

The practice of straw-purchases already is illegal under criminal law in New Mexico.

https://www.abqjournal.com/news/senate-version-of-14-day-waiting-period-advances/article_51bd6a54-bcad-11ee-b248-7f84be11c896.html

HOUSE BILL 129 (PENALTIES FOR FAILURE TO ADHERE TO 14 DAY WAITING PERIOD)

On January 29, the House Judiciary Committee approved a House Bill 129  that sets penalties for those who fail to adhere to a 14-calendar-day waiting period to purchase a firearm with a party-line vote. The committee approved HB 129 on a 6-to-4 vote with Democrats voting in favor and Republicans voting NO.

The bill was updated to state that the waiting period is 14 calendar days instead of business days.

Many representatives as well as public commenters criticized the waiting period as “not a cooling off period.” Rep. Andrea Reeb, R-Clovis  said this: .

“I guess I’m trying to see how that correlates with what you think it will do for somebody who wants to commit a shooting, for example, as you all know, I prosecuted the library shooter and he got the guns from his parents saying that were locked up and he knew the combination and he went and just do, so you know, not really see how that would have prevented that situation from a mass shooting that occurred, you know, in New Mexico, so I’m trying to see why leaving the cooling off period would affect that. ”

The bill’s supporters presented data showing that some of the most recent mass shootings were with new firearms purchased within 14 days of the event including a shooting in Farmington in which the shooter bought one of the guns used on the shooting shortly after his 18th birthday in October 2022 along with  guns legally owned by a relative before the shooting last May.

Three other issues opponents argued was that the bill “discriminates against rural communities” due to gun purchases having to drive long distances to get the gun purchasing process started.  They claim the waiting period endangers domestic violence survivors who might want a firearm to protect themselves from their abuser and claimed the bill contained some Second Amendment constitutional issues.

House Bill 129 now goes to the full House floor for a vote.

https://nmpoliticalreport.com/nmleg/house-judiciary-advances-14-day-firearm-waiting-period/#:~:text=The%20House%20Judiciary%20Committee%20approved,in%20favor%20and%20Republicans%20opposed.

HOUSE BILL 137  (ASSAULT WEAPONS BAN BIILL)

House Bill 137 is the Assault Weapons ban bill. It would ban gas-operated semi-automatic guns. It would also prohibit detachable magazines that hold more than 10 bullets, bump stocks, and other “machine gun” attachments which are designed to increase the rate of fire. It mimics a bill U.S. Sen. Martin Hein introduced in the Senate known as the GOSAFE Act. There are exceptions in the bill for government agencies, as well as Native American tribes and pueblos.  

The New Mexico Department of Justice and the Administrative Office of the Courts warned the bill may result in lawsuits against the State of New Mexico. The estimated cost of defending against legal challenges is $450,000 and an additional $5,500 per event to provide security to court personnel. Analysts also noted the bill is expected to result in more people ending up in prison, raising the costs of housing inmates.  

On January 25 the bill passed the House Consumer and Public Affairs Committee on a party-line vote. It was sent to the House Judiciary Committee.  

https://www.kob.com/tracker4/

SENATE BILL 122  (REBUTABLE PRESUMPTION)

On Monday, January 29, the Senate Health and Public Affairs Committee voted on a 5-4 vote to  table Senate Bill 122 know as the Reputable Presumption Bill.  The Reputable Presumption Bill provides that a criminal defendant who is charged with specified serious violent crimes, such as murder, is presumed to be a danger to the community and upon arrest must remain in jail until trial with no exceptions.

The aim of “rebuttable presumption” is to make it easier for more defendants to be held in custody before they’ve been convicted and to keep them from committing new crimes. Proponents of rebuttable presumption say it will reduce violent crime.  Opponents of rebuttable presumption say courts can already keep a defendant behind bars and that reputable presumption shifts the burden of proof to defendants and violates the basic constitutional right of presumption of innocence until proven guilty.

Under the United State Constitution and the New Mexico Constitution, a person is presumed innocent until proven guilty and has the right to post bond  to be released until trial. Under existing New Mexico law, whenever prosecutors ask a judge to hold someone accused of a crime in jail until trial, they must prove that no release conditions will reasonably protect the safety of another person or the community.  The prosecution is required to prove “by clear and convincing evidence that (1) the defendant poses a future threat to others or the community, and (2) no conditions of release will reasonably protect the safety of another person or the community.”  Rebuttable presumption shifts the burden of proof from the state to the accused to show they are not a danger and should be released pending trial

The defeat of Senate Bill 122 came as no surprise. This is the third time that Rebuttable Presumption has failed to make it out of committee. Simply put, rebuttable presumption is unconstitutional.  The New Mexico Constitution is very clear that the prosecution bears the  burden of proof. The use of a rebuttable presumption and relying on different burden of proof and evidence by the prosecution to meet that burden is directly contrary to that constitutional provision. The New Mexico Supreme Court has also repeatedly made it clear the prosecutors burden of proof has two requirements: the accused person is dangerous, and no conditions of release will reasonably protect the community from them.

https://sourcenm.com/2023/01/31/some-lawmakers-unconvinced-rebuttable-presumptions-bill-would-make-it-through-the-courts/

Governor Lujan Grisham took strong exception to Reputable Presumption once again failing to pass and she  took note of the failure which was made possible by opposition from her own party. The Governor said this:

 I am dismayed that our Legislature has once again refused to undertake an honest, robust debate on the state of our pretrial release system. Crime is out of control and something needs to change. We have invested hundreds of millions of dollars in behavioral health services, education, economic opportunity – critical components that ensure every New Mexican gets a fair shake. However, I will not stand by as repeat violent offenders walk in and out of our courthouses without consequence. A rebuttable presumption is not an extreme policy, and ours is modeled after federal law that has been in place for decades. It is time for the Legislature and the public to stand up and give this proposal the robust debate that New Mexicans agree it deserves.

