New Mexico State Senator Dede Feldman's Blog

Identity Theft - There's Help Available

Left: Senator Dede Feldman & Miss New Mexico, Christina Hall

A new law that went into effect July 1 will give you a tool to prevent identity thieves from obtaining your information and using it to open new accounts or make large purchases in your name. Yes, it’s the Credit Freeze bill I worked so hard on during the session along with the Attorney General, the AARP and Miss New Mexico, Christina Hall.  A special thanks to those of you out there who helped. Here’s how the new law work.

You can pro-actively prevent unauthorized access to your credit report even before you have your mail stolen(as I did) or even know that your identity has been misused by following these steps. Send either regular or certified letters to all three credit reporting agencies that include your full name, current address, Social Security number, date of birth, a copy of a government-issued ID card and proof of your address (such as a utility bill). If you have been a victim of identity theft, include a copy of a police report. Tell ‘em you want your credit report frozen. Unless you are a victim of ID theft, or are over 65, you must include a payment of $10 for each freeze.

Here are the addresses to which to send your letters (be sure to make copies):

Experian, PO Box 9554, Allen, TX 75013, Transunion, Fraud Victim Assistance Department, 1561 E. Orangethorpe Ave., Fullerton, CA, 92831, and Equifax, Attention Security Freeze, PO Box 105788, Atlanta, GA 30348.

The companies will notify you that your credit information has been locked and issue you a pin number with which you can unfreeze the account when you want to make a big purchase like a house or car. It will cost you $5 to release the information in this way

(unless you’re over 65 or a victim of ID theft), and the companies must do it quickly – in three days for now, and then, within 15 minutes, next year.   

Then, you can rest secure in the knowledge that-- in these days of repeated credit card solicitations, nasty divorces wherein one party tries to use credit information to make life difficult for the other, and so much personal information floating around in your handbag and over the internet—for the most part, only you have access to your own credit information.

For other ways that you can protect yourself against identity theft or deal with it if you are a victim, go to the Attorney General’s web page at www.ago.state.nm.us and access the new Identity Theft Prevention and Repair Kit. The booklet can also be obtained by calling the AG’s office at 222-9000 in Albuquerque or 827-6000 in Santa Fe.

Health Care Reform, Intern Wanted,The Sawmill is Gone

Now that the dust has really settled on the 2007 legislative session….  It’s back to the neighborhood, my usual day job as a PR consultant  (anyone need any help in this regard?) and the prospect of an intense interim session focused on health care, ethics, and campaign finance reform (that’s right--it just won’t go away).

Health Care Reform

The Health and Human Services Committee, which I will chair, will be pouring over various proposals for universal health coverage, and I’ve spent the past several weeks attending meetings about this, including the NM First Town Hall on Health Care and the Health Care Coverage Task force, which has been meeting since last summer.  The Task Force is getting the results of the independent study of three different models for health care coverage on May 16^th at CNM’s Workforce Development Center near the corner of I-25 and Alameda.  The final results will be presented at the state Capitol on June 21. Come if you can. There’s always a public comment period.

The results of the study will show the costs of covering the uninsured in New Mexico (over 400, 000 of ‘em) through various mechanisms ranging from giving them vouchers and requiring them to buy their own insurance on the open market to expanding state programs to include new groups of uninsured, to creating a large risk pool with a single benefit package and sliding scale premiums.

In spite of a front page article in the Journal today (5/7/07) entitled  “Slow Progress on Statewide Health Care” I feel much more hopeful about the prospect s of reform than I have in a long time.  And, in dealing with such a complex subject, it’s important to keep the faith that things can get better.  Inaction has its costs, too—which the study will estimate.  Recently, at the NM First Town Hall and elsewhere, we’ve been given plenty of reasons to leave things alone—i.e. increasing the number of people in New Mexico with insurance will exacerbate the shortage of health care providers in rural areas, coverage for everyone will mean that some people will have to pay more, and…. there’s no guarantee that costs will decrease. 

Yep…. That’s all possible… but not a reason to do nothing.  Health care premiums are eating up a larger and larger share of middle class income (not to mention the disproportionately large share low-income workers pay), heath care clinics and emergency rooms are strained to the max, and health care disparities between ethnic and income groups are increasing.  That’s why we need comprehensive reform.   And this is our window of opportunity.

"Health care premiums are eating up a larger and larger share of middle class income ..., heath care clinics and emergency rooms are strained to the max, and health care disparities between ethnic and income groups are increasing.  That’s why we need comprehensive reform.  And this is our window of opportunity."

The Health and Human Services Committee, which I chair this year, will be dealing with all this through the summer and fall, so stay tuned.  You can get the schedule for this and other interim legislative committees at www.legis.state.nm.us, once we get rolling – sometime in June.

Meanwhile, if you want good snapshot of NM’s health situation and its prospects for reform, go to the New Mexico First web site at www.nmfirst.org. Then click on the box about the recent town hall,  “Strengthening New Mexico Health Care.” There’s a button called “report,” which will allows you to read and print out the issue guide.  It’s the clearest, shortest, most objective report I’ve seen on the health care situation here in a while.

Intern Wanted

Here’s a plea from an unstaffed, volunteer legislator who takes her responsibility to deal with the substantive issues (like health care reform, campaign finance, the environment) seriously.  I need help to do what I do.  Sometimes it’s volunteers to help me file, stuff envelopes  (you wouldn’t believe the information I have to deal with—it can be daunting), or answer the phone when constituents call.  For the past two years I’ve had great interns from the NMSU School of Social Work, but this year, I’m coming up empty.  So, if any of you know of someone who’s not afraid of politics, can deal with computers and data bases, likes to solve problems for people and wants to learn from the likes of me—please send em my way.  E-mail me at dedefeld@comcast.net or call 242-1997.

The Sawmill is Gone…. Long Live the Sawmill Land Trust

 

Talk about the dust settling.  Last week the old Ponderosa Products Plant was demolished to make way for a mixed-use retail/residential development spearheaded by the Sawmill Land Trust.  These guys are my heroes. Especially Max Ramirez, an old style neighborhood leader who just didn’t give up when faced with serious air pollution, groundwater contamination, and a deteriorating neighborhood all around him and his family. Long before the words “environmental  justice” became politically correct, he was holding enchilada dinners and, along with other neighbors like present City Councilor Debbie O’Malley, and current director Connie Chavez, organizing the Sawmill Advisory Council.  The fruits of his labors are the energy-efficient, stylish and affordable housing, lofts and workspaces, now dotting the landscape near I 40 and Rio Grande.   Viva the Sawmill Land Trust. (more coverage of the demolition and the day honoring Max Ramirez at http://prognewmexico.typepad.com/nmleftnright/2007/05/a_sawmill_commu.html .)

Ask the Governor to Sign My Bills

        This week I’m asking everyone to contact the Governor’s office by mail (Office of the Governor, 490 Old Santa Fe Trail, Room 400, Santa Fe, NM 87501) or  phone (505-476-2200) or via fax ( ask for the number)  with a request that he sign the bills that I was able to pass during the regular session, especially:

SB 165 & 448: The Credit Security Freeze sponsored by Sen. Sharer and Sen. Feldman to allow consumers to protect themselves vs. identity theft

            SB 407:  Mandate HPV Vaccine Insurance Coverage

SB 428:  Small Employer Health Coverage Wait Period  to allow small non-profits to join a state insurance program without a period of no insurance

SB 486: Conservancy District Liability Immunity to enable Ditches with Trails and other trail projects along conservancy ditches

They really do count the phone calls!