1-31 Consider Alternatives For Pre-Kindergarten

SANTA FE – Most education issues aren’t particularly visible or controversial in the New Mexico Legislature, but pre-kindergarten education programs appear headed for center stage, where they may grab quite a bit of attention.
In this instance, the debate will not be nearly as much along the lines of whether we should spend public money for private schools or about the separation of church and state, although they still apply.
The main issues in this debate will be whether government can afford to or should support early-childhood programs. Gov. Richardson’s proposal is for the state to initiate public-private partnerships with businesses and churches that currently provide programs for preschool children. The problem for state government is that it is on the outside looking in. Preschool programs now are in the domain of the private sector.
To gain a foothold, the state must cozy up and say, “Let’s be partners. We’ll give you some money and then tell you how to run your business. And as soon as you are operating by state standards and we have enough taxpayer money to fund everything, we’ll take it all over.”
The state is also now imposing mandates through child care licensing, even for private programs not receiving government funding. Under these new requirements, many private businesses may not survive. Private pre-schools have not objected to safety standards prescribed by the state, but when that is extended to program standards, it may inhibit constitutional freedoms to private business and, therefore, become a liability problem.
Many parents are very happy with the care and services their preschool children are receiving from private programs. Many of these programs are full and have waiting lists. If the state heaps too many regulations on them, these may be forced to shut down, leaving the state to foot the bill for even greater numbers of children.
There is also considerable disagreement among those who have studied government funded early childhood programs as to whether they are essential to educational readiness or just an offer of free babysitting used to garner public support. Opinions range from it being an absolute essential, through it being a waste of money, down to it even being harmful to a child.
Good parenting seems to be the most important factor in child growth and development. That is done at home and that is where many parents want it to stay.
If preschool programs are voluntary, yet state-supported, families who prefer to care for their children’s preschool needs at home will be taxed for the government to provide free child care for someone else’s children. At this point, the governor’s proposal is voluntary, but already some legislators have argued for it to be mandatory, so that no child is left behind.
This thorny issue is bound to cause problems. Despite a number of states that have tried it, a good model that works for all parties has yet to be found. The public-private partnerships may be all right for some, but there must be a way for current successful programs, which are serving many children in the state, to continue to operate without requiring expensive state controls.
What is clear is that one size does not fit all in regard to education. An alternative may be to allow continued licensing for all child care programs meeting current standards, while encouraging state-funded programs to achieve higher quality standards.
This would provide programs and the public with a wider variety of choices and keep prices from skyrocketing by requiring every program to have degreed teachers. It could allow students receiving state assistance to attend any licensed center and would be accessible to all, but would not be free for those families not determined to be disadvantaged.
By supporting quality and choice in the programs already available for children, taxpayers and public education systems would not be forced to take on roles beyond their ability to pay for them.

1-30 Gov. Bill & Pres. W.

SANTA FE – Despite their differences, Gov. Bill Richardson and President George Bush have some similarities. They are fun and comfortable to be around. They’re both sports fans, who especially like baseball, although Richardson may like boxing even better.
When did I ever pal around with George Bush? He spoke to a men’s luncheon during the Tyler (Texas) Rose Festival back when he still owned the Texas Rangers baseball team. Our niece was the Rose Queen that year so I was a special guest and got to talk sports with the future president after the luncheon.
When Bush was governor, his politics were rather moderate, much like his father’s. Democrats prefer to call it centrist, which is what Richardson calls himself.
What got me thinking along this line was that both men delivered the best speeches recently that I’ve ever heard them give. Neither is a natural at speaking. Their skills are in their interaction with small, informal groups, where they are very charming and persuasive.
But both have improved their speaking skills. Teleprompters have helped greatly. Bush has had at least four years to learn to handle them. His inaugural address was the first time he has been able to deliver a speech that flows, instead of being broken into short, choppy sentences.
Two days earlier, Richardson used a teleprompter for the first time as governor while giving his opening day speech to the Legislature. His speech also flowed seamlessly. Both speeches were delivered with what seemed like effortless enthusiasm and no hint that they weren’t looking at their audience.
The content of both speeches bore some similarities also. Both were a bit over the top. The president gave the most ringing endorsement of international human liberty ever heard in an inaugural address. It left the nation and world scratching their collective heads about what he really meant and how he plans to pull it off.
Aides say Bush started working on the address a day after his election in November. That explains his good delivery. But the language he used and the policy statements he made caused commentators, such as Bill Buckley, to wonder whether two months of preparation might have given away to some last-minute thoughts.
Our governor also is given to last-minute thoughts. His 40-minute address went through dozens of revisions. The day before his speech, Richardson said he had revised it twice that day. The following morning, his office released the speech by e-mail at 9:29 and 10 minutes later, sent a revision.
The governor’s state-of-the-state address had solutions for all the state’s problems, raising questions as to how all that could be accomplished and funded. Richardson acknowledged his unbridled enthusiasm to conquer the world when he added words not in his text, “I know I sometimes I overdo it.” That brought a bigger response than anything else in his speech.
It was a good speech, possibly the result of hiring another speechwriter for his stable. Richardson calls his agenda for the 2005 Legislature “bold and vast.” He’s right on both counts.
The only way he can finance it is to count on the inflated prices of oil and gas continuing into future years. Because of unstable situations in many oil producing countries, that might happen, but it is not something that past Legislatures ever have been willing to count on, and rightfully so.
The federal Bureau of Land Management now proposes to open Otero Mesa, in the southern New Mexico desert, to oil and gas exploration. That could shore up Richardson’s revenue stream, but he’s fighting it, along with Attorney General Patricia Madrid.
They cite environmental concerns. I grew up in that part of the country and can’t imagine that a few pump jacks are going to cause that much harm. Of course, the other party is in control of Washington and even though New Mexico now is officially a red state, the polls may show us to still be environmentally blue.

