Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce Opposes Proposed Revision to State Education Funding Formula

Thursday, January 24

How Time Flies………….

As of the 9^th day of this 30-day legislative session, 931 pieces of legislation have been introduced including bills, capital outlay requests, memorials and resolutions. Five bills have passed both chambers and one, SB 66, has already been signed into law. SB 66 introduced by Sen. Tim Jennings of Roswell, and supported by the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce, fixes a glitch in the 2007 state minimum wage bill that was signed into law. Though unintended, the bill eliminated an exemption from the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act that affected overtime payment for police, fireman and other public safety employees resulting in cities potentially needing to spend $25 million to comply with the overtime pay requirement, and counties facing some $10 million a year in overtime payments. This legislation amended the State Minimum Wage Act to restore the exemption and allow local governments to negotiate flexible scheduling and payment for this group of employees.

Sitting on the Governor’s desk awaiting signature is the perennial first bill, HB 1, known fondly as the “feed bill”, which funds the legislative session and other legislative activities for the year. In case you wondered what all of this is costing you, the bill appropriates $26,820,300 for these activities. 

Health Care Legislation

Of the health care bills introduced to address the high number of uninsured in New Mexico and the rising cost of health care coverage in the state, the Chamber is supporting HB 62, the Health Solutions New Mexico Act while opposing the Health Security Act, which is a single payer bill.

The reality is that well intentioned and knowledgeable people have spent years on committees trying to reach consensus on how to solve these problems, and so far nothing has happened…we still have over 400,000 uninsured people in New Mexico and costs continue to rise at alarming rates.

Some people think that we should just simply do nothing and maintain the status quo, but we know that doing nothing does not maintain the status quo…it makes the situation worse. As prices continue to rise, more businesses are unable to continue to offer health care benefits or are forced to reduce their portion of health care premiums. Employees and individuals are unable to pick up these additional costs either through premium increases or because of higher co-pays. Instead of getting more people insured, we have more uninsured. When the uninsured seek health care, usually in emergency rooms where costs are much higher, the costs have to be shifted to those who do have coverage causing their premiums to go even higher or to the state, resulting in less money for much needed programs such as education and transportation. This cost shifting is like rearranging deckchairs on the Titanic—solves nothing while we all go down together.

So if doing nothing only makes it worse, we need to look for a real solution that can solve our health care crisis. Single payer certainly isn’t the answer….do we really want the government determining what kind of coverage we get, how much it will charge businesses and individuals for that coverage, how much our physicians and providers will receive for our treatment…and yes, we will have fewer doctors including specialists and longer waiting periods to be seen, what equipment our hospitals and clinics can buy in order to meet our needs, the elimination of choice and competition, and a system which discourages new companies and high paying jobs from coming to New Mexico? There are folks who think this is fine because “it won’t cost us anything”. Actually, it will cost us everything!

However, we have a third choice in the Health Solutions New Mexico Act. Is it a silver bullet that will solve all our problems? Absolutely not, but it is a solid first step toward getting everyone insured, slowing down rising costs, creating a point of accountability and improving access to, and quality of, health care. Phased in, it provides a “place at the table” for business and other stakeholders. 

For those businesses that are concerned that the bill will change their current provision of benefits to their employees or will add enormously to their costs, that just isn’t the case. Those businesses and employees satisfied with their benefits can simply keep what they currently have with no additional cost. Those who provide coverage to only a portion of their employees will find that they are unlikely to have any additional costs. For those who do not provide any benefits to their employees but wish to, there are a number of low cost affordable programs already in place which they can utilize allowing them to compete for the best qualified employees on a level playing field with those businesses currently providing benefits. And for those who choose not to provide benefits, their contributions to the Healthy New Mexico Workforce Fund will cost significantly less than the current cost of insurance.  

If you believe that individuals should have health care coverage, either because it is the right thing to do or because it will help hold down our rising health care coverage costs and you think that business, competition, choice and involvement by the private sector must be part of the solution, than join us in supporting HB 62. It’s a good thing.

Entrepreneurism, Small Business and Economic Development

Several bills which the Chamber is supporting have been introduced and have begun to move through their first committee hearings. Rep. Ben Lujan has introduced HB 8, which provides $10 million for programs that provide quick-response classroom training, in-plant training and skill enhancement to furnish qualified work force resources for new or expanding industries in New Mexico. HB 8 received a Do Pass in the House Business and Industry Committee and is headed for House Appropriations. HB 108, introduced by Rep. Mary Helen Garcia to provide funding for the state’s Cooperative Advertising Program, which helps rural communities promote business and tourism, has also passed the House Business and Industry Committee and is headed to House Appropriations for its next hearing.

