Gov. Lujan Grisham rather suddenly this week announced that New Mexico school districts would be able to return students at all grade levels to the classroom for “hybrid” learning. That means 50% in-person and 50% “virtual.”

We welcome this news and believe it is long-overdue based on numerous studies of the issue. And, while we are certainly not going to question the Gov.’s decision or motivation, it is certainly worth asking why most New Mexico schools remained closed from March of 2020 all the way until now while the number of active cases has only recently declined from statewide highs. The following case chart is from the WorldoMeters COVID tracking website.

The move to reopen schools at this very moment (immediately after a new President of her own party has taken office) is just one of many perplexing details.

Of course Albuquerque Public Schools has said that it WILL NOT be opening  on March 8. The leading obstacle is the unions which has been the case across the nation. To be fair to APS it appears that Lujan Grisham did not consult many districts or anyone outside her inner circle before making her decision. This lack of transparency marked by sudden policy shifts has been an ongoing problem throughout the pandemic.

Finally, while teachers shouldn’t be FORCED into classrooms, the “one-size-fits-all” problem inherent in our education system is the core problem here. Willing teachers and willing students could and should have returned to in-person learning months ago. If APS had a financial incentive to serve families and students rather than being a government-sponsored monopoly, this would be the case.

Mandatory paid sick leave has surfaced once again, but this time it is being proposed in Santa Fe, not just in the Albuquerque City Council. The bill, *HB 37 has been referred to the House Labor, Veterans’, and Military Affairs Committee which will discuss the bill in a meeting on Thursday, January 28th. The meeting starts at 2 P.M.

You can watch the webcast here, or join the Zoom meeting here.

The Rio Grande Foundation submitted testimony in opposition to the bill.

HB 139: Terminates Gov.’s emergency declarations after 90 days unless extension approved by the Legislature;

HB 8: Allows home liquor delivery and “liberalizes” license rules;

HB 26: Disallows “greenfield” developments from TIDD’s;

HB 33: Authorizes NM livestock board to inspect meat;

HB 49: Exempt Social Security from taxation;

HB 177: Allows for sale of certain foods produced in home kitchens;

HJR 6: Terminates declaration of emergency by Gov. after 90 days unless Legislature approves extension;

HJR 7: Allows for parents of New Mexico students to use state education dollars for the school of their choice;

*SB 2: Waives liquor license fees for 2021;

SB 6: Allows home liquor delivery and “liberalizes” license rules;

SB 78: Exempts Social Security from income tax;

SB 87: Prohibits retaliation based on IPRA requests;

SB 98: Requires economic impact reports on incentive programs;

On this week’s episode, Paul and Wally discuss the fact that New Mexico schools will soon reopen in a hybrid format. This is good news, but Wally and Paul do have questions. Other “blue” states have reopened as well and the Lobos and Aggies sports teams have been allowed to come back to NM, but what about football and other fall high school sports?

Biden oil leasing ban on federal lands 60 days; Shocking how quickly that came about & Deb Haaland isn’t even sworn in yet.

Paul wants to put some facts on the table as the session rolls forward.

RGF has a day in court defending free speech.

Paul and Wally go through some of the worst bills introduced SO FAR in the 2021 session. House and Senate listed here. Paul talks about the challenges of testifying and citizen involvement in the session.

RGF’s Freedom Index is tracking votes right now. 

Teacher unions nationwide have been the leading opponents of in-person learning. The ongoing debate in Chicago is the most high-profile place where unions are pushing HARD against returning to classrooms. There has not been much debate on this in New Mexico, but non-unionized districts have been more inclined to return to hybrid learning whereas union-heavy districts have stayed with remote learning.  

The paragraphs below are taken directly from a New York Times article which details the Biden Administration’s efforts to get students back to class and union efforts to push back. There are even concerns about returning to classrooms THIS FALL. 

UPDATE: Shortly after this post was written Gov. MLG “reopened” schools to 50% hybrid schooling, but she left the “final decision” open to districts. That’s a welcome development and we’re confident that rural districts can get started with opening. APS has already said they will not return on the 8th of Feb. and we’ll just see about other big, union-dominated districts.

The following appeared in Las Cruces Sun News on Sunday, January 24, 2021.

To say that this is an unprecedented legislative session in New Mexico is an understatement. After some public debate over how and when the Legislature was going to meet, the Democrats who overwhelmingly control both houses have decided to plow forward with an entirely “virtual” session.