Adventures in Lobbying #1

 

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SANTA FE � Many years ago, I wrote a column containing tips for aspiring lobbyists. It wasn�t your normal �How a Bill Becomes a Law� piece, extolling the joys of becoming a citizen lobbyist for a day.
It was more an attempt to prepare first-time lobbyists for the realities of what they are likely to face when they come to Santa Fe to present their case to New Mexico lawmakers.
And maybe it served as a vehicle to provide some laughs for those who had been through their first experience and had confronted the harsh reality that things never go quite the same as the instruction sheet told them they would.
OK, so maybe my advice overstated the case a little. That�s what one of Santa Fe�s top lobbyists, Gary Kilpatric, thought after he read a reprint of my column in the New Mexico Business Weekly seven years ago.
But he liked the idea of injecting some humor and a moderate dose of reality into the training session he conducts for the state Association of Commerce and Industry every year at the beginning of the Legislature.
So Kilpatric revised my �Lessons Learned Lobbying in Santa Fe� into a presentation he thought might provide a little more accurate picture of the adventures a citizen might expect upon a first attempt at conquering the New Mexico Legislature.
Kilpatric emphasizes that most of those who try their hand at lobbying find themselves captivated by the process. He describes lobbying as an exciting and effective way to exercise your first amendment right.
After all, Kilpatric says, it can�t be so hard to buy a few lunches, schmooze in the halls, rub elbows with power brokers in the Bull Ring and then presenting a couple of minutes of razor-sharp testimony in committee.
But not so fast, he says. That�s the fantasy league of lobbying. Let�s look at what might be a �bad� day of lobbying.
Adventure #1. The very day you head to Santa Fe the Pineapple Express covers the state with a foot of snow, making your early arrival to get your bearings a forgotten dream.
Adventure #2. If you find a parking place within three blocks of the Capitol, it will have someone�s name on it, along with a sign describing the atrocities visited on those who dare to park there. You end up parking closer to Espanola than to the Round House.
Adventure #3. When you arrive at the Capitol, there is not a legislator in sight. The ones you want to see are in caucus. Then you learn that all the legislators are in caucus and everyone you see standing around is another lobbyist.
Adventure #4. As you walk around, you find there are many places you can�t go. There are signs all over saying �No mad dogs or lobbyists beyond this point.� And there are burly sergeants at arms everywhere who never heard of a Dale Carnegie course in public relations.
Adventure #5. The caucuses finally end and immediately all lawmakers go into a joint session for an endless floor debate on whether the state question should be �red or green� and you wonder �What am I doing here?� The debate continues so long that lawmakers stroll over to their snack bar at the edge of the chamber. And there goes your chance to take one to lunch.
Adventure #6. The session finally ends and you catch a legislator in the hallway before his committee hearing starts. You tell him why your bill is wonderful and ask him to vote for it. He asks who is lobbying on the other side and when you tell him, he explains that the guy was best man at his wedding and his first-born is named after him. Then he asks you to get together with the guy and reach a compromise. You do, and he says, �Sorry, buddy, try again next year.�
Next time we�ll explain what happens once the committee hearing begins.

Adventures in Lobbying #2

 

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SANTA FE � In my previous column, Santa Fe lobbyist Gary Kilpatric and I described the possible adventures of a first-time citizen lobbyist at the New Mexico Legislature.
It was a somewhat worst-case scenario, but we wanted everyone to understand that it isn�t normally as smooth an operation as it is usually described.
Our mythical lobbyist arrived at the Capitol in a snow storm and had to park halfway to Espanola. When he finally got inside the Round House, all legislators were in party caucuses. From there they went straight to the floor for a joint session and then into committee hearings. And things didn�t go well with the one lawmaker our citizen-lobbyist was able to talk with on the way to the committee hearing.
Adventure #7. We join our lobbyist as the committee finally assembles, long after the scheduled time. The good news is that your bill is first on the agenda. Unfortunately, however, an influential legislator has prevailed on the committee chairman to put his little non-controversial bill on first. And it turns out to be 100 pages long.
Adventure #8. After sitting several hours as each line of the bill is read, analyzed, debated and amended, you just have to take a restroom break. That�s exactly when the vote is taken and the chairman announces your bill is next.
Adventure #9. As you begin to testify, you realize the room full of sweet, little old ladies you thought were showing their grandchildren through the Capitol are actually there to testify against your bill.
Adventure #10. As you continue your testimony, you notice members of the audience and members of the committee are continuously coming and going from the committee room, whispering among themselves and passing notes. Someone opens the door to the committee room, sees it is only you talking and leaves, letting the door slam loudly behind him.
Adventure #11. Your testimony is followed by that of a distinguished gentleman, whom the committee obviously respects. He states that the concept of your bill is great, but that because of technical problems he will have to strenuously oppose it.
Adventure #12. Then a committee member says he has a friendly little amendment � to strike all the language after the title.
Adventure #13. That amendment dies, but when it comes time to vote, some of the committee members supporting your bill leave the room for another meeting, while the committee members opposing your bill suddenly reappear.
Adventure #14. Miraculously, your bill passes and you head to the nearest watering hole to celebrate. But a few hours later someone informs you that your bill was reconsidered later and killed.
Adventure #15. You throw on your coat and run back to the Capitol, knowing full well that you shouldn�t have left your poor little bill alone with all those legislators and lobbyists. Once there you learn your bill was only tabled and you immediately begin organizing your supporters to pull the bill from the table when the right committee members are present.
Adventure #16. By this time, it is late at night and the committee decides to adjourn. You�ve done what you can for the day and you didn�t plan to stay tomorrow. But you must. You never realized how long and hard legislators work and how many people are at the Capitol trying to get their ear, just as you are.
Adventure #17. You learn that no matter what happens to your bill tomorrow, there still are ways to try to revive it. The process is never easy, but for those willing to work hard, it can be successful. It also is fun and energizing to see democracy in action.
All of this will never happen to you in one day, the good or the bad. But the process of legislating and lobbying is grueling. Sometimes it is compared to flying an airplane � hours of boredom, punctuated by minutes of sheer terror. But we need people who enjoy doing it.

