New Mexico State Senator Dede Feldman's Blog

MGRCD Needs a Reality Check

A slick new brochure from MRGCD (Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District) arrived in my mailbox sometime over the past week with a really luscious cover photo and the caption "Conservancy District Ditch Banks: Unspoiled Beauty."  I really wish the photo was representative of all of the ditches!  Then I would feel that we ratepayers were actually getting our money's worth  as bankrollers of the district.  I've attached a few photos of drains and ditches in the near North Valley and Atrisco areas that are a little more reality-based.  One of them is of a rickety bridge over the Alameda drain with the No Tresspassing Sign festooned with grafitti.  It's been that way for a long time, as you can see.-and I'm amazed that someone has not been hurt trying to get a bike or a stroller over the bridge.
 
Anyway, SB 222 is still waiting to be heard in the Senate Finance Committee, where, as usual, a big log jam is building.  It will be heard this week.  Conservancy Board members have been up here at the legislature for the whole week lobbying against the bill.  And they have some new work cut out for them, too.  Last week Senator Linda Lopez introduced another Conservancy bill about (SB 683) that puts the district into receivership,  suspends the June elections, and orders the receiver to construct district boundaries for elections that would occur in November -- not June in even numbered years.    The act would take effect immediately upon passage. To date, five bills have been introduced in the Senate alone to reform the district in terms of trail management, relationship with acequias, the conduct of elections, and levy repair.  
 
Six members of the Senate  (myself, Jerry Ortiz y Pino, John Ryan, Eric Griego, Bernadette Sanchez, and Linda Lopez) have signed a letter requesting a meeting with Board members and staff to discuss these concerns.  We will see what happens.
 
Meanwhile, the Albuquerque City Council passed a resolution endorsing Senate Bill 222, and City Councillor Debbie O'Malley was up here this week speaking to legislators.  Won't you join her?  Here, once again is the contact information for Senate Finance Committee Members:
 
Sen. Jerry Ortiz y Pino (Rm. 218 B) at 986-4380 or jortizyp@msn.com
Sen. Carlos Cisneros (Rm 325 B) at 986-4362 or ccisneros@chevron.com
Chairman John Arthur Smith (Rm 325 A) at 986-4363 or jas@zianet.com
Sen. Pete Campos (Rm.302B) at 986-4311 or petecampos@newmexico.com
Sen. Howie Morales (Rm 300 D) at 986-4863 or howiemorales@yahoo.com
Sen. Nancy Rodriguez (Rm 301 A) at 986-4264
Sen. Mary Kay Papen (Rm. 300B) at 986-4270 or marykaypapen@zianet.com
Sen. Sue Beffort (Rm. 415G) at 986-4395 or sue.beffort@nmlegis.gov
Sen. Rod Adair (Rm. 414 D) at 986-4386 or radair@dfn.com
Sen. Carroll Leavell (Rm 415 C) at986-4278 or leavell4@leaco.net
Sen. Steve Neville (Rm 415 A) at 986-4266 or nmsenate@msn.com

2010 Budget on Its Way to Senate

In the New Mexico legislature, as in the US Congress, budget bills originate in the House of Representatives.  The House Appropriations and Finance Committee is now putting the finishing touches on the budget for next year (yes, that's the year when we're projected to fall $600 million short due to the economy) and it will come to us this week.  It's been tricky to figure out exactly what the stimulus package will bring to New Mexico, but we do know that it's a lifesaver for health care programs, especially.  But, it's not enough to save us from pretty draconian cuts. The latest proposal is that state employees should pay more for their pensions, thus freeing up the employers' (i.e. the state government) share to reduce the deficit. This would add about $42 million to the general fund, it is estimated. 

In some states, state employees are taking unpaid furloughs or sustaining layoffs, so the pension route may be preferable.  But, shouldn't we be talking about raising revenue as well as making cuts in basic services?  There are several bills out there to increase cigarette, alcohol and soda pop taxes, as well as to close some loopholes with regard to corporate taxes.  We need to consider them too-in spite of opposition from those special interests.

Prescription Drugs 'R Us

 Prescription Drugs 'R Us
 I'm carrying a number of bills to make sure we get the best prices for prescription drugs, both as individual consumers and as state purchasers on a mass scale.  My bill (Senate Bill 40) to enable doctors to re-dispense prescriptions unused by one patient to other needy ones has passed the Senate.  Currently these drugs are disposed of or flushed down the toilet even though some of them cost megabucks. Dr. Barbara McAneny, a cancer doctor and constituent, is the brain child behind this measure.  She's tired of throwing away expensive chemotherapy drugs (try $2,500 a pill) when some of her patients need 'em badly.  Please contact members of the House Consumer and Public Affairs Committee if you support the bill. 
 