The Roundhouse is closed to the public and if you want to engage with legislators or committees you need to get online and watch, testify, or send emails or calls to their offices. By itself this COVID-related change is both dramatic and problematic.

Then, in apparent reaction to the US Capitol riots of January 6 and the supposed threat of violence at state capitols across the nation, the Roundhouse has been fenced off with dramatically-enhanced security measures implemented to the point that only legislators and staff can get near the facility. We don’t know how long these measures will be in place, but this simply can’t be the “new normal.”

For all its many flaws New Mexico’s Legislature has traditionally been among the most open and accessible in the nation. We have advocated the addition of remote testimony in this vast, sparsely-populated State, but never at the expense of having in-person access completely eliminated during a session.

All advocates for open government must be vigilant in making sure that this crisis not be used to limit open government and transparency in our State.

And then there is the economy. We certainly want New Mexicans to be able to get back to work as quickly as possible. But as the Legislature meets to discuss long-term policy changes in our State we need to agree on a few important facts which undergird our economic situation and have done so for many years.

• • We know New Mexico is an impoverished state. Too many of our citizens and especially young people face hardships in the best of times. Of course, those problems have been worsened by the pandemic and the political reaction to it.
  • New Mexico lacks something called economic freedom. According to an annual report from the Canada-based Fraser Institute, a free market think tank, our State is the 42^nd-most free state in the nation. Our neighbors are all much freer. Worse, because data are not available instantaneously the data available are for 2018, Susana Martinez’s last year in office. We have seen a dramatic erosion in economic freedom under the current Administration. Lack of economic freedom has real impacts on people. The study found an 8.1% reduction in median incomes in the least free states.
  • New Mexico’s tax burdens are heavy. Because it is poor and federal taxes are “progressive” many tools claim our State has low taxes. In reality, according to the Federation of Tax Administrators, when ranked as a percentage of personal incomes, New Mexico’s state tax burden is 7^th-highest in the nation.
  • Given our heavy tax burden it will come as no surprise that state and local spending is high. In fact, according to com consuming 22.98% of our overall economy, New Mexico governments spend a smaller share of the economy than only West Virginia and Alaska.

During this 60-day legislative session we expect a slew of tax hikes, spending programs, and new regulations to be considered and passed. Unfortunately, those mostly take us even further in the wrong direction and will further make us an island of relatively slow economic (and population) growth and poverty in the American Southwest.

Paul Gessing is president of New Mexico’s Rio Grande Foundation. The Rio Grande Foundation is an independent, nonpartisan, tax-exempt research and educational organization dedicated to promoting prosperity for New Mexico based on principles of limited government, economic freedom and individual responsibility

The Rio Grande Foundation is a staunch advocate for free speech and the ability for speech by those who want to speak without having their name and personal information spread all over the Internet and media outlets.

Dating back to our efforts against Santa Fe’s proposed (and defeated) soda and sugary drinks tax, the Foundation has been fighting against Santa Fe’s donor disclosure rule with legal representation from Arizona’s Goldwater Institute. You can read the details of the hearing and the case itself here.

The issue of free  and private speech is relevant in the US Congress these days with the US Congress considering HR 1, legislation that would chill free speech.

We assessed some of the pre-filed and other bad legislation from the New Mexico Senate here. Below are some of the worst bills that have been introduced in the House to date.

Worst House Bills (so far)

HB 4 NM Civil Rights Act: would allow legal claims to be filed in state court over alleged infringements on free speech, freedom of religion and other constitutional rights. Major concerns have been expressed over the cost of this legislation.

HB 20, HB 37, HB 38 Some of the initial examples of proposed paid sick leave mandates.

HB 24 would mandate at least one full time nurse be hired in all New Mexico school districts.

HB 40 would ban all privately-managed detention facilities in New Mexico

HB 43 Black Education Act would require “racial sensitivity” and “anti-racism” training and propaganda for staff and students from K-12 to higher education.

HB 110 Legislation would impose a $15/hour minimum wage.

HB 111 would impose various unnecessary rules and restrictions on real estate and rental transactions.

HB 122 This bill would impose a new tax on health insurance.

HJR 1 would amend New Mexico’s constitution to tap into the Land Grant Permanent Fund to create new “early childhood” programs including pre-K.