1-24 Taking Advantage of Disasters

 

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SANTA FE � Using the tsunami disaster to one�s advantage has become a popular sport among many these days.
Some environmentalists call it a �weather related event,� making it appear to have been caused by global warming. Religious leaders call it an act of God. Supporters and detractors of the United States are trying to maneuver it to their political advantage. And people such as I use it to point out human frailties and inconsistencies.
We won�t spend time here addressing the obvious opportunists, who are trying to make a quick buck off the tragedy. Let�s look at the propagandists wanting to further their beliefs.
The environmentalists have a point, but many are vastly overstating it. The undersea earthquake and resulting tsunamis were not caused by anything we did to our environment. They were the result of plate tectonics that were moving continents around eons before humans arrived to populate the beaches of the world.
Environmentalists do have a point, however, that coral reefs, sand dunes and mangrove forests, cleared away to build harbors, hotels and shrimp farms could have slowed down the killer waves in many cases.
Various religions have tried to explain the disaster as God punishing the bad and sparing the good. Others have said he is testing us. But scientists tell us the disparities were caused by the direction in which the plates rubbed against each other, sending the most brutal waves to the east and west.
Religions must learn to deal with the fact that bad things sometimes happen to good people and good things sometimes happen to bad people � and that we all have a certain amount of good and bad in us. But our culture still is a ways away from that acknowledgement when insurance companies still call natural disasters an act of God.
Our nation�s detractors had a field day when our president didn�t publicly acknowledge the disaster for several days and then low-balled our pledge to the recovery effort. We now are on track to handle it as we should, doing what is necessary and saying we will address the costs later.
But the world is watching anyway. We can�t spend too much time pointing out how generous and compassionate a nation we are, without out detractors charging that we are only trying to improve our image with the world.
We can only hope a rational assessment of the situation will include notice that United Nations Secretary General Kofi Anan was equally slow to speak out about the disaster and that oil-rich Arab nations, some of which make donations to families of suicide bombers, have donated very little to help the plight of the mostly Muslim nations affected.
President Bush�s touch was masterful in appointing his father and former President Clinton to head our nation�s private fund raising effort. Clinton has been especially supportive of the president in this effort and in support of his post-9/11 and Iraq policies.
Part of that may be to protect the presidency and part may be to rehabilitate his own image. It�s nice to see Clinton doing the right thing, even if he, also, is taking advantage of the situation. Some have also wondered about the president�s brother, Jeb, being sent to assess the South Asia situation.
He�d had experience with hurricane relief in Florida, but it also was a nice start at giving him some international experience for an expected 2008 presidential candidacy. Since this is such a family affair, maybe Clinton should request a role for Hillary.
Even some in the scientific community appear to be taking advantage of the number of natural disasters occurring in the world by making doomsday predictions of their own based on worst-case scenarios that seem quite improbable.
It may be that many are ready to hear such things. I have some very intelligent friends who are worried. But remember when we hear reports that the weather is the most extreme it has been in 80 years, that means it was even worse 80 years ago � and we survived.

1-23 Should We Abolish Elected Boards?

SANTA FE – New Mexico citizens are beginning to see the impact of the constitutional amendment we passed in September 2003, transferring control of public schools from an elected state board of education to the governor.
Two education items were on that special election ballot. One of them, permitting a little bigger dip for schools into the state permanent fund, passed narrowly amid much controversy. The other amendment, abolishing the elected state Board of Education and transferring its powers to the governor, passed by a bigger margin with little controversy.
Easy passage of the governance amendment was somewhat surprising in light of its failure in previous elections. New Mexicans traditionally have not liked giving up the right to vote on their public officials, even if they can’t name them or describe exactly what they do.
But this time New Mexico voters gave the benefit of the doubt to a governor who argued that education was his top priority and there wasn’t much he could do about it as long as a separate board had control.
One year earlier gubernatorial candidate Bill Richardson had laid out his vision for moving New Mexico forward. Voters liked his energy, enthusiasm and ideas.
That popularity continued through the early months of Richardson’s administration, resulting in the Legislature agreeing to put the two education measures on the ballot and scheduling a seldom-seen special election to get the governor’s program moving quickly.
Richardson campaigned all summer that year to sell the changes. It wasn’t easy for New Mexicans to swallow either amendment, but here was a governor willing to devote his considerable influence to improving education in New Mexico in a way we never had found possible to accomplish in the past.
So we gave him his shot and, true to his word, Richardson embarked on a mission to increase school funding, raise teacher licensing standards, require more testing and offer more opportunities for students.
He’s still going full steam ahead. But in the process, some New Mexicans are noticing that there’s no way to slow down the juggernaut.
Sure, the newly-created Public Education Department holds hearings on changes it proposes, just as the elected board did. But whereas the elected board would then vote, in public, in the presence of those asking for changes, department staff return to their offices to make a decision another day.
It is much quicker and more efficient this way. There are no stalemates. Undue pressure can be avoided. Bad suggestions can be ignored. But some New Mexicans are starting to feel that something is missing.
Gone is the ability to lobby the board member from your district for some representation. And gone is the ability to vote for or against that member in the next election.
The only public official accountable now is the governor, and he doesn’t have the accessibility of the former elected board members. And gone is the assurance that policies will remain in place when an administration changes. When new members are elected to a board, regulations continue until changed by majority vote.
Certainly there is a good chance the new system will work at least as well and may even result in the significant improvements promised by the governor.
Our nation has survived quite nicely for over 200 years with no elected national boards. State education department personnel do revise their proposals in response to public input and strive to make as many accommodations as they can within directives of the governor.
Meanwhile some New Mexicans are feeling a little steamrollered. One of those groups is private pre-schools, which don’t ask for government funding, but which nevertheless face regulation of their program content under a pre-kindergarten proposal by the governor.
That may be an area in which the new Public Education Department should slow down and take a closer look at whether it is proposing unnecessary government involvement.