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

Simply put, when it comes to  all the gun control legislation Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham is supporting in the 30-day legislative session not much if any will actually be enacted. Much of it is either dead on arrival or will not make it through committee mainly because it’s a 30-day session and there is simply not enough time to give all 21 measures a fair hearing.  That is why the Governor should again consider calling a special session to deal with gun control measures immediately after the 2024 session to address all the proposed gun control legislation.

Until the New Mexico legislature get serious about New Mexico’s gun violence crisis and enacts reasonable gun control measures in conjunction with crime and punishment measures, we can expect our violent crime rates to continue to increase, and God forbid, yet another killing of a child which is what prompted the Governor to issue her executive orders in the first place.

If Governor Lujan Grisham is really serious about the State’s crime crisis and wants  to do something about it, she should be calling for the New Mexico Legislature to  enact an “Omnibus Gun Control And Violent Crime Sentencing Act” and do so during a special session of the legislature immediately following the 2024 session.  The message that must be sent out loud and clear to violent criminals by our elected officials is that New Mexico has a zero tolerance of violent crimes committed with firearms.  The only way to do that is with responsible gun control measures to reduce the availability of guns and to enhance criminal sentencings.

On January 19, a bombshell blew up that rocked APD and the legal community when the FBI raided 3 homes of APD officers and criminal defense attorney Thomas Clear, III allegedly involved in a bribery scheme that spanned a decade to dismiss DWI cases. 5 police officers have been identified which includes one Lieutenant.  Clear resigned his position as Chairman of the Public Defenders Commission. The DA’s office dismissed 152 DWI cases because of the scandal.  Mayor Keller and Chief Medina did not give the city council advanced warning of the FBI raid.

During the January 22 City Council meeting, City Councilors complained that they were frustrated and concerned that they were not given advance notice of the FBI raid.  City Councilors Dan Lewis, Dan Champine and Louie Sanchez accused APD Chief Harold Medina and Mayor Tim Keller of failed leadership and being responsible for the APD corruption scandal.

On January 23, Mayor Keller and Chief Medina pivoted by giving exclusive interviews to the 3 TV stations and the Albuquerque Journal denying any responsibility for the scandal proclaiming it went as far back as 12 years. Both took credit for holding police officers accountable and accused city councilors of unethical conduct and interference by demanding information.  Medina said city councilors were “out of line” during the council meeting demanding information.  Mayor Keller for his part said “it’s marginally unethical for them to air these concerns” and jeopardizing the investigation.

BATTLE BREWS BETWEEN CITY COUNCILORS AND MEDINA

On January 25, Albuquerque City Council President Dan Lewis and City Councilors Louie Sanchez and Dan Champine sent a letter to Chief Harold Medina asking questions, demanding written answers and demanding that he appear before them at the next regularly scheduled meeting of the 9-member city council.

Following is the full content of the January 25 letter to Chief Medina:

“Dear Chief Medina:

The Albuquerque Police Department has been shaken by the ongoing investigation into criminal behavior of police officers serving under your command. This could end up being the largest corruption scandal in APD’s history and will greatly undermine public confidence in the department and its leadership.

Chief, it becomes difficult to take you seriously when you take to the news to distort and question the intent of this Council. With a corruption scandal of this magnitude, we as a council need to understand what factors make it possible to trust in your continued command of our city’s police force. As elected representatives of the people of Albuquerque, we have the responsibility of asking questions that may make you uncomfortable. Your level of comfort with difficult questions does not render those questions unnecessary. If the buck does not stop with you, where does it stop?

We understand that the federal investigation is ongoing and specifics of the FBI’s investigation will and should remain confidential. At no point have we asked for those details or any information that could compromise the integrity of that investigation.

However, we have basic questions for you not directly related to the investigation. We ask that you provide written answers by 5:00 pm Thursday, February 1.

 1) What is the policy regarding officers and court appearances?

2) What are permissible reasons for an officer to miss a pretrial interview, court hearings or trial settings?

3) Who may authorize an officer to miss an otherwise required pretrial interview, court hearing or trail setting?

4) What disciplinary process is there for officers who miss court appearances?

5) What is the procedure for when Department personnel are contacted by defense attorneys on a criminal case?

6) In 2023, how many times did officers fail to appear at required pretrial interviews, court hearings or trial settings in DWI cases?

7) In 2023, how many DWI cases were dismissed because officers failed to appear at required pretrial interviews, court hearings or trial settings?

8) In 2023, how many officers were disciplined for failing to appear at required pretrial interviews, court hearings or trial settings?

Additionally, we formally request that you appear at the City Council meeting on February 5, 2024, to explain the following:

• Outside of cooperating with the federal investigation, what steps are you taking as Chief to ensure this can never happen again?
• What steps are you taking to demand accountability within your chain of command that allowed this to happen?
• When will you provide a full public accounting of what failures in policy and leadership allowed this to happen?
• How can the public have faith in the Department if you remain in charge?

Chief, thank you for your cooperation. We look forward to seeing you at the next council meeting.

Sincerely,

• Dan Lewis, City Council President
• Louie Sanchez, City Councilor, District 1
• Dan Champine, City Councilor, District 8”

The links to the news sources are here:

https://www.koat.com/article/albuquerque-city-councilors-demand-answers-apd-chief-harold-medina/46555368

https://www.abqraw.com/post/three-city-councilors-fire-off-letter-to-chief-medina-over-apd-dwi-scandal

MEDINA SENDS LETTER TO PUBLIC DEFENDER COMMISSION DEMANDING INVESTIGATION INTO DEFENSE ATTORNEY THOMAS CLEAR

On Friday January 26, APD Chief Harold Medina sent the following letter to the  Law Office of the Public Defender Commission:

January 26,2024

Law Office of the Public Defender Commission via email to each Commissioner. individually

Re: Investigation into Thomas Clear Ill and APD DWI Officers Dear Commissioners,

Dear Commissioners,

I am writing to provide information regarding former LOPD Commission Chair, Thomas Clear II, and allegations regarding the LOPD management. The Albuquerque Police Department (APD) received information about alleged illegal conduct by officers on the APD DWI Unit and a local criminal defense attorney. The FBI is conducting a federal investigation, and I ordered an administrative investigation into the officers who. have been implicated in this alleged scheme. As you are likely aware, the attorney who has been implicated in this alleged scheme is Mr. Clear, then-Chair of the LOPD Commission.