Rep. John Heaton has introduced HB 325 and HB 326, which extends the lives of the research and development small business tax credit and the high-wage jobs tax credit respectively. While the Chamber supports the legislative proposals, we’d actually like to see these tax credits made permanent. SB 86, sponsored by Sen. Carroll H. Leavell, would appropriate $1 million to the Economic Development Department to support business incubators. Main Street Program arts and cultural districts would by expanded through a $300,000 appropriation in SB 343, introduced by Sen. Stuart Ingle. Please let your legislators know that these are important bills that help business and improve the economy throughout the state.

HB 51 introduced by Rep. Peter Wirth was heard and tabled in the House Tax and Revenue Committee this week. This bill, which Chamber Board member Jim O’Neill opposed on behalf of our members, would require unitary members of corporations to file income tax returns in New Mexico on a combined basis, starting with returns for the 2008 tax year. The current option to file instead on a federal consolidated basis is eliminated. This is an anti-economic development bill which would, if passed, discourage business relocations to our state and existing businesses to reconsider New Mexico as a good location. We must ensure that this bill does not come off the table in committee and move forward.

Raising the Bar for Ethical Standards

While this may be a short session, the Chamber’s legislative agenda is long on support for strengthening the state’s ethical standards for leaders. One of the cornerstones for improving ethical standards in our state is the creation of a state ethics commission. Earlier this week, legislation to create such a commission was introduced in the House. Rep. Mary Helen Garcia introduced HB 309, and Rep. Brian Moore introduced HB 344. Both pieces of legislation would establish a state ethics commission but of different sizes: HB 309’s commission would have 10 members while HB 344’s would have 12 members. A state ethics commission is important because the Chamber believes it will promote increased accountability for ethical behavior among state officials and employees, lobbyists and those that conduct business with the state.

We also want to see a cleaner election process. One way to accomplish that is by making raising campaign money less important. Sen. Michael Sanchez has introduced SB 264, which would prohibit candidates from accepting or soliciting campaign contributions in excess of $2,300 in primary or general elections. This was also one of the recommendations from the Governor’s Task Force on Ethics Reform. Finally, for many years, the Chamber has supported making the Legislature’s work more transparent and accessible. Sen. Joe Carraro has introduced SB 205, which would require legislative conference committees -- where much of the horse trading is done -- be open to the public.

Making New Mexico Safer……..

Unfortunately, as we all know, you only have to read the paper or watch the news every few days to know how important it is to get tough on DWI offenders. HB 100 introduced by Rep. Ken Martinez would provide penalties for DWI offenders who drive vehicles without an ignition interlock or if they have tampered with the interlock device. The Chamber supports passage of this legislation which passed out of the House Consumer and Public Affairs Committee and is now headed to House Judiciary.

Last fall, at the Chamber’s Property Crimes Conference, it was noted that the state’s Drug Courts have been successful in dealing with and helping with this class of offender, who often commit property crimes – like burglary and theft -- for drug money.  Unfortunately, federal grant money for Drug Court had dried up. Rep. Joe Cervantes has introduced HB 144, which will provide state money to fund and create Drug Courts throughout New Mexico. HB 144 received a Do Pass in House Judiciary and will be considered next by the House Appropriations Committee.

Finally, much like DWI, another criminal offense occurs much too often – domestic violence. The Chamber is supporting SB 68, introduced by Sen. Rod Adair, which increases the penalty from a misdemeanor to a fourth degree felony upon conviction of a third offense of battery on a household member, or conviction of a third offense of aggravated battery on a household. Chamber President & CEO Terri Cole testified on behalf of this bill which received a Do Pass in Senate Public Affairs and is scheduled for consideration next in the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Roundhouse Highlight of the Week

Yes, it’s true…the Governor is growing a beard…. And he has his very own Blog which notes at the top that “On this page, you will find behind-the scenes information on current events, news conferences, the 2008 Legislature and much more.  Bloggers will include Governor Richardson, Cabinet Secretaries and representatives from the Governor’s Office.” To get to the Governor’s Blog, click on www.governor.state.nm.us and then on the Newsroom section.

• Rep. Al Park---January 24

• Sen. Kent Cravens---January 25

• Rep. Mimi Stewart---January 27

It looks like only Bernalillo County legislators are getting “younger” this week!

Bills of Interest That the Chamber Supports