Paul interviews Rep. Greg Nibert, a member of the New Mexico House of Representatives from Roswell.

Nibert is sponsoring critical legislation that would give legislators a “seat at the table” in future emergencies. No longer would one person, the Gov., be given or be able to take the kind of absolute control we have seen over the last year.

Additionally, Nibert and Gessing discuss the logistics and concerns about New Mexico’s first-ever “virtual” 60-day session and some of the important issues that he’ll be dealing with in the session.

With the Legislature meeting behind closed doors in a “virtual” environment, the potential for mischief is extreme in the 2021 Legislature. We know that Gov. Lujan Grisham has a few stated priorities for the session, but when it comes to the most “progressive” (big-government-oriented) Legislature in New Mexico history, some truly awful bills will be introduced (and possibly passed).

In a 60 day session there will be plenty of bills introduced, but here are a few “pre-filed” and early candidates. We recommend you 1) sign up for our email list at this page, 2) check our “Freedom Index” regularly 3) use the bill tracking feature on the Legislature’s website to track notable bills.

Here are SOME of the initial “worst of the worst” starting in the Senate (this is the New Mexico Legislature, this list will get pretty long once all bills are introduced).

SB 11: Imposes regulations on vehicles to drastically reduce CO2 emissions from motor vehicles used in New Mexico;SB 55: Require social, cultural, and racial “impact statements” for all bills in the Legislature;

SB 31: Require every school district in New Mexico hire at least one full-time nurse;

SB 56: Increase New Mexico’s top personal income tax rate to 8.2%;

SB 89: Increase New Mexico’s top personal income tax rate to 6.5%;

SB 63: Require ALL newly-constructed schools to have photovoltaic solar panels;

SB 67: Requires ALL new energy to be “green” produced with renewables;

SB 81: Requires a “racial impact statement” for all crime legislation;

SB 110: Increase employer (taxpayer) contribution to the Educational Retirement Board pension system health care plan.

SB 130 Requires 75% of New Mexico State-owned vehicles to be powered by electricity;

SB 132 Requires ALL newly-constructed homes to have photovoltaic solar panels AND charging stations for electric vehicles;

SJR 3 Enacts “green” amendment to New Mexico’s Constitution.

We’ll look at the worst bills from the House tomorrow.

A group of Democratic Senators has proposed a “Green” amendment to New Mexico’s Constitution. It has been introduced as SJR 3 and, relative to most bills, it is very short. If adopted by the Legislature and passed via a vote of the people, the amendment essentially creates a “right” to a clean environment (whatever that means specifically). More importantly, according to the head of the Sierra Club in New Mexico the proposal “would create a private right of action for the public to sue over environmental degradation.”

Recently the Associated press did a story on the issue and RGF offered the following comments:

The environment is in relatively better shape than it was even 40 years ago when there were fewer laws related to air and water quality. He said the proposed amendment implies the opposite.

“It ignores the fact that the environment by and large is getting better. Climate change is a real issue, but this is an open door for lawsuits and/or bad policy.”

Wallethub’s latest report on unemployment shows that New Mexico remains the 2nd-most impacted state in the nation when it comes to unemployment during the COVID 19 situation.

Gov. Lujan Grisham held a press conference in which she discussed distribution of the vaccine and her latest plans. 400 person Harding County is in the green and Union County (Clayton) in yellow are the only counties out of the red. Despite all of the Gov.’s lockdowns New Mexico is now 15^th-highest among US states in deaths per population from COVID.

SOME New Mexico kids can get back to the classroom: While we are pleased by this development PED’s reasoning seems half baked to say the least.

The Roundhouse is now completely locked down and will be for the foreseeable future. KRQE reports New Mexico’s “virtual” session will have some serious drawbacks as Paul tells KOB TV.

A new video from the Institute for Justice discusses NM’s excellent civil asset forfeiture reforms.

President-elect Biden stimulus package: $1,400 stimulus check for most taxpayers and $15/hour minimum wage.  Biden is also expected to cancel the permit for the Keystone XL pipeline. What does this mean?

Some system of mandatory paid sick leave will be on the agenda for the 2021 New Mexico Legislature. Adoption of such legislation would likely obviate plans for such legislation at the local level (such as City of Albuquerque). Here are a few of the bills that have been introduced so far. We will keep you updated as these bills move (or not).

For a detailed comparison of the bills click on the following document.