1-21 Legislature's Opening Week

SANTA FE – The opening week of New Mexico legislative session follows a standard format. On the third Tuesday of the January, at high noon , both houses of the legislature are gaveled to order. The roll is called; all members sign in and guests are introduced.
It is a time for much pomp and circumstance. Many lawmakers have their families in town to sit with them on the floor of the chamber. It is the only time that is allowed all session, so women especially, are dressed to their finest. They are joined by former lieutenant governors, all outfitted in red vests, a symbol of their former office.
After all the preliminaries are finished, the Senate is invited to the House chamber for a joint session to hear from the governor. The House gallery, one floor above the chamber, begins filling up about 10:30 a.m. Anyone wanting a seat cannot wait until the joint session begins.
At about 1:30 p.m., a delegation is sent up to the fourth floor to escort the governor from his office to the chamber. The arrival of that delegation no longer is a surprise to the governor. Both chambers are wired for sound and every office, including the governor’s can listen in to proceedings.
Gubernatorial state-of-the-state addresses follow a formula of bragging about accomplishments and then reciting a wish list for the coming session.
The speeches have long been carried by at least one, and usually more, television stations. It is an opportunity for showmanship, but recent governors haven’t been into that. Gov. Bruce King was generally a man of few words, who knew such speeches didn’t matter much, anyway.
Gov. Gary Johnson wasn’t much of a speaker either, but sometimes he spiced his up his addresses with a theme, such as the seven summits he asked lawmakers to scale with him early in his first term. He then enumerated seven major issues he wanted lawmakers to address.
Everyone knew Johnson had scaled Mt. McKinley, North America’s highest peak, and would attempt Mt. Everest as soon as his term was over. What most of us didn’t know at the time was that the zenith of mountain climbing is to conquer the highest peak on each of the seven continents. Johnson revealed that was his goal during his descent from Everest.
Gov. Bill Richardson’s opening day speeches are customarily lengthy, with many accomplishments to talk about and a bucketful of projects and programs left to tackle.
Following the governor’s address, bills are introduced in both houses for a brief period and then both chambers recess for the day because everyone has worked through the noon hour and wants to get some lunch.
The following two days are devoted to a flurry of bill introductions in both houses. Legislative committees hold organizational meetings, but not much is discussed because the bills being introduced are not yet available for the public.
Suggestions have been made for years that bills be pre-filed, allowing them to be printed ahead of time so committee work can begin the first week. But legislative leaders feel they lose some control over the system if that happens.
The result is that by Thursday noon, the early flurry of bill introductions has subsided and there is nothing much to do, except for finance committees to meet. So, while bills are being printed, many lawmakers go home for their last song weekend. For those from the perimeters of the state, it may be the last chance to be home at all for the next two months.
New reporters in Santa Fe for the first time often don’t understand the system. So on Friday, you may see an expose about how the legislature is playing hooky already and slacking off on their jobs. That does not sit well with legislative leaders and the reporters sometimes pay for it.
One such reporter, years ago, was Conroy Chino, now the state Labor secretary.

1-19 Here's What Others Think About Legislatures

SANTA FE – No man’s life, liberty or property is safe when the Legislature goes into session. The same can be said about Congress – and it has been.
Ever since legislative bodies were invented, observers, ranging from philosophers to comedians, have showered us with cynical assessments of these bodies.
Through the centuries, such observations have been coined, revised and misquoted to give us a rich treasury of political impressions and attitudes. To help you get ready to watch these legislatures in action, here are some of my favorite sayings, gleaned from books of quotations, many of which disagree on original sources.
One of the more cutting comments is, “Every once in awhile an innocent man is sent to the legislature.” That comes from Frank McKinney (Kin) Hubbard, a writer for the Indianapolis Star about a century ago.
The quote most often heard around the New Mexico Legislature is “People with weak stomachs should never watch laws or sausages being made.” That one can be used every day – many times. It has been attributed to many sources. I’ll give Prince Otto von Bismarck credit for it because he is the oldest of the sources I’ve seen and Germans are known for their sausage making.
Bismarck is also credited with saying “Politics is the art of the possible.” Absolutists, who feel they must get their total way, are not cut out for politics. An example might be former Gov. Gary Johnson’s veto of tax cuts because they weren’t big enough.
Members of Congress long have been the target of ribbing. Mark Twain and Will Rogers both liked to go after them. Since these two were such great humorists, many quotations are incorrectly attributed to them.
Quotes I’m reasonably sure they did make are Twain’s “It could probably be shown by facts and figures that there is no distinctly native American criminal class, except Congress.” And “Suppose you were an idiot; and suppose you were a member of Congress; but I repeat myself.” Then there was Rogers’ “There is good news from Washington today. Congress is deadlocked and can’t act.”
On the subject of congressional ethics, former U.S. Rep Charles Mathias contends, “Most of us are honest all the time, and all of us are honest most of the time.” Henry Kissinger countered, “Ninety percent of the politicians give the other ten percent a bad reputation.”
On the subject of lawmakers obeying their own laws, Sophocles said 25 centuries ago “Nobody has a more sacred obligation to obey the law than those who make the law.” Not long ago U.S. Rep Henry Hyde observed, “Congress would exempt itself from the laws of gravity if it could.”
But today, Donald M. Fraser notes, “Under current law, it is a crime for a private citizen to lie to a government official, but not for the government to lie to the people.” Then Yogi Berra notes, “The public must learn to obey the laws, just like everyone else.”
There isn’t much love lost between lawmakers and the Supreme Court. Former Justice Charles Evans Hughes charged Congress with being “the biggest law factory the world has ever known.” Defending a Nixon Supreme Court nomination, Sen. Roman Hruska maintained, “There are a lot of mediocre judges and people and lawyers and they are entitled to a little representation.” And then George W. Norris observed, “The people can change Congress, but only God can change the Supreme Court.”
Senators often can be more exasperating than House members. Franklin Roosevelt liked to observe “The only way to get anything done in American government is to bypass the Senate.”
Former Sen. Bob Dole seemed to agree, saying, “If you’re hanging around with nothing to do and the zoo is closed, come over to the Senate. You’ll get the same kind of feeling and you won’t have to pay.”
And finally, over the years numerous sages have warned that the passage of too many laws seriously erodes our freedoms.

