Four things to watch in this legislative session

PNT senior writer

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There are four issues that have received quite a bit of buzz and have been labeled priorities by local lawmakers prior to this upcoming legislative session.

The 30-day session begins Tuesday.

Lottery scholarships

Lawmakers are being pressured to find a solution to a dwindling lottery-financed college scholarship program, which covers full tuition for about 15,000 students statewide.

The program costs $80 million a year, but officials say the lottery provides only half of that cost.

Eastern New Mexico University officials say it’s crucial to find a solution because about one in five of their 4,500-plus undergraduate population are lottery scholarship recipients.

To qualify for a scholarship, New Mexico students must enroll in a public college or university in the state after graduating from high school, attend full time and maintain a 2.5 point grade point average.

Though Gov. Susana Martinez’s administration has suggested legislators use the general tax revenues for a temporary solution, area representatives are cautious of another quick-fix and are looking to find a long-term solution.

Rep. Dennis Roch, R-Logan, has served on the task force for the lottery scholarship program and has thumbed through a few solutions.

The educator, who represents Roosevelt and Curry counties, feels the best bet to address the ailing fund would be to give set awards because he feels lottery revenues won’t keep the pace.

Other solutions suggested include raising the GPA for eligible students, making the scholarship need-based and defining full-time students at 15 hours.

Education reform

Local lawmakers are eyeing the additional funds the state Legislature has this year for its budget to be spent on education.

Rep. George Dodge, D-Santa Rosa, said he’d like to see the additional funds used for education programs, getting teachers raises and improving early childhood education in the state.

Rep. Dennis Roch, R-Logan, is excited to promote the state’s new teacher evaluation system.

Local educators have been critical of Public Education Department Secretary-designate Hanna Skandera’s push for the program but Roch said the new system will promote advancement for teachers.

Roch said the system allows educators to be evaluated by the people who work with them daily, which he feels is a better indicator of teachers mastering competency.

It’s also a program Gov. Susana Martinez has defended despite the opposition of state teacher unions. After a District Court judge in Albuquerque refused to block Martinez’s administration from continuing to implement the evaluation system, teacher unions asked the state Court of Appeals to reconsider because they say the program is invalid because it violates state laws.

Same-sex marriage

Local Republican lawmakers have been vocal in their support of a statewide constitutional amendment that would define marriage as between a man and a woman.

The proposal of the amendment is the lawmakers attempt to reverse a state Supreme Court decision that ruled denying marriage to same-sex couples unconstitutional.

It was a decision that caused an uproar from residents in Roosevelt and Curry counties, and former Roosevelt County Clerk Donna Carpenter to resign based on her opposition of the law.

State Sen. Bill Sharer, R-Farmington, plans to introduce the amendment this session. Sen. Pat Woods, R-Broadview, agrees with amending the state constitution, believing residents should be able to vote on the issue, despite a thwarted attempt to do so last year.

Rep. Anna Crook, R-Clovis, said she was disappointed in the court’s ruling and will most likely support Sharer’s amendment.

Sen. Stuart Ingle, R-Portales, also said he would support Sharer’s amendment.

Legalization of marijuana

A local lawmaker is expecting a constitutional amendment to be proposed that would legalize marijuana in the state, and he has voiced his intention to fight it.

Democratic Sen. Gerald Ortiz y Pino plans to propose the amendment to legalize pot but Rep. Bob Wooley, R-Roswell, said he plans to convince his fellow lawmakers to vote against it.

Roosevelt County commissioners back Wooley, saying they see no benefit in legalizing marijuana for recreational use.

But Wooley has acknowledged he is OK with medicinal marijuana, though he does believe it should be better regulated.

Wooley also said Colorado will serve as a test ground for states considering legalizing the drug so lawmakers can consider benefits and consequences.