 My bill to require pharmaceutical and medical suppliers to report gifts they give to doctors is due to hit the floor on Monday.  This is a transparency bill that is aimed at shining a little light on the activities of the thousands of marketing representatives who swarm the medical offices with free lunches, offers of trips, cruises, honoraria and other goodies.  I believe that evidence of the drug's effectiveness should be more important than this kind of advertising in influencing prescribing practices.  So do doctors themselves.  This bill has the support of the Attorney General,  the New Mexico Medical Society and  UNM medical students who last year influenced UNM Health Sciences to BAN these freebies altogether.  Look to how this bill fares as a sign of how other, broader transparency measures (i.e. open legislative conference committees, disclosure of contributions made by contractors to state officials, etc.) will do.

Remembering Patty Jennings; Also the Public Affairs Committee

This has been a long week in the legislature, punctuated on Wednesday by a long bus ride to Roswell for the memorial service for the wife of the Senate President Pro Temp, Tim Jennings.  Almost the whole Senate went for the moving service, which was a celebration of Patty Jennings' advocacy for people with disabilities and against cancer as well as the unique political culture of the New Mexico legislature.  Especially, for those who have been around here a long time, that culture is about relationships, family and friends as well as ideology, lawmaking and politics. Usually, that culture is a very positive thing but, sorry to say, it sometimes has held back change - especially in the area of transparency, and ethics reform.  
 
Public Affairs Committee Churns 'Em Out
 
The Senate Public Affairs Committee, which I chair, has acted on over 228 bills since the beginning of the session on everything from domestic partners and stem cell research to ATM machines at racinos, and dental amalgam in wastewater.  It's been quite a ride. With broad jurisdiction to consider health care, municipal government, alcohol, firearms, gambling and public safety, I've often thought that if somebody really wanted to put a slice of life in New Mexico into their viewfinder, they should spend an afternoon in the Pubic Affairs Committee.  Come on down.  We've got miles to go before we sleep.

How Lobbyists Work Behind the Scenes

The power of insurance industry lobbyists was brought home to me the other day as a bill I sponsored to allow patients to keep their doctors if they change insurance companies (SB 104), was tabled in the Corporations Committee. One tool that legislators rely upon to see what the bill does is the fiscal impact report (FIR) done by the legislative finance committee staff.  The very skillful lobbyist for Presbyterian Health Care was able to get the fiscal impact analysis of the bill changed at the last minute to mirror the statistics in the letter sent in opposition to the bill by Presbyterian Health Care.  Pres has a valid point in citing the rising costs of insurance (they said rates would rise $9.8 million annually for the state's own employee and retirement programs) Wow, wish I could influence those guys to adopt any ole statistics I proposed.  Aren't they supposed to be an impartial source of information?

Senate Bill 222 Conservancy Tax Fairness and Trails Bill Sparks Interest

Here's an e-mail that I received from one of my constituents who lives in the area around Garfield Middle School in the North Valley. I think it really is a good example of the kind of trail improvements that I envision with Senate Bill 222. I hope you will spread the word to Sen. Public Affairs Committee members and others in the public.

Concerning the idea of trails on the ditches in Bernalillo County, here is a short "before and after" story of one ditch that really should help put this in perspective.
 

The ditch of this story is behind my house. The "before" was a nearly impassable area with broken fences, garbage, and fallen trees. It was used mainly by teen boys to hide and smoke, and there were many blackened trees from a series of fires. As a form of volunteer work, my wife and I cleaned it out and leveled the ground. Now, lots of people use it for getting to school and taking walks - including families with children. Because there is a little "traffic" on the ditch now, and you can see across it, no one hides out there. The level of fear has gone down.
 
This relatively small amount of work has improved the safety and appearance of our whole neighborhood. And it has helped people walk to places that otherwise they might have to drive to.
 
What's needed now is to get all agencies - the Conservancy district and the police in particular - to start recognizing that all the ditches are public rights of way and deserve some basic maintenance and visibility, rather than seeing them as a "no mans land" or hideouts. Since not everyone is willing to get out shovels and do it themselves, this will take a little public money.
 
Ian Ford
3110 Ninth NW
Albuquerque, NM 87107

Please pass this word to others….
 