During the investigation, I learned that multiple line attorneys in the Albuquerque office of the LOPD were concerned regarding the conduct of Mr. Clear and reported their concerns to the LOPD management. While I cannot speak to the exact nature of these concerns and the specific individuals involved, I understand that the Albuquerque upper management of the LOPD ignored such concerns and did nothing to investigate the activities of then-Chairman Clear.

The allegations about the allege scheme are extremely disturbing, and it ought to concern all criminal justice partners. APD continues to investigate this alleged scheme and will hold accountable all involved officers. I hope that the LOPD Commission will similarly take any action necessary to cab gov investigate and hold accountable anyone who was involved in turning a blind eye. For the sake of our criminal justice system, we must work together in thoroughly investigating and holding accountable anyone who took advantage of the system.

Respectfully,

Harold Medina, Chief of Police

Chief Public Defender Ben Bauer responded to the media and Medina’s letter by issuing the following statement:

I’ve seen the letter from APD Chief Medina.  This letter is a self-serving distraction from the ongoing investigation. Chief Medina is responsible for the conduct of his officers. We are responsible to our clients, and are guided by our ethical responsibilities to them, our office and our profession.

The link to the news source is here:

https://www.krqe.com/news/albuquerque-metro/albuquerque-police-release-name-of-defense-attorney-connected-to-federal-investigation/

In his January 26 letter to the Public Defenders Commission, Medina states that he “learned that multiple line attorneys in the Albuquerque office of the LOPD were concerned regarding the conduct of Mr. Clear.” Chief Medina makes the allegation known only after the scandal broke and after Defense Clear resigned as the Chairman of the Public Defender Commission. Medina’s January 26 letter to the Public Defenders Commission amounts to nothing more than deflection and an attempt to lay as much blame elsewhere as he can.

“PIVOT, DEFLECT AND BLAME” IS NAME OF THE GAME FOR KELLER AND MEDINA 

Mayor Tim Keller and Chief Harold Medina have been in full throttle “politcal spin cycle” of “pivot, deflect and blame” since the news of the scandal broke and since the Albuquerque City Council accused them of failed leadership in dealing with the scandal as they attempt to get ahead of it with public relations tactics to control the negative press coverage.

In a January 23 interview with Channel 7, Mayor Tim Keller said this in part regarding the federal investigation:

“I also don’t believe APD is the only agency that’s being looked at. This has been happening for about a decade, if not longer, so this has been going on long before our team. I’m only grateful we caught it now and we’re going to stop it.”

Bernalillo County Sheriff John Allen was quick to react to Mayor Keller’s attempt to lay blame elsewhere and other agencies and said this:

“That’s an irresponsible statement coming from an elected official … Pay attention to your own agency when you’re casting shade to someone else’s agency that you have no clue what it’s about and to begin with. If it’s a federal investigation, those comments should not be made to begin with. If you have that information, that’s pertinent to an investigation and keeping the integrity of an investigation.

“It’s a tactic for deflection. I can only speak for my agency. I can’t speak for what’s going on over at APD. What I can speak for is our deputies . … Our culture doesn’t represent what is going on at APD at all. We have two separate and different cultures to begin with.”

The link to the news source is here:

https://www.koat.com/article/sheriff-albuquerque-mayor-comments-fbi-investigation/46528070

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

The January 25 letter that Councilors Lewis, Sanchez and Champine sent to Chief Medina was totally appropriate and necessary. It’s a letter that should have been signed by all 9 city counselors unless they were not asked by the 3 councilors who did sent it who were the City Council President and the two City Councilors who are retired APD police officers. If the 6 other councilors declined to sign it, it would be a reflection that they do not fully understand the magnitude of the crisis nor have a full understanding or the willingness to excercise their oversight duties and responsibilities.

The Albuquerque City Council plays and extremely critical role of overseeing the Albuquerque Police Department. That role includes review and approval of APD’s annual budget and holding public hearings and giving advise and consent to the appointment of the APD Chief of Police.  Simply put, the Albuquerque City Council must exert its oversight authority over the Albuquerque Police Department during a crisis like this that goes to the very credibility of the police department. City Council has every right to ask the questions and demand answers no matter how uncomfortable or embarrassing Mayor Keller and Chief Medina think they are.

It was sure arrogance and deflection by Chief Medina proclaiming that the city council was “out of line” for demanding information and exercising their oversight authority. It is Medina who showed contempt and insubordination to the elected city council governing body by calling out the 2 city councilors who are retired cops saying they should know better and to not ask questions of the chief on pending criminal investigations. Medina showed a disrespect for elected officials and he owes the counsel an apology.

It was “pivot, deflection and blame” when Mayor Keller accused the City Council of “unethical conduct” when he said “it’s marginally unethical for them to air these concerns” that may jeopardize the investigation. The city counsel was simply asking for information they are entitled to have in order to carry out their oversight duties and responsibilities over APD. It was Keller who was out of line and unethical with his dealings with the city council.

Mayor Tim Keller and Chief Harold Medina must ultimately be held accountable and take full responsibility for failed leadership of APD in this most recent APD scandal. They both have attempted to take credit for the investigation and for taking action to hold bad cops accountable for the corruption when it was in fact the FBI investigation that forced their hand and after they both allowed the problem to fester for 6 years.

