Las Cruces Community Radio 101.5 FM
  • Home
  • Donate
  • Listen
    • Archives
  • Schedule
    • Programs
  • Underwrite
  • Merch
  • About Us
  • Events
  • Contact Us

Walt Rubel Commentary: Special sessions show flaws in system

7/18/2024

 
A recent town hall meeting in Las Cruces hosted by the Foundation for Open Government focused on the need for greater transparency at the Legislature during the budget-making process.

There is, perhaps, no process at the Legislature that is more secretive and less transparent than the special session about to begin on Thursday, July 18. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham wants legislation passed dealing with panhandling, criminal defendants judged to be incompetent to stand trial and felons in possession of guns.
Ideally, from her standpoint, all three issues will have been worked out in closed-door meetings, and legislators will rubber stamp their approval. But that’s not how it usually works,

All three bills were introduced in this year’s regular 30-day session. The panhandling bill never got a committee hearing. The competency bill was amended and passed through one committee, but died in the second. The felon in possession bill was also passed over in its first committee.

Clearly, none of those bills were a top priority for the Legislature. We won’t know until they are introduced what changes, if any, have been made to make them more palatable this time around.

But we do know that the success rate for special sessions is mixed, at best. And for good reason.

The governor was able to use a special session to pass legislation legalizing cannabis, but that came after several years of hearings on the topic. This year she is attempting to pass a much more diverse set of new laws, without nearly as much prior date. And, she will have different supporters and opponents for each.

Republicans are likely to agree with her on the panhandling and competency laws, but will fight tooth and nail against any law to increase penalties for possession of a gun. We will soon see if the governor has been able to move reluctant Democrats who don’t see law enforcement as the solution to a panhandling problem that stems from homelessness and poverty.

While there is likely general agreement on the competency issue, a recent community radio interview with state Supreme Court Justice Brianna Zamora convinced me that the issue is more complicated than I had appreciated. 

Legislators come into a special session with different priorities, based on their party affiliation and political beliefs. But there is one goal they all share - getting to sine die and going back home as soon as possible.

It’s one more example of the many inadequacies built into our legislative structure. All of these issues could have been addressed in the regular session if lawmakers had more than 30 days to meet. 

Our unpaid legislators know they have to take time away from their paying jobs to attend the regular session each year. But they don’t plan for a special session. That means an unexpected loss of revenue for as long as they are away.

The governor’s impatience is understandable given that she only has two more regular sessions to go. We will soon find out if legislators share her sense of urgency.



Walter Rubel can be reached at [email protected]
Listen to the audio version

Comments are closed.

    Shows

    All
    All About Books
    Cafe Con Leche
    Commentaries
    Coronavirus Update
    Delving In
    Earth Matters
    Eye On Government
    Just Community
    Live From The Market
    Live True
    Local Vibes Live
    Mesilla Valley Sports Show
    Speak Up Las Cruces
    Special Broadcasts
    Take On Faith
    The Sunday Show
    Think Again
    This Week In Las Cruces

    Music Shows

    You can find a two-week archive of all of our music shows and nearly every other one of our shows by going to our Schedule page.

    Archives

    June 2025
    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    May 2018

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly