Upcoming NM Legislature, 2009 Constituent Survey & the APS School Board Race

Conflict of Interest Takes Center Stage

 Whoa!  Ever since Gov. Bill Richardson has withdrawn his name for consideration for Commerce Secretary, my phone has been ringing off the hook.  I've gotten calls from the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times, among others about what our current contracting laws permit and what they forbid when it comes to contributions - and what we're going to do about it now.  This week, there was an editorial in the NYT about it, too. The Sunday's New York Times, ( Download Inquiry Highlights New Mexico’s Few Ethics Laws ) quoted me in their article on ethics reform. 
 
My own constituents have been weighing in on several related ethics questions too, in my annual survey.  I've gotten about 450 responses so far and here are the results:

92%  want to limit campaign contributions
83.6%   favor an independent ethics commission
65.8%   favor public financing of political campaigns
95.6%   favor additional lobbyist disclosures
91.7%   favor strengthened oversight over state contractors
86%   favor open legislative conference committees

Bills, Bills, We Got Bills

I'm working with the Attorney General on a bill to limit campaign contributions and set up an independent ethics commission, and I plan on introducing both next week.  Many of you know the history here:  the Senate has killed both measures in the past, albeit narrowly.  This year, with a new crop of Senators, many of whom were elected on a reform platform, I'm hoping that we'll get better results.
 
I'm also working on trying to broaden a bill proposed by Governor Richardson (yes, he has been a supporter of ethics reform!)  we passed in 2006 which bans campaign contributions during the procurement period from prospective contractors to the applicable public official. I'm hoping to address the perception (remember, there are no indictments yet) of a pay-to-play atmosphere in our state.   I expect there will be other bills to do this as well, including one from Senator-elect Tim Keller to ban all contributions from state contractors.
 
Another conflict of interest bill that I'm proposing has to do with gifts to doctors and health care providers from pharmaceutical companies.  This goes beyond the pens and mugs with the company logo.  There's been much coverage of the fact that PHARMA, the association of pharmaceutical companies, recently decided to give up doling out goodies with their logo on them.  But they haven't cut back on the tens of thousands of drug reps in doctors' offices offering more than just a mug.  There are tons of trips, studies, seminars, lunches, and other more substantial gifts that affect prescribing practices.  The pharmaceutical industry spends $7 billion each year on this kind of direct marketing to physicians.  The UNM Health Sciences Center, acting on proposals from medical students, this year banned this kind of marketing.  My bill "The Prescription Drug Ethical Marketing Act" requires the drug companies to report gifts they give to physicians over $25.  It does not ban or affect free samples.  There was recently a great article about this topic in the New Mexico Independent .

APS School Board Race Going on Right Now:  Lorenzo Garcia's my Man
 
I've often said that APS school board members  are some of the most powerful officials we have.  Yet right now, the  contested school board race in the North Valley and West Side  is slipping beneath the radar, almost undetected.    I'm  supporting Leonard Garcia.  Click Download Lorenzo_garcia for more information.  I served with him on the Albuquerque Citizens Advisory Board back in the late 1980s and know that his commitment to kids just won't quit.  Don't forget to vote on February 3.

Comments

[James R. Swetnam]

Dear Senator Feldman:

I am writing you re: SB0433. I just learned that a bill has been introduced in the NM Senate that has the potential to weaken science education in New Mexico. This bill is very similar to other bills that have been introduce in other state legislatures, and the all ber the mark of the Discovery Institute, a fundamentalist organization that has been trying to sneak creationism into the classrooms for decades.

The following is a quote from the blog "Stranger Fruit" maintained by Professor John Lynch at Arizona State University:

http://scienceblogs.com/strangerfruit/

"NCSE is reporting that a “strengths and weaknesses” bill is on the table in New Mexico. It’s your typical “academic freedom” bill that the DI has been shilling for a while now:

The department, school district governing authorities and school administrators shall not prohibit any teacher, when biological evolution or chemical evolution is being taught in accordance with adopted standards and curricula, from informing students about relevant scientific information regarding either the scientific strengths or scientific weaknesses pertaining to biological evolution or chemical evolution.

The following strikes me as a little strange:

Public school teachers may hold students accountable for knowing and understanding material taught in accordance with adopted standards and curricula about biological evolution or chemical evolution, but they shall not penalize a student in any way because that student subscribes to a particular position on biological evolution or chemical evolution.

I’m unsure how this would pan out in a class room. Can a teacher penalize a student for subscribing to the position that evolution does not occur? Or that there is no common descent? Or that the earth is young? All three positions go against “adopted standards and curricula”."

I urge you, Senator Feldman, to oppose this bill in the interest of good science education.

Respectfully,

James R. Swetnam
2215 Rice Ave NW
Albuquerque, NM 87104