STUNNING ADMISSIONS

Keller and Medina have made more than a few stunning admissions. They admitted that the APD bribery and conspiracy scheme has been going on the entire 6 years they have been in charge of APD but they never detected what was going on. They admitted that only after they found out the Feds were investigating APD they decided to put things in high gear with their own investigation and to proclaim cooperation.

These admissions come from a mayor who was first elected with great bravado as the white knight State Auditor who stopped “waste, fraud and abuse” and held people accountable for government corruption. This is the same candidate for Mayor who said 6 years ago said he was “uniquely qualified” to be Mayor above all others when he had absolutely no experience in municipal government affairs let alone law enforcement.

Chief Medina admitted that he knew about the corruption as far back as December 2022 when APD first got a complaint related to the department’s DWI unit in December 2022, yet he waited and essentially did nothing for a full year. Medina does not mention if he ever told Keller in December 2022 no doubt believing he could cover up and deal with the problem himself.  Medina said “They believe it was DWI officers, and that one had made the comment that they were making money off of DWI stops” yet Medina did not turn the matter over to Internal Affairs at the time who could have easily investigated.

BOTH KELLER AND MEDINA LOOK THE OTHER WAY

It is downright laughable when Chief Medina told one news outlet he has never looked the other way at police corruption in more than three decades he has been on the force. Keller in particular has gone out of his way to defend Medina proclaiming Medina was holding APD police officers accountable. They both simply lie. Both have an extensive history of allowing, ignoring and looking the other way when it came to  overtime pay abuses as police officers were paid in the hundreds of thousands of dollars in police overtime by gaming the system and being paid 2 and 3 times their annual salaries.  Many of those officers were assigned to the DWI Unit when Medina was the Deputy in charge of Field Services with some of those DWI unit officers now being accused of bribery and conspiracy to dismiss DWI cases.

There have been no less than 7 audits documenting the corruption, waste, fraud and abuse in APD police overtime over the past 8 years with one audit done by none other than former State Auditor Tim Keller. Keller and Medina have done nothing to curb the overtime pay abuse and there have been no prosecutions for time card fraud or overtime pay abuse by police officers, especially those assigned to the DWI Unit, even when found by the audits. In fact one of the APD Officers identified in the current scandal was assigned to the DWI and paid over $124,000 because of excessive overtime. Bribes taken to get DWI charges dismiss may have been considered by the guilty as a bonus of some sort by.

There is absolutely no doubt that APD’s reputation has been trashed to a major extent by this scandal. APD will likely be viewed by many as again having just another bastion of “dirty and corrupt cops” who have brought dishonor to their department and to the department’s professed values of “Pride, Integrity, Fairness and Respect”. 

There is little doubt that the whole scandal places an ethical stain on the department that may never be removed. The public will demand that there is a thorough investigation of the officers involved in the crimes and the people and supervisors who should have known what was going on but that will be accomplished only if the Feds pursue the case which will likely take at least a full year before charges are bought.

A WALK IN THE PARK

Six years ago, newly elected Mayor Tim Keller hired as his first APD Chief Michael Geier who spent 30 plus years with APD. Gieir in turn recruited Harold Medina to return to APD and then appointed Medina Deputy Chief of Field Services. Medina as Deputy Chief of Field Services was in charge of the APD DWI Unit. As Deputy Chief Medina never took steps to put a stop to the DWI units documented, excessive overtime pay abuses.

When Medina got wind that Chief Geier was about to remove him for insubordination, Medina helped orchestrate Geier’s removal to become Chief with the help of then Chief Administrative Officer Sarita Nair. Mayor Keller summoned Chief Geier to a local park and told Geier his services were no longer needed and forced him to resign calling it retirement. (Geier reported that Keller showed up in partial disguise.)  Medina is known to be a micro manager and it difficult to believe nor understand that at no time did he ever get information regarding the nefarious conduct of the DWI unit.

Should APD Chief Medina choose to ignore responding to the January 25 letter and answer the questions or refuse to attend the next city council meeting as requested by the City Council President, the council should vote “no confidence” in Chief Medina and move to rescind his confirmation and demand his removal as Chief of Police by Mayor Tim Keller.  Notwithstanding, it’s time for Mayor Tim Keller to invite Chief Medina to a “walk in the park” as he did with Chief Geier and ask Medina to move on.

On Friday January 19, a bombshell blew up that rocked the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) and the legal community when it was reported by all local news outlets that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) executed search warrants and raided 3 homes of Albuquerque Police officers and the home and law office of a prominent DWI defense attorney Thomas Clear III. The US Attorney’s office of New Mexico confirmed “federal law enforcement activity at those locations” in cooperation with the Albuquerque Police Department. On the same day,  the Bernalillo County District Attorney’s Office announced it had dismissed 152 active and pending DWI criminal cases because of the federal investigation.

Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman confirmed the investigation did lead to the dismissal of 152 DWI cases due to the federal investigation “in deference to an ongoing federal investigation.”  Initially, the DA office declined to say if those cases were related to the FBI raid, but a search of court records by News 13 found more than a dozen cases dating back over the last year which were dropped were originally signed by the officer whose home was raided. District Attorney Sam Breman said this:

“Of course, it is very concerning, but all I can tell you is that I have no choice. We had to do this, [dismiss the cases], and unfortunately, we dismissed 150 DWI cases. … The idea of dismissing approximately 150 DWI cases is a gut punch to me. It makes me sick to my stomach, but I have no choice, my prosecutorial ethics will require me to dismiss these cases.” 

MARTINEZ CRITICAL OF DISMISSALS

Former United States Attorney Damon Martinez is running against Bernalillo County  District Attorney Sam Bregman for the Democratic nomination. The Democratic primary is on June 4.

