- AP-US-BORDER-WALL-WAIVED-LAWS
SAN DIEGO (AP) — President Donald Trump's administration is waiving federal contracting laws to speed construction of a U.S.-Mexico border wall. The Department of Homeland Security said Tuesday it'll allow 177 miles of wall to be built faster in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas and bring the Republican president closer to his pledge of 450 miles by year's end. A 2005 law gives the Homeland Security secretary sweeping powers to waive laws to expedite border barrier construction. Acting Secretary Chad Wolf tells Fox News Channel he hopes the move "will accelerate some of the construction that's going along the Southwest border." The move is expected to spark criticism the Trump administration is overstepping its authority.
- MARIJUANA-NEW MEXICO
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico has moved to phase out medical cannabis cards for nonresidents starting at mid-year, under a bill approved by the Legislature on Monday and supported by the governor. More than 600 people from Texas, Arizona and beyond have enrolled as patients in New Mexico's medical marijuana program since September based on a change in state statute signed into law last year by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. State health officials backtracked and said the residency requirement was dropped unintentionally from that legislation. They urged legislators this year to reinstate the requirement, arguing that opening up the program to nonresidents might prompt federal intervention.
- SECRET SETTLEMENTS-NEW MEXICO
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico is moving toward easing restrictions on the release of information on financial settlements involving state officials and payouts to whistleblowers. A bill was on its way to the governor's desk Monday that would eliminate a 180-day waiting period for the disclosure of financial agreements to resolve a variety of complaints against state officials. Final legislative approval came with a unanimous vote of the House on Sunday evening. The legislation came in response to financial settlements approved during the administration of former Gov. Susana Martinez, including a series of payouts that were sealed until the two-term Republican left office at the end of 2018.
- PENSION REFORM-NEW MEXICO
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The New Mexico House has approved a proposal aimed at shoring up New Mexico's overextended pension fund for about 110,000 state and local government workers and retirees. The lower chamber voted 40-28 to send the bill back to Democrat-controlled Senate. The Senate passed a similar measure but must reexamine the proposal after it was amended. The effort is backed by Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. The bill seeks to address concerns about $6.6 billion in unfunded liabilities that are weighing down the credit rating of the state and its largest city and driving up borrowing costs.
- VAPING RESTRICTIONS-NEW MEXICO
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico state legislators are embracing a proposal for more strenuous enforcement of new federal restrictions on retail tobacco sales to youths amid rising rates of vaping among children and young adults. The federal government late last year changed the minimum age from 18 to 21 nationwide for purchasing tobacco products, including vaping cartridges and e-cigarettes. A Senate bill that would license retail tobacco vendors and apply administrative sanctions against prohibited sales to youths under age 21 advanced toward a decisive House floor vote, with the endorsement Monday by a House panel on health policy.
- DESTROYING EVIDENCE
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A measure that would stop police from having to destroy seized electronic evidence that was obtained through a search warrant but wasn't the target of an investigation has passed the New Mexico Senate. The proposal unanimously approved Sunday seeks to fix a bill passed in 2019 that required law enforcement to wipe out some digital evidence. The requirement may have affected some pending cases in Albuquerque, where crime has soared in recent years. Democratic Sen. Daniel Ivey-Soto of Albuquerque says the change is needed because law enforcement has no choice but to eradicate this evidence after 30 days. The new bill allows police to seal the evidence and get a court order to use it in an unrelated investigation.
- ELECTION 2020-NEW MEXICO-SENATE
RIO RANCHO, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico Sen. John Sapien, a key moderate Democratic senator who represents a swing district outside of Albuquerque, says he will not run for re-election. Sapien told The Associated Press on Sunday he concluded during the current legislative session that it was time to retire as a state lawmaker. The insurance salesman and financial adviser says he's entertaining new career opportunities. Sapien has represented for 12 years a district that includes poor Bernalillo, affluent liberal areas of Placitas and Corrales, and part of conservative Rio Rancho. Democrats hold a 26-16 edge over Republicans in the New Mexico Senate.
- GALLUP DIOCESE-SCHOOL
GALLUP, N.M. (AP) — The Diocese of Gallup has announced it will sell the property of the historic Sacred Heart School to a secular charter school. The Gallup Independent reports word of the pending sale recently stunned school officials and parents amid concerns about a conflict of interest. Sacred Heart School interim principal Amy Jo Mulvaney says she was caught off guard when Aequitas Education and Hozho Academy representatives toured the school late January. The representatives said they were purchasing the campus. Gallup attorney Patrick T. Mason led the Aequitas and Hozho group. He is also the attorney for the Diocese of Gallup.