1-17 Legislature to be Action-Packed

SANTA FE – The 60-day, “long” session of the New Mexico Legislature, beginning Tuesday, will be action-packed.
Gov. Bill Richardson calls it his most important session, because it is the only 60-day session for which a governor has time to prepare. The only other 60-day session during the four year terms of our governors comes barely two weeks after inauguration.
Our fast-forward governor always can be expected to have more than a full plate, but this year, it will be heaped the highest. In long sessions, any subject is germane for consideration, not just financial matters. Larger states sometimes take all year for such sessions, even though their legislative bodies are no larger. So New Mexicans get a good deal in terms of efficiency.
Each year, Gov. Richardson has presented lawmakers with a smorgasbord of tax cuts here, a few tax increases there, and dozens of new ideas and programs all over the place. He has been fortunate to be in charge during a time of increasing prices in oil and gas, New Mexico’s two cash cows.
That revenue has helped him finance bold new plans, some of which, at this point, appear to be bringing in the additional revenue the governor had promised.
This year’s gubernatorial initiatives call for $42 million of tax deductions for low- and middle-income taxpayers, single parents and military retirees.
The governor eliminated a proposed tax break designed to attract high-income senior citizens to the state, when figures showed it wouldn’t provide the amount of economic development he had hoped.
Education is the bulk of any state’s budget and Richardson has made it a top priority since taking office because of his economic development implications. The governor knows from experience that good schools and a well-educated work force are both at the top of the list for most businesses considering a move to New Mexico.
No sooner had he finished implementing full-day kindergarten for all children whose parents want it, than he has launched an initiative to do the same for four-year-olds. He wants to put $18 million into that over the next two years and he estimates it will run $52 million a year after full implementation.
With states struggling to meet testing requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind Act, Richardson hopes he can give New Mexico a head start by getting children in school earlier to improve our dismal test results.
For grades K-12, the governor is concentrating on improving teacher qualifications through big salary hikes for teachers with top-level education and experience.
For higher education, Richardson wants to expand the lottery scholarship program in hopes of producing a more highly-educated work force. One risk there is that these students will then leave the state for higher-paying jobs. But we’ll never attract those high paying jobs without a better-educated workforce.
State finance officials estimate we will have approximately $300 million in “new” money to finance existing and new programs and $450 million in “old” money to finance one-time expenditures. Already, there are billions of dollars of requests for both pots.
The governor also will have packages to combat DWI, crime and gangs. Water will be a top priority, as will health care, renewable energy, affordable housing, stopping the loss of public safety officers and establishment of a loan fund for businesses seeking to move to New Mexico or expand existing facilities.
Business groups also have announced their legislative priorities, many of them similar to the governor’s. They would like to have more tax credits for research and development, alternative energy and employee health insurance. They want tort and regulatory reform, faster permitting and relief from the pyramiding of gross receipts taxes on sales by businesses to businesses.
Republican lawmakers’ top priority will be voter identification. They also want to stem the huge yearly increases in Medicaid and to take a look at the cost of Gov. Richardson’s commuter rail plans.