On January 23, Martinez issued the following statement to New Mexico Politics With Joe Monahan blasting Bregman for dismissing the 152  DWI cases that the Bregman said  are compromised by the federal corruption investigation:

“The DA’s handling of this police corruption case is just another example of why Bernalillo County can’t afford to have someone with less than five years of experience as a prosecutor in one of the most important prosecutor roles in New Mexico. Bregman is jeopardizing potential cases against other perpetrators by announcing the case to the world, presumably in an effort to get in front of it, and to continue what appears to be his main priority, campaigning. Then he refers all questions to the US Attorney’s office, deflecting his responsibility to the voters he was appointed to serve. 

As a career prosecutor and the former US Attorney for NM, I will tell you how a qualified District Attorney would have handled this investigation correctly.  I would have led a thorough investigation in order to ensure that none of the now-dismissed cases couldn’t be prosecuted without these officers. For the cases that couldn’t move forward, I would have filed motions to dismiss, but without all of the pomp and circumstance. In doing so, I would have avoided notifying every attorney and police officer in the city that they may be under investigation, and, subsequently, removed the chance to destroy evidence that they now have, thanks to Bregman’s affinity for attention. 

Bernalillo County deserves better. That’s why this is an elected office. The democratic process would have separated Bregman’s bravado and political aspirations from his resume, and this year it will.”

On January 23, Damon Martinez issued a second press release:

“The dismissal of these 150+ cases is a tragic loss in the fight against drunk driving. Thomas Clear III’s possible connection to a police corruption investigation and this unfortunate result is disconcerting.  The money DA Bregman has accepted from him is now suspect. Today, I call on my opponent to donate this money to Mothers Against Drunk Driving, in an effort to offset some of the damage that has been done.”

CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTION QUESTIONED AND RETURNED

On January 25, KOAT TV Channel 7 reported that it had reviewed the campaign finance reports  of Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman for this year’s election.  It was reported that criminal defense attorney Thomas Clear III  made a $1,000 donation District Attorney Sam Bregman in June of last year.

Public opinion pollster Brian Sanderoff of Research and Polling was contacted and he said this:

“It was very inappropriate for the attorney to give Sam Bregman, the district attorney, a campaign contribution right in the middle of this criminal investigation, which does involve the district attorney’s office. … So it creates an appearance of a conflict of interest for a campaign contribution to be granted in the middle of a criminal investigation. … If a candidate had received the political contributions from this attorney in the last few months, I think it’d be advisable to return it. But if it was years ago, not so much.”

Channel 7 reached out to Bregman’s campaign, and it sent the following statement from Bregman:

“The campaign refunded the contribution made on June 12th last year. We sent a check back to the attorney last Friday, January 19th, for the full amount of the contribution. Having worked in the legal profession for decades, District Attorney Bregman was an acquaintance with the attorney. Without compromising an ongoing investigation, DA Bregman returned the contribution as soon as possible.”

The link to the quoted news article is here:

https://www.koat.com/article/albuquerque-investigated-attorney-court-donations/46544836

DISTRICT ATTORNEY SAM BREGMAN RESPONDS TO MARTINEZ

District Attorney Sam Bregman issued the following statement to New Mexico Politics with Joe Monahan in response to former United States Attorney Damon Martinez January 23 statement to New Mexico Politics with Joe Monahan:

“It is very easy for Mr. Martinez to pontificate on everything he claims our office is doing wrong from the sidelines. My job as District Attorney is to ensure equal and fair justice for all cases that come into our office. 

Apparently, Mr. Martinez’s new job is to criticize the work of our office in an attempt to score political points. I would have hoped that a former federal prosecutor would have understood why we cannot go into further detail about an ongoing federal investigation. 

Unlike Mr. Martinez, it is my ethical duty as the District Attorney to uphold the highest standards of fairness and justice. While he was a senior advisor for the Albuquerque Police Department, exactly what measures did Mr. Martinez put in place to address this situation? 

Over the past year, I have had to make some difficult decisions. I can promise the people of Bernalillo County that every decision I have made, has been with their best interest and well-being at heart. Mr. Martinez’s blatant grandstanding shows one indisputable fact: His decisions are made with his political interests at heart.”

DWI VICTIM RIGHTS ADVOCATES RAISE THE ALARM OVER DISMISSALS

Linda Atkinson is with the DWI Resource Center and the Victim’s Rights Project. After hearing about the District Attorney’s Office dropping more than 152 DWI-related cases, she raised major concerns about what the drivers who are in fact guilty of DWI responsible will do now. Atkinson believes the drivers named in the 152 dropped cases will “continue with their behavior”.

Atkinson said this in a Channel 7 interview:

“It is such a disservice to this community. It’s a disservice to victims. … Our roads are now still very dangerous.”

People affected by DWI, like Caroline Esquivel in Espanola, lost her granddaughter Justice Gutierrez-Perez in 2020 to a drunk driver. Now, she takes care of a son who will never see his mom again. Esquivel said this:

“She was part of this community to the point that she would have been one of our future leaders.  [Victims of DWI]  are people too, and these lives matter also.”

Atkinson and Esquivel share the same concern and wonder what other families have to say about this recent investigation.  With an investigation like this and the number of DWI cases being dropped, both are hoping it can shed light on a problem they have been dealing with for too long.

Atkinson said the effects of this on families worries her. Atkinson said this:

“It’s beyond the pale of what this means and how that impact will ripple through for quite a while.”

The link to the full Channel 7 news story is here

https://www.koat.com/article/dwi-cases-dropped-das-office-fbi-raid-apd/46465119

NEW MEXICO’S DWI CRISIS

For decades, New Mexico has consistently ranked in the top 10 states when it comes to DWI rates. The most recent study released on October 21, 2021  by a driver’s education resource website indicated people in New Mexico continued to drive impaired in high numbers. According to Zutobi, New Mexico had the seventh highest driving under the influence (DUI) severity score in the United States. Zutobi’s U.S. DUI Report presented historical trends and breakdown of DUI’s by state.