HB 20 “Healthy Workplaces Act” by Christine Chandler, Daymon Ely, and Mimi Stewart

HB 37 “Paid Sick Leave Act” Angelica Rubio, Andrés Romero, and Patricia Roybal Caballero

HB 38 “Paid Family and Medical Leave Act” Christine Chandler and Patricia Roybal Caballero

Sick Leave Acts

As the first-ever “virtual” New Mexico legislative session kicks off we believe it is important for New Mexico policymakers to have some basic information about New Mexico’s economy.

1. New Mexico tax burdens are not low relative to neighboring states. The chart below is from the Federation of Tax Administrators. With far heavier tax burdens than its neighbors, New Mexico’s tax burden ranks 7th-heaviest among states.

2. According to the website US Government Spending state and local spending in New Mexico is far higher than in neighboring states as a percentage of the state economy (GDP).  The data are constantly being updated, but New Mexico consistently has the biggest-spending state and local governments in the US.

3. When it comes to raising the minimum wage, mandatory paid sick leave, or a variety of other economic policies, New Mexico lags dramatically. The data in the Fraser Institute analysis below is from 2018 which is the final year of Susana Martinez’ time in office. New Mexico desperately needs MORE economic freedom, not less.

4.. We already know New Mexico is among the poorest states in the US. If the Legislature is serious about reducing poverty and improving outcomes for children and the rest of the population (regardless of race or gender) it needs to have a serious conversation about economic freedom issues. like taxes and regulations. 

Populists on both sides of the political aisle may believe that not having lobbyists in the Roundhouse for the 2021 Legislative session will be a good thing. RGF’s Paul Gessing sat down with KOB TV to discuss why the lack of lobbyists (both citizens AND professionals) and the information they provide could result in “half-baked” legislation.

See the story below:

On this week’s podcast, Paul talks to Kathleen Sgamma. Kathleen is President of the Western Energy Alliance which describes itself as The Voice of Energy in the West.

It is almost a truism that New Mexico tends to be “high on all the bad lists and low on all the good ones.” On one major issue that is certainly not the case: policing for profit. Others know it as Civil Asset Forfeiture. The practice was banned in 2015 in New Mexico thanks to a bipartisan coalition that included the Rio Grande Foundation and the Institute for Justice (a national, libertarian, public interest law firm).

The group recently published its 3rd “Policing for Profit” report which ranks New Mexico as THE ONLY “A” rated state in the nation. Check out their video below which

Wallethub’s latest report once again places New Mexico as the 2nd-worst impacted US state in terms of unemployment under COVID 19. This is no surprise given the Gov.’s ongoing lockdown orders, but it is troubling for average New Mexicans, their livelihoods, and businesses that are being impacted by this prolonged unemployment situation.

Recently (Monday the 11th of January) the Albuquerque Journal undertook an in-depth discussion of Joe Biden’s planned energy policies and their impact on New Mexico. Reading through the articles there are a lot of promises about how Biden will make the world cleaner and greener with zero negative repercussions for our economy or the environment.

In one article former Obama Administration staffer and current State Rep. Melanie Stansbury argues, “Our entire dependence on carbon needs to be altered across the board, not just in electric generation, but in transportation and industry in general,” Stansbury said. “We need comprehensive action against our climate footprint.”

Gessing simply notes that a proposed ban on oil and gas drilling (or fracking) on federal lands would be devastating to New Mexico’s economy.

The article is full of assertions from environmental activists that “green” energy will both save the planet AND save money.

In a second article, broadly on the same topic, the quote is as follows,

Paul Gessing, president of the conservative Rio Grande Foundation, said renewables won’t replace the extensive employment offered by the traditional energy industry, nor will they provide enough state revenue to offset the wealth generated by fossil fuels.

“I don’t think green energy will produce a real boom for New Mexico, nor for the nation,” Gessing told the Journal. “I’m very concerned about our financial future. We’re racing full bore into wind and solar with government subsidies and mandates, and I don’t believe that’s a net winner for the state.”

While we always appreciate being asked to discuss important issues with the media, it is interesting that WE are the ones labeled “conservative.” Politicians and environmental groups receive massive donations that dwarf not just OUR meager budget, but those of the big “conservative” and libertarian groups like Heritage, Cato, or AEI. A few of the largest environmental groups are listed below along with their budgets and staff sizes.