1-16

SANTA FE – Recently, state legislative leaders conducted a training session for newly-elected lawmakers to acquaint them with the legislative process as it is practiced here in New Mexico.
But often the most valuable of information doesn't get imparted. The following are some of the unwritten, and often unspoken, tricks of the trade I've gleaned from rookie legislators after they have been hardened by their first year of battle.
Trick #1: If you want to know what is wrong with an idea, introduce it as legislation.
Trick #2: When presenting a bill at a committee, always refer to it as simple, non-controversial and designed merely to clean up confusion in a present statute. That's never true, but fellow lawmakers won't realize you have begun explaining your measure until they hear those words.
Trick #3: Your bills will move through the process at a glacially slow pace while others move at the speed of light. A corollary: good bills move slowly; bad bills slide right on through.
Trick #4: Our founders designed the legislative process for defense which isn't all bad. To be enacted into law, your bill will have to clear several committees, the floor of the House and Senate and be signed by the governor. Those wishing to defeat your bill merely have to stop it at any one of those points.
Trick #5: Amendments to your bill are like rabbits: their rate of proliferation is beyond calculation.
Trick #6: Get your bills past both houses before the last week of the session so the governor only has three days to sign or veto them. Otherwise you will have to sweat it out until 20 days after adjournment.
If you lobby the governor, remember a promise isn't a commitment.
Trick #7: If your bill reaches the floor during the final 48 hours of
the session, good luck. Just sit back and watch the pros get around every procedural rule you've just been taught.
Trick #8: The answer to a quick question never is.
Trick #9: Important decisions will be made after you leave the room. In fact, important decisions always will be made where you aren't.
Trick #10: Budget bills are like vampires. They are discussed only in the dead of night.
Trick # 11: The quality and quantity of discussion on budget items is in reverse proportion to the amount of money it contains.
Trick #12: A grunt suffices in the House for what requires a speech in the Senate.
Trick #13: Tax increases earn enmity; tax reductions ingratitude.
Trick #14: Friends disappear; enemies accumulate.
Trick #15: Those who do not manipulate are manipulated.
Trick #16: Legislating is a continuous process. The toes you step on today may be attached to the back you want to slap tomorrow.
Trick #17: If there is subtlety in an idea, the press will overlook it. If there is an idea, television reporters will overlook it.
Trick #18: Every legislative action engenders a new conspiracy theory by political observers.
Trick #19: Conference committee reports are proof of life after death. These committees, which meet in secret, are bound by no rules, so bills that were killed earlier, may emerge in a conference committee report on a related bill.
Trick #20: The session isn't over until the fat guy passes his bills.
Trick #21: Interim committees can be fun. Sign up for several. They meet in between sessions and are held all around the state, where local lawmakers roll out the hospitality. They offer an opportunity to see your new friends and become more familiar with the Land of Enchantment without the pressure of getting bills passed.
Trick #22: New legislators should be seen, not heard. Answer only "yes, no" or "present" for the first two years.

1-17 Full Plate for Legislature

SANTA FE – The 60-day, “long” session of the New Mexico Legislature, beginning Tuesday, will be action-packed.
Gov. Bill Richardson calls it his most important session, because it is the only 60-day session for which a governor has time to prepare. The only other 60-day session during the four year terms of our governors comes barely two weeks after inauguration.
Our fast-forward governor always can be expected to have more than a full plate, but this year, it will be heaped the highest. In long sessions, any subject is germane for consideration, not just financial matters. Larger states sometimes take all year for such sessions, even though their legislative bodies are no larger. So New Mexicans get a good deal in terms of efficiency.
Each year, Gov. Richardson has presented lawmakers with a smorgasbord of tax cuts here, a few tax increases there, and dozens of new ideas and programs all over the place. He has been fortunate to be in charge during a time of increasing prices in oil and gas, New Mexico’s two cash cows.
That revenue has helped him finance bold new plans, some of which, at this point, appear to be bringing in the additional revenue the governor had promised.
This year’s gubernatorial initiatives call for $42 million of tax deductions for low- and middle-income taxpayers, single parents and military retirees.
The governor eliminated a proposed tax break designed to attract high-income senior citizens to the state, when figures showed it wouldn’t provide the amount of economic development he had hoped.
Education is the bulk of any state’s budget and Richardson has made it a top priority since taking office because of his economic development implications. The governor knows from experience that good schools and a well-educated work force are both at the top of the list for most businesses considering a move to New Mexico.
No sooner had he finished implementing full-day kindergarten for all children whose parents want it, than he has launched an initiative to do the same for four-year-olds. He wants to put $18 million into that over the next two years and he estimates it will run $52 million a year after full implementation.
With states struggling to meet testing requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind Act, Richardson hopes he can give New Mexico a head start by getting children in school earlier to improve our dismal test results.
For grades K-12, the governor is concentrating on improving teacher qualifications through big salary hikes for teachers with top-level education and experience.
For higher education, Richardson wants to expand the lottery scholarship program in hopes of producing a more highly-educated work force. One risk there is that these students will then leave the state for higher-paying jobs. But we’ll never attract those high paying jobs without a better-educated workforce.
State finance officials estimate we will have approximately $300 million in “new” money to finance existing and new programs and $450 million in “old” money to finance one-time expenditures. Already, there are billions of dollars of requests for both pots.
The governor also will have packages to combat DWI, crime and gangs. Water will be a top priority, as will health care, renewable energy, affordable housing, stopping the loss of public safety officers and establishment of a loan fund for businesses seeking to move to New Mexico or expand existing facilities.
Business groups also have announced their legislative priorities, many of them similar to the governor’s. They would like to have more tax credits for research and development, alternative energy and employee health insurance. They want tort and regulatory reform, faster permitting and relief from the pyramiding of gross receipts taxes on sales by businesses to businesses.
Republican lawmakers’ top priority will be voter identification. They also want to stem the huge yearly increases in Medicaid and to take a look at the cost of Gov. Richardson’s commuter rail plans.