Leo Waldenback, co-founder of Zutobi said this:

“The numbers for New Mexico are much higher than many of the other states in the country.  … We’ve taken a deep dive into the data to find out where DUI accidents, fatalities, and arrests frequently occur. … We have got to continue the effort to encourage the public not to drink and drive through education through frequent messages be it radio, newspaper, Facebook whatever to remind the public DWI is a crime.”

https://www.currentargus.com/story/news/2021/10/14/dui-report-gives-new-mexico-seven-dui-severity-score/6095970001/

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

There is absolutely no doubt that APD’s reputation has been trashed to a major extent because of this scandal. APD will likely be viewed by many as again having just another bastion of “dirty and corrupt cops” who have brought dishonor to their department and to the department’s professed values of “Pride, Integrity, Fairness and Respect”.  There is little doubt that the whole scandal places an ethical stain on APD that may never be removed.  The public will demand that there is a thorough investigation of the officers involved in the crime and the people and supervisors who should have known what was going on.

Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman may have taken swift action with the dismissal of the DWI 152 cases that he felt ethically he had no choice  to, but his work cannot stop there. Victim rights cannot simply be ignored or discarded so easily.  Bregman needs to decide if his office will also bring charges against the very APD Police officers who actions forced the dismissal of the cases.  Ditto as to Attorney General Raul Torrez who is also Chairman of the Law Enforcement Certification Commission in the state.

CORRECTIVE ACTION NEEDS TO BE DONE IMMEDIATELY

One thing is for certain is that swift corrective action must be taken to restore the integrity and the credibility of APD’s DWI unit and action must be taken by Mayor Tim Keller.  This is one crisis that cannot be solved by Keller’s public relations apparatus. APD Chief Harold Medina to some extent needs to be held responsible for what has happened. There was a level of mismanagement and inept supervision by APD higher command staff.

There are 5 police officers along with one sergeant and one lieutenant currently assigned to the APD DWI unit.  The Deputy Chief of Field Services, who oversees the DWI unit, should be removed and reassigned immediately and the same should happen to the entire DWI Unit.  All sworn police officers assigned to the DWI unit should be replaced with all new staffing including Sergeants and Lieutenants.  The office of Inspector General should undertake an immediate review of all APD DWI cases of the last 3 years to determine to what extent cases were dismissed by the unit and the reasons why.

Throughout the APD Police Academy and most of its classroom walls as well as APD main station and substations are placards that proclaim APD’s professed values of “Pride, Integrity, Fairness And Respect”.  Until Mayor Tim Keller and his administration take aggressive action to deal with this latest APD crisis, APD’s professed values of “Pride, Integrity, Fairness And Respect” are meaningless words on a wall and the public’s trust in APD will be forever tainted.

On Friday January 19, a bombshell blew up that rocked the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) and the legal community when it was reported by all local news outlets that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) executed search warrants and raided 3 homes of Albuquerque Police officers and the home and law office of a prominent DWI defense attorney. On the same day, the Bernalillo County District Attorney’s Office announced it had dismissed 152 active and pending DWI criminal cases because of the federal investigation.

On January 24, the KOB News Channel 4 telecasted during its 10:00 pm news program an investigative report by its entire news team that for the first time identified the 4 APD police officers and the criminal defense attorney involved in the APD corruption scandal involving the dismissal of the DWI cases.  On January 25, the Albuquerque Journal published a banner headline story entitled “APD Lt., Officers ID’d in Corruption case”, The allegations involve DWI cases going back a decade”.

Below are the news stories followed by Analysis and Commentary:

KOB NEWS STORY

Following is the full Channel 4 news report in written form:

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – With each day, there are more repercussions in the federal investigation into multiple Albuquerque police officers. KOB 4 spent hours independently confirming the details agents have yet to release that ultimately led to the recent dismissal of dozens of DWI cases. 

None of the people we’re about to identify have been officially charged. 

Why we’re naming them.

KOB 4 dug through hundreds of public records to identify four officers in APD’s DWI Unit. 

We confirmed all four were just added to the Bernalillo County district attorney’s list of officers who have credibility issues as witnesses in court, also known as the Brady list or Giglio list.

KOB 4 confirmed the FBI raided the office of a local attorney who represented clients in the recently dismissed DWI cases, and other cases.

Finally, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Albuquerque confirms the raids are connected to their investigation. With that, the four Albuquerque police officers at the center of this federal investigation are:

• Officer Honorio Alba, Jr.
• Officer Harvey Johnson
• Officer Joshua Montano
• Officer Nelson Ortiz

A supervisor is also implicated, but we can’t independently identify him as of Wednesday night.

The local attorney being investigated is Thomas Clear III.  

THE BASIS OF THE ALLEGED SCHEME

The same scenario happens time and time again in the cases we reviewed. The officers make DWI arrests, the defendants hire this particular attorney, the officers don’t show up to court, and the cases get dismissed. 

KOB 4 first learned something was going on because of a situation at a home in Los Lunas last week. We’ve confirmed through property records that the home belongs to APD Officer Harvey Johnson. 

Johnson’s home was raided by the FBI last Thursday, and we later found out he worked on APD’s DWI unit, and that week many of his DWI cases were dropped by the Bernalillo County District Attorney’s Office.

Johnson was put on administrative leave as a part of this investigation. His name now appears on the district attorney’s list of witnesses who are not credible. 

Officer Honorio Alba Jr. was actually honored for his work against drunk driving last year. The group known as MADD, or Mothers Against Drunk Driving, named him their top officer for the year 2023 in the entire state of New Mexico. 

A post on social media shows APD congratulating him on winning this award. There’s one winner from each state, and he was the winner in New Mexico. It’s dated July 26, 2023, only about six months ago. 

Alba made approximately $148,000 in 2023, making him one of the highest earners in the department. Right now, he’s still making money because he’s on paid administrative leave while this all plays out.

Alba is the officer whose name appears the most in the cases recently dismissed by the Bernalillo County DA’s office. He’s named in 72 of the 156 dismissed cases, or 46% of them.  

