SANTA FE — A controversial fracking ban bill hit a snag Tuesday in the New Mexico Legislature when brought before the Senate Conservation Committee, receiving little more than an introduction and no committee discussion or vote. With only half an hour left of the committee’s morning session, Sen. Antoinette Sedillo Lopez, D-Albuquerque, offered a passionate plea to impose a four-year …

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The sheriff in New Mexico’s most populous county is joining colleagues from more rural areas of the state in pushing back against sweeping gun-control proposals before the Legislature. Bernalillo County Sheriff Manuel Gonzales said Friday he would support becoming a “Second Amendment Sanctuary County.” As with a sanctuary city or state for immigrants, a 2nd Amendment …

Early childhood education department bill advances By Robert Nott rnott@sfnewmexican.com One of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s favored legislative initiatives finally advanced Wednesday when the Senate Rules Committee voted 8-0 for a bill to create a centralized department for early childhood education. Senate Bill 22 would consolidate programs that are spread among several agencies, including the Public Education Department and the …

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico plans to join other states in suing President Donald Trump over his emergency declaration to fund a wall at the U.S. border with Mexico, the state’s Democratic attorney general and governor announced Monday. Trump says immigrants are invading the country and has declared a national emergency to bypass Congress to use money from …

N.M. Senate passes background checks on private gun sales SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Proposed legislation to expand background checks to nearly all private gun sales in New Mexico cleared its last major hurdle with approval from the state Senate on Thursday.The 22-20 Senate vote highlighted a marked shift in the politics of firearms regulation in a state with a …

New Mexico county aims to buck lawmakers with gun resolution TUCUMCARI, N.M. (AP) — A small New Mexico county has passed a resolution in protest of gun control legislation in the Legislature.KRQE-TV reports Quay County has declared itself a “Second Amendment Sanctuary County” under a resolution approved by commissioners. New Mexico House Republicans, who do not have control of the …

GOP senator’s bill calls for state-run pot shops By Steve Terrell sterrell@sfnewmexican.com A Republican state senator on Thursday introduced a bill that would legalize recreational marijuana but, unlike a Democratic House bill, would have the state operate retail marijuana stores. Sen. Mark Moores of Albuquerque said in a phone interview Thursday that, considering the number of western states that have …

Recreational pot bill proposing 9% tax clears first hurdle By Andrew Oxford aoxford@sfnewmexican.com Proponents of legalizing marijuana have long pointed to a prospective windfall they say state and local governments could enjoy by taxing products that now circulate on the black market. But the sponsors of a bill to legalize marijuana in New Mexico have an unlikely goal. They don’t …

Bills raise public records issues on costs, expunction By Robert Nott rnott@sfnewmexican.com State Sen. John Sapien says he wants the general public to bear a greater share of the cost for public records. Sapien, D-Corrales, has introduced a bill that would require people to pay up to a dollar per page for electronic copies of these documents. “It’s not nefarious,” …

House votes to repeal criminal law on abortion in NM By Robert Nott rnott@sfnewmexican.com Following three hours of impassioned testimony and debate, the state House of Representatives late Wednesday voted 40-29 to repeal a 50-year-old law that made it a fourth-degree felony to perform an abortion in New Mexico. Although a 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision rendered the law unenforceable, …