1-12Billy the Kid Trail Ride

SANTA FE – Do you know it is still possible to retrace Billy the Kid’s last trail ride from Lincoln to Fort Sumner?
There are many more fences now than there were in Billy’s day, but once a year, ranchers along that trail, not only to open their gates, but they feed, entertain and put riders up for the night.
The 125-mile ride, lasting seven days, begins on April 28, the day Billy escaped from the Lincoln County jail in 1881 and headed for Fort Sumner, where he had many friends. Along the way, friendly ranchers took good care of him, as they now do for the trail riders.
This will be the fourth year for the trail ride. Nineteen riders participated in the entire ride last year, with day riders pushing the total up to 25 or so.
The adventure is coordinated by New Mexico State University’s Rural Economic Development Through Tourism project, which is a part of the Cooperative Extension Service of the NMSU Department of Agriculture. Rex Buchman, the extension agent in Fort Sumner, is the ramrod of the operation.
The journey begins at the Wortley Hotel with an evening meal of pot roast and mashed potatoes, the meal Deputy Bob Olinger was eating when he heard shots from the courthouse across the street and ran to see what was happening.
This time, everyone gets to finish their meal before going outside to witness a reenactment of Billy’s famous escape by the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Posse. Participants also can take a guided tour of Lincoln, led by Wortley hotel owner Tim Hagaman, who along with Buchman hatched the idea of an annual trail ride in 2002 and scouted the trail.
This year’s ride will be held April 27 to May 5, 2005. It begins with check-in at the Pageant Grounds and a night at the Wortley across the street. Then on April 28th, the 124th anniversary of Billy’s escape, riders will head up over Capitan Gap for a week of trekking through mountains, high desert grasslands and across the Pecos River.
Riders will stay at ranch camps, where they will learn the history of Billy the Kid, share stories around campfires under starry skies and build memories to last a lifetime.
The ride is billed as a “Wild at Heart” sort of adventure. Participants are warned that there are elements of endurance on the ride. But there will always be a “cowboy taxi service” available to transport gear from camp to camp and to rescue tired travelers – man or beast.
Last year, only seven of the core 19 riders to make the entire ride on horseback. One of those seven was Ollie Reed, a reporter for the Albuquerque Tribune, who wrote about his adventure.
REDTT, the sponsor of trail ride was established in 1992 by a group headed by former U.S. Rep Joe Skeen. Its purpose is to boost rural tourism development. Three of the participating counties are Lincoln, Chaves and DeBaca, through which Billy’s last trail ride wanders. Another sponsor, the Billy the Kid Outlaw Gang also has taken an interest in promoting rural tourism throughout Billy the Kid Country.
The price for the entire package is $1250, which includes food, lodging and entertainment. If you just want to join in for a day or so, the cost is $150 per day, plus a $50 one-time fee. The trail ride coordinator is Wally Roberts, 10600 Monarch, Hobbs, NM 88242. Or check the website: www.billythekidtrailride.com.
A few months later, the Outlaw Gang hosts a campout north of Ruidoso at the approximate date of Billy’s death on July 14, 1881. This year’s campout will be held July 21-25 at the Cedar Creek Campground, campsite #2, in Ruidoso. The campout features food, games, speakers, entertainment, contests and lots of storytelling. The cost is $10 for each vehicle.
We’ll tell you more about the campout once the trail ride is over.

1-10 Pre-Kindergarten

SANTA FE – Ready or not, here we come. It appears Gov. Bill Richardson is heading at full steam toward initiating pre-kindergarten classes for New Mexico’s four-year-olds.
The idea is well-intentioned and well-thought-out in many ways. But after the trouble New Mexico has had implementing full day kindergarten for all families who want it, immediately jumping into educating four-year-olds is a stretch for New Mexico’s financial resources.
As we have learned, Gov. Richardson is a determined man. When he decides what he wants to do, he launches full-throttle to accomplish it. Lt. Gov. Diane Denish, who is heading the effort, is no slouch either. Both Richardson and Denish would love to have New Mexico up front as a leader in pre-kindergarten education.
It is a popular notion among many New Mexicans. The earlier we can get children started on their education, the better. But as voters in Washington State demonstrated in November, the idea isn’t universally popular. Washington voters rejected a referendum to pay for education of four-year-olds.
Washington voters had been thought to be some of the most likely to go for the idea of higher taxes for more education. If they rejected it after a campaign that brought out both sides of the issue, might New Mexico voters have the same concerns? We’ll never know, except through polling, because public referenda are allowed in this state only under extremely limited circumstances.
So why wouldn’t educating children at the earliest age possible be a good idea? There isn’t much research about how such programs work on a large scale basis as is being proposed here. Research with small samples of children has shown some outstanding results.
But those samples weren’t representative of the broad range of children state officials want to serve and the staff involved in the studies were more highly trained and specialized than what would be available on a large-scale basis.
One reason there isn’t much research on large groups of pre-schoolers is that not many states have gotten into the act yet. Fiscal restraints have been the most common reason and New Mexico, which is near the bottom in school support, is very unlikely to be able to participate alongside more affluent states.
Readiness to learn is also a matter of debate. Does drilling a four-year-old on letters and numbers produce that much of a difference by the time they are 10, as waiting until six when a child is more ready? They may test out better in the low grades, but by upper elementary, their achievement may be no better. And it is in the higher grades that New Mexico students fall farthest behind national averages.
It might be well to wait for other states to be the guinea pigs with pre-kindergarten education and learn from their successes and mistakes. By then Gov. Richardson’s economic development initiatives may have us at the point we won’t have problems supporting another grade level or two.
Yes, the push is constantly downward. When a state gets well on its way to educating four-year-olds, it starts looking at three-year-olds. And it doesn’t stop there. One of these days schools will have to start worrying about potty training. And with school busses now not even having seat belts, how will they ever deal with car seats?
New York State got perhaps the earliest start on pre-kindergarten education. It has struggled mightily with financial issues and doesn’t have many more than 25 percent of children served. Georgia has done better, as have some other states supporting pre-schooling with state lottery funds.
But in New Mexico, lottery proceeds are used for college scholarships in a program that appears too successful to siphon its funds into something else worthwhile.
Florida passed a statewide referendum for pre-kindergarten two years ago. But so far it hasn’t been implemented because of problems the governor and legislature haven’t been able to work out.