Officer Joshua Montano has been on the DWI unit for a long time. In fact, back in 2022, he was hit and severely injured by a drunk driver. The community and a local church came together for the officer and raised thousands of dollars to help with medical expenses. 

Montano is also on administrative leave and no longer considered a credible witness by the DA’s office.

The final officer we can confirm is Officer Nelson Ortiz. He is another member of the DWI unit who happened to be one of the highest earners for the department in 2023. He made around $136,000 last year. 

Montano is also reportedly on paid administrative leave right now, along with three of the four other people under investigation. Of those 156 dismissed cases dismissed so far, his name appears in 11 of them. 

Thomas Clear III is the same attorney who keeps showing up on the list of dismissed DWI cases. KOB 4 confirmed last week that FBI agents also raided his office in a Mid Heights neighborhood Thursday.

Neighbors told us five or six FBI vehicles and twice as many agents showed up at the home office around 8 a.m. Thursday. They were shouting “FBI” and “search warrant” multiple times before realizing no one was home, and they used a battering ram to break down the front door.

The final element we needed to independently connect these officers to the investigation came Wednesday. Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman confirmed all four were recently added to his office’s Brady or Giglio list. 

The Giglio list is a list of all the law enforcement officers who have lost their credibility in court. Very recently, those officers ended up on the district attorney’s office Giglio-Brady list.

Once on this list, anytime an officer is called as a witness in a case, the prosecutors would have to disclose that to the defense.

The Law Office of the Public Defender says the Giglio-Brady list is one way to hold police officers accountable and ensure their testimony in court is reliable.

“DWI cases are based on the testimony of the DWI investigative officer so without that testimony there is no way to continue on with that case, and it is extremely disappointing, very upsetting. But it is something we have to do. I think in due time, people will understand why they were put on that list,” Bregman said. 

Bregman says he couldn’t give any more details at this time because he doesn’t want to interfere with the federal investigation.

The question everyone has is why did these officers not show up to court? Was there an incentive? That’s the part of the investigation no one is clarifying yet. 

KOB 4 asked Bregman about it on Wednesday:

“Let me put it to you this way, there’s an ongoing federal investigation. I want the federal authorities, the FBI, the U.S. Attorney’s Office to do a thorough, clean investigation to root out any issues they see. And when they complete that, I imagine a lot more will come to light – but at this point, I don’t want to compromise that, I want them to be able to do their work.”

The link to the KOB 4 news story is here:

https://www.kob.com/new-mexico/dwi-corruption-scandal-identifying-the-apd-officers-and-attorney-at-the-center-of-a-federal-investigation/

ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL FRONT PAGE ARTICLE

Following is the Albuquerque Journal January 25 headline story followed by the link to the story entitled “APD Lt., Officers ID’d in Corruption case”; The allegations involve DWI cases going back a decade” written by Journal staff writers Mathew Reisen and Colleen Heid:

“An Albuquerque police lieutenant and four officers being investigated by the FBI in connection with years of corruption related to DWI cases have been identified.

The Journal has learned, through court records and property searches, that Lt. Justin Hunt and officers Honorio Alba Jr., Joshua Montaño, Harvey Johnson Jr. and Nelson Ortiz are those under federal scrutiny.

None of the men has been charged, and no arrests have been made in the ongoing investigation by the FBI.

The allegations involve the dismissals of DWI cases filed in Bernalillo County’s Metro Court over at least the past decade and involve a group of current and former DWI-unit officers, at least one Albuquerque defense attorney and his paralegal.

Hunt is on administrative assignment, and the other four are on paid administrative leave.

Albuquerque Police Department officials have not identified the officers or detailed the nature of the alleged scheme, but said all five are also facing an investigation by the Internal Affairs division.

The FBI also has been tight-lipped about the particulars of the case, and APD officials told the Journal on Tuesday they have received only limited information.

Hunt and Montaño both declined to comment to the Journal on Wednesday. Johnson Jr. and Alba Jr. did not return calls for comment, and Ortiz could not be reached.

On Jan. 18, FBI agents searched the homes of Johnson and Alba in Los Lunas and Edgewood, respectively. They also searched the law office of prominent defense attorney Thomas Clear III and the home of Clear’s paralegal, Ricardo “Rick” Mendez.

Within hours of the searches, the 2nd Judicial District Attorney’s Office announced the dismissal of more than 100 misdemeanor DWI cases. A Journal analysis of the 152 cases dismissed so far found that 136, or nearly 90%, were filed by four of the officers on leave.

Alba was responsible for 67 of the cases; Montaño had 41; and Johnson was listed as the arresting officer on 28. Ortiz was listed as the arresting officer on five of the dismissed cases.

All four officers were added to the District Attorney’s Giglio disclosure list, which names law enforcement personnel deemed untrustworthy to testify.

APD Chief Harold Medina told the Journal on Tuesday that the department caught wind of an alleged scheme in December 2022 after overhearing a conversation about it that involved one of the officers now under scrutiny. Medina said the details weren’t accurate and the lead didn’t materialize into a full-fledged investigation.

In October, Medina said, a similar allegation came up in court, leading APD to open a probe into the officers and other players in the criminal justice system. He said that’s when he learned the FBI was already doing its own investigation.

“In the end, the FBI and I spoke and I said, ‘Look, we’re looking at the same thing. Let’s work together,’” Medina said. Nevertheless, he said FBI officials kept many details of the case “close to their chest.” The two agencies began to work together to some degree, he added.