Here are the names and contact info for committee members:
 
Tim Eichenberg
Capitol Phone: 986-4859 or 986-4300
Home Phone: 828-9474
Email: eichenberg4senate@gmail.com
 
Vernon Asbill
Capitol Phone: 986-4349 or 986-4300
E-mail: vernon@asbillforsenate.com
 
Mary Jane Garcia
Capitol Phone: 986-4726 or 986-4300
E-mail: maryjane.garcia@nmlegis.gov
 
Eric Griego
Capitol Phone: 986-4862 or 986-4300
E-mail: eric.griego@nmlegis.gov
 
George Munoz
Capitol Phone 986-4387 or 986-4300
E-mail: munozgeo@gmail.com
 
Cynthia Nava
Capitol Phone: 986-4834 or 986-4300
E-mail: cynthia.nava@nmlegis.gov
 
Gay Kernan
Capitol Phone: 986-4274 or 986-4300
ggkern@valornet.com
 
The best kind of lobbying is in person of course, and you are welcome to come up and try to visit with any of these Senators, or to testify when the bill come up for a vote on Tuesday or Thursday. Stop by my office in Room 300 first.

Support Senate Bill 222 to preserve pathways along ditch banks in Bernalillo County

This week I introduced Senate Bill 222 to preserve pathways along ditch banks in Bernalillo County.  This is in the wake of the failure of the District to move in this direction and in light of the fact that 60% of the revenue for the entire district comes from taxpayers in Bernalillo County, most of whom do not irrigate.  This bill  assigns  a small portion of the assessments paid by MRGCD ratepayers in Bernalillo County for the creation of a trails program here in the County. Under the bill, the City of Albuquerque's Open Space Division will operate a trails and recreation program in conjunction with the Conservancy in the same way that the Rio Grande State park is operated under a joint powers agreement between the District, the State and the City.  A trails management plan would be incorporated into the joint powers agreement.

Citizens, neighborhood organizations and other local jurisdictions would have input into the management plan for the program through public hearings and consultations between Bernalillo County, AMAFCA, the State Parks Division of the New Mexico Energy Minerals and Natural Resources Department, the Village of Los Ranchos, and MRGCD. This process would be convened by the Mid-Region Council of Governments.  This is important because every neighborhood has a different attitude toward their ditch-some would like only a clear path with no impediments, others would like gentle improvements such as signage, doggie waste bag dispensers or a bench here and there.  And we all have strong feelings about preserving our local pathways in a rural, traditional style.    

While this bill may seem like a drastic measure to some (including the Conservancy District, which said in a recent news article that I was throwing a "temper tantrum") I feel that it is in keeping with a rising recreational tide in Bernalillo County. More and more people look to ditch walking, jogging, horseback riding, and cycling for fitness and a respite from urban life.  According to a 2007 professional survey commissioned by the Conservancy District, 83% of MRGCD ratepayers in Bernalillo County said they supported dedicating a share of the taxes they pay to support recreational trails.  And 77% of respondents to my recent constituent survey said they supported modest improvements to the ditches for a trails program.  

I was pleased to see that the Albuquerque Journal agreed.  Here's a modified version of what they said in Friday's editorial. (See Below)

Albuquerque Journal
Friday, January 30, 2009

Opening Ditch Trails A Matter of Fairness

      Last summer, the directors of the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District had an opportunity to expand the irrigation district's mission in the scenic river valley that winds through Albuquerque - and expand the district's political base at the same time. Unfortunately, they did neither.

       On a unanimous vote, the board terminated its involvement with a grassroots effort to upgrade ditchbanks for expanded recreational use by walkers, joggers, horseback riders and cyclists.

       Dubbed "Ditches With Trails," the proposal would build a few bridges and resurface some larger trails in the network of tree-lined ditchbanks. Proponents of the plan worked on it for three years, but directors killed the plan the night they received it. Ditchbanks are already open to the public, they said, and the trails project could interfere with irrigation work.
 
       Supporters were stunned. They had addressed the main issue stated by the conservancy district, liability. Sen. Dede Feldman, a North Valley Democrat, carried a bill to limit exposure to lawsuits involving ditchbank mishaps. And supporters had made the reasonable argument that Bernalillo County residents who live within the district contribute 60 percent of total revenues while the county has only 16 percent of the district's total acreage. Expanded recreational access would have provided urban residents more value for the tax dollar.

       Now that solution may be imposed by the Legislature. Feldman has introduced a bill that would force the district to share its purview over ditch trails in Bernalillo County with Albuquerque's Open Space Division. The bill would earmark roughly $900,000 of the $7.2 million MRGCD collects from Bernalillo County property owners to fund the project.

       Enhancing the trails into an urban asset available to everyone was a good idea last summer, and it is still the path toward fairness for urban taxpayers. The MRGCD board needs to get this message: It's time Bernalillo County property owners get a little more for their taxes than attitude.