1-9 Emerald Bowl

SANTA FE – It was the luck of the draw. The University of New Mexico Lobos drew a sentimental favorite to play in San Francisco’s Emerald Bowl on Dec. 30.
The U.S. Naval Academy was the darling of the holiday bowl games. A team that didn’t win a game three years ago, won nine (now 10) of them this season.
And more importantly, many of the players on the senior-laden team will be defending our country by this summer, many in Iraq. Three former Navy football players have lost their lives there in the past three months.
The Navy fans at the game were estimated at three times the number of Lobo fans. A large portion of the Navy student body had made the coast-to-coast trip. When the players first took the field, they were led by an offensive lineman carrying a huge American flag. Film clips of that were rerun all day.
It just wasn’t the Lobos’ day. They had been consigned to a role as bit players in the glorification of the Navy team. Pre-game promos focused on Navy quarterback Aaron Polanco, who will be a Marine pilot. Viewers seldom heard UNM coach Rocky Long mentioned. It was all about the Navy coach who was portrayed as the brilliant admiral of his team.
But that’s what sells tickets and hooks viewers. Any service academy is a good choice for bowl games because they have diehard fans throughout the nation.
At least one diehard Army fan was at the game rooting for New Mexico. UNM President Louis Caldera, a former Secretary of the Army, suffered through a humiliating 42-13 rout of Navy over Army earlier in December. He had hoped for a better outcome this time.
Navy also seemed so at home at the Bowl by the Bay, playing in coastal fog and rain on a slippery field. New Mexico’s desert rats just seemed out of place.
Although the midshipman carrying the flag was on TV clips rerun the rest of the day, there were no clips of the pre-game coin toss that was missed because an earlier bowl game ran overtime. That ceremony was to involve New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and Navy Secretary Gordon England.
Richardson had sent out a news release announcing his participation in the ceremony and revealing that he and Secretary England were participating in the traditional friendly wager that officials often make before bowl games. Gov. Richardson put up a case of Sadie’s salsa from Albuquerque against England’s case of Navy bean soup.
England said he and his staff would enjoy eating some good New Mexico salsa. He might have to eat those words. Sadie’s has some of the hottest salsa around. It’s not quite like those salsas made in New York City that the folks in Annapolis are accustomed to eating.
Sadie’s Dining Room in Albuquerque’s North Valley is a favorite gathering place for local Democrat politicos, including former lawmakers Raymond Sanchez and Manny Aragon. It serves some of the hottest chile anywhere.
When former President Bill Clinton wanted New Mexican food, it usually came either from Sadie’s or the Sanitary Tortilla Factory in downtown Albuquerque, favored by Mayor Martin Chavez. New Mexican food for the two presidents Bush usually comes from El Pinto, a little farther north on 4th Street from Sadie’s.
So when Christmas-gift calls by the referees occurred, such as Navy’s field goal that was wide right or New Mexico’s touchdown that wasn’t awarded, I could take solace in thinking of the Navy’s top brass and their reaction to some of Sadie’s finest.
When I shared that thought with Gilbert Gallegos, the governor’s deputy director of communications, he revealed that he had taken some compassion, especially when he learned that the players would get to share in the feed. “I sprinkled in a few jars of the milder version,” Gallegos admitted.

1-7 Tsunami column revision

SANTA FE – The Southeast Asia tsunami is a reminder of the awesome power of Mother Nature that dwarfs any mayhem we are able to inflict on each other.
While we worry about al-Qaida attacks, North Korean missiles and weapons that Iraq might have had, Mother Nature hiccups and hundreds of thousands of human beings perish and millions are left homeless.
Scientists estimate the destructive force of that event equaled a million atomic bombs of the type we dropped on Japan – inflicting the most destruction humans have ever caused. We also are told the planet’s rotation was jolted, causing it to wobble a bit.
That jolt was felt halfway around the world in New Mexico. Seismologists at New Mexico Tech in Socorro say the 9.0 earthquake knocked their instruments off the scale to the point that they couldn’t tell where the peaks were or how big they were.
Although the quake was one of the four biggest in the past century, the ocean waves it created were much more destructive. Let’s face it, living near water is much more dangerous than living up here in the high desert. Most loss of life and destruction of personal property comes from water-related catastrophes.
Forest fires are probably our biggest danger here. We have some earthquake zones that haven’t given us any trouble, some flooding in the summer from mountain thunderstorms, and a modest tornado occasionally. Our only impact from hurricanes is a soaking rain. Tidal waves and tsunamis we don’t have to worry about.
Since the birth of the human race, large bodies of water always have been an attraction, For many good reasons, population has clustered around them. But it’s also the most dangerous place to live. Those fearing terrorist attacks would be smart to move inland because the possibility of death by water is much greater than death by terrorists.
And what self-respecting terrorist would want to spend much energy ravaging the sparsely-populated heartland? We should probably all give ourselves a big pat on the back for our foresight in living where we do.
Remember all those meteor disaster movies a few years back? The meteors always crashed into big cities, usually New York, although one did hit Phoenix. With two-thirds of the planet covered by water, it is much more likely a meteor would plunge into the ocean, causing tsunamis on every surrounding coast and much more devastation than if it landed on a big city.
The coming of the new year always seems to bring prophecies of an approaching Armageddon. Actually many Democrats began fearing that way back on November 3. Expect to hear that the flooding was the final sign that the end is coming or is a punishment for the affected countries.
We are hearing much about the tremendous need for aid to countries around the Bay of Bengal, a popular tropical destination for winter tourists from northern Europe. Hundreds of tourists are missing from Germany and every Scandinavian country.
But we are hearing very little about the devastated countries on the east coast of Africa. They were hit hard too, but don’t have the media coverage or political clout of Southeast Asia and so may not receive commensurate aid.
The world will be watching who comes to the aid of which nations and with how much help. After being criticized as pikers, the United States and others of the world’s richest nations dramatically increased their early financial commitments. But we still can expect the U.S. contribution to be compared with our daily spending in Iraq.
President Bush has been roundly criticized for taking four days to publicly express his sympathy to the people and nations that are suffering. That will provide our detractors with much ammunition.
This was one of the world’s great disasters. Its impact will be felt for years in ways we have not yet imagined.