THE OFFICERS

• Lt. Justin Hunt was the second-highest paid city employee in 2022, earning more than $217,000. Hunt, who lives in Rio Rancho, had left the DWI unit and, most recently, was a lieutenant in the Southeast area command.
• Honorio Alba Jr., senior police officer, was one of more than a dozen officers who made more than $124,000 in 2022. In August, MADD recognized Alba as Outstanding Urban DWI Officer for New Mexico. APD noted the award on its Instagram, writing, “Officer Alba is 1 out of 50 recipients of the award. Thank you for your hard work and dedicated service!”
• Joshua Montaño, senior police officer, made headlines in July 2022 when a drunken driver ran a red light and hit his car as he left work — putting him through multiple surgeries and a stint in rehabilitation. Before that, Montaño made the news for two high-profile DWI stops: the May 2017 arrest of Ryan Flynn, Gov. Susana Martinez’s former secretary of the New Mexico Environment Department, and the 2018 arrest of former Albuquerque legislator Monica Youngblood. In 2021, Montaño made a recruitment video for APD, saying he loved the prevention aspect of his job on the DWI unit. He said in the video, “knowing that person is impaired and being able to stop them and safely get them off the road is the thing I love most about this job.”
• Harvey Johnson Jr., senior police officer, who lives in Los Lunas, was a subject of a 2020 article written by his wife, Alyssa, about her experience during the COVID-19 pandemic. The article discussed living with a police officer who was required to continue working with the public when many businesses were shuttered because his profession was deemed essential. The post appeared on abqmom.com.
• Nelson Ortiz, senior police officer, was in a KRQE news story in January 2020 after he arrested two men who were driving drunk and drag racing on Montgomery. In lapel video shared with the news story, Ortiz told one of the men, who could barely stand, “You could have killed somebody out there. You think that’s funny?”

The link to the Albuquerque Journal article is here

https://www.abqjournal.com/news/albuquerque-police-lieutenant-officers-being-investigated-by-fbi-identified/article_3a78de2a-bb07-11ee-b707-4b1e6c6ad68c.html

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

Both Mayor Tim Keller and Chief Harold Medina must ultimately be held accountable and take full responsibility for failed leadership of APD and this most recent  APD scandal.  Mayor Tim Keller and Chief Harold Medina instead have been in full fledge “politcal spin cycle” of “pivot, deflect and blame” since the news broke and since the Albuquerque City Council accused them of failed leadership in dealing with the scandal as they attempt to get ahead of this most recent scandal involving APD.  They both have attempted to take credit for the investigation and for taking action to hold bad cops accountable for the corruption when it was in fact the federal investigation that forced their hand and after they both allowed the problem to fester for 6 years.

Chief Medina said city councilors were “out of line” demanding information about the scandal.  Mayor Keller said of the council “it’s marginally unethical for them to air these concerns” and jeopardizing the investigation. Medina admitted that he knew about the corruption as far back as December 2022, but he did nothing. They both admitted that only after they found out the Feds were investigating APD, the decision was made to initiate a city criminal investigation.

Keller and Medina have made more than a few stunning admissions. They admitted that the APD bribery and conspiracy scheme has been going on the entire 6 years they have been in charge of APD but  they never detected what was going on. They admitted that only after they found out the Feds were investigating APD they decided to put things in high gear with their own investigation and to proclaim cooperation.

These admissions come from a Mayor who was first elected with great bravado as the white knight State Auditor who stopped “waste, fraud and abuse” and held people accountable for government corruption. This is the same candidate for Mayor who said six years ago said he was “uniquely qualified” to be Mayor above all others when he had absolutely no experience in municipal government affairs let alone law enforcement.

Chief Medina admitted that he knew about the corruption as far back as December 2022 when APD first got a complaint related to the department’s DWI unit in December 2022, yet he waited and essentially did nothing for a full year.  Medina said “They believe it was DWI officers, and that one had made the comment that they were making money off of DWI stops.”

It is downright laughable when Chief Medina told one news outlet he has never looked the other way at police corruption in more than three decades he has been on the force. Keller in particular has gone out of his way to defend Medina proclaiming Medina was holding APD police officers accountable. They both simply lied. Both have an extensive history of allowing and ignoring overtime pay abuses as police officers were paid in the hundreds of thousands in police overtime by gaming the system and being paid two and three times their annual salaries with many of those officers assigned to the DWI Unit with some of those DWI unit officers now being accused of bribery and conspiracy to dismiss DWI cases.

There have been no less than 7 audits documenting the corruption, waste, fraud and abuse in APD  police overtime over the past 8 years with one audit done by none other than former State Auditor Tim Keller. Keller and Medina have done nothing to curb the overtime pay abuse and there have been no prosecutions for time card fraud or overtime pay abuse by police officers, especially those assigned to the DWI Unit, even when found by the audits. In fact one of the APD Officers identified in the current scandal was assigned to the DWI and paid over $124,000 because of excessive overtime. Bribes taken to get DWI charges dismiss may have been considered a bonus of some sort.

Keller and Median have emphasized that only 5 police officers have been implicated knowing full well that the federal investigation is continuing and is likely going to reveal far more officers are involved with the corruption and perhaps result in the dismissal of even more cases.

There is absolutely no doubt that APD’s reputation has been trashed to a major extent because of this scandal. APD will likely be viewed by many as again having just another bastion of “dirty and corrupt cops” who have brought dishonor to their department and to the department’s professed values of “Pride, Integrity, Fairness and Respect”. 

There is little doubt that the whole scandal places an ethical stain on the department that may never be removed. The public will demand that there is a thorough investigation of the officers involved in the crimes and the people and supervisors who should have known what was going on.

This is so even before any charges have been filed against anyone, before any one is fired from APD and before any action is brought against the police officers involved for government corruption and criminal conspiracy to dismiss cases working with a prominent criminal defense attorney. Should the criminal defense attorney be charged and convicted of the crimes, he is likely facing disbarment from the practice of law.

Throughout the APD Police Academy and most of its classroom walls as well as APD main station and substations are placards that proclaim APD’s professed values of “Pride, Integrity, Fairness And Respect”.  Until Mayor Tim Keller and his administration and for that matter the City Council  take aggressive action to deal with this latest APD crisis, APD’s professed values of “Pride, Integrity, Fairness And Respect” are meaningless words on a wall.