The events of this past week were unprecedented in American history. On this week’s podcast, Paul and Wally share their perspectives on the riot at the US Capitol and Trump’s legacy more broadly. Then, Wally and Paul address the political repercussions of this event which will be extremely problematic for conservatives nationwide, let alone here in New Mexico. One of the earliest developments involves a clampdown on conservatives on social media.

Before last week went completely off the rails Paul and Wally made some predictions regarding the results of the Georgia Senate Races. They discuss the results of those predictions.

RGF had an op-ed in the ABQ Journal over the weekend.

Despite all the doom and gloom predictions about the Trump presidency (not to mention a growing population and economy), US CO2 emissions haven’t been this low since the early 1980s.

United Van Lines’ annual report detailing which states people moved to and from during 2020 is out. What does it mean for New Mexico?

Like nearly all Americans, we at the Rio Grande Foundation were horrified by the recent events at the US Capitol building. We have been further devastated by the clampdown on online speech (mostly among right-leaning people) involving big tech companies.

Everyone from President Trump to former Congressman Ron Paul has faced repercussions including outright bans from social media companies while the conservative social media firm Parler was “de-platformed” by Amazon.

This form of censorship is very concerning. And, while the Rio Grande Foundation primarily sticks to state and local issues here in New Mexico, the threat of internet is of critical concern to us. Thus, for over a year we have been a part of the Free Speech Alliance which was created by the Media Research Center.

The Alliance’s Mission is as follows:

The Free Speech Alliance is made up of more than 70 organizations and individuals who oppose the silencing of conservative voices on social media. Members of the Free Speech Alliance are not affiliated with MRC and the MRC does not endorse any of the positions or opinions of the other members of the FSA.

Anyone who has lived in or even visited Albuquerque as a young person has visited Cliff’s Amusement Park. Once upon a time it was “Uncle Cliff’s.” The place has been a local fixture for more than six decades.

It is also in danger thanks to the mismanagement of our state, most notably by our governor during the COVID 19 situation, but Cliff’s also faces longer-term problems thanks to the anti-business attitudes of increasing numbers of state and local politicians.

Policymakers seem bound and determined to force Cliff’s Amusement Park out of business, thus destroying a place that holds cherished memories for generations of New Mexicans.

Most pressing is the dire need for the park to simply reopen. Thanks to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s orders, 2020 was the first time the park did not open for an entire season. Forty-six of the 50 states have allowed amusement parks to open. Not New Mexico.

Yet for locked down businesses like Cliff’s, costs continue to mount. Cliff’s sits on prime Albuquerque real estate between San Mateo and I-25. Property taxes and maintenance bills continue to mount even if revenues dry up.

Despite a national plan presented to the governor under which the park could open safely, they were prohibited from doing so. Disney World and all of Disney’s properties in Orlando have been safely operating for months, as have various Universal Studios properties. Ohio’s Kings Island and Cedar Point parks both opened this past summer as did parks in numerous states throughout the nation.

A few months ago, my family visited the Great Wolf Lodge in Scottsdale. The park has a near-exact replica of the water area found at Cliff’s, but bigger and indoors. Again, as with the amusement parks that have opened, there have been no reports of COVID-19 outbreaks at these facilities. My family included.

There is no use worrying about 2020, but Cliff’s typically opens in April and that is not far off for a park that hires hundreds of local teenagers on a seasonal basis every year and had to lay off 20 full-time employees last year.

In October, Gary Hays, the head of Cliff’s, told KOAT, “I honestly don’t know if we can survive without opening up (next year).” And, unless something changes – and soon – it would seem that Cliff’s and numerous other entertainment venues, including the Albuquerque Isotopes, will remain closed for the foreseeable future, possibly permanently.

Under the governor’s red, yellow, green rubric, Cliff’s and other entertainment venues won’t be able to open even when their respective county gets into the green zone. Currently, every county in the state but sparsely-populated Catron is in the red.

And that’s not all, even if the governor were to come to her senses and allow Cliff’s and other recreational facilities to open tomorrow, the policies being imposed in Albuquerque and Santa Fe are causing businesses like Cliff’s to suffer “death by a thousand cuts.”

Mandatory paid sick leave, which has been repeatedly rejected at the city level, will now be considered in the Legislature. The state’s minimum wage just rose from $9.00 to $10.50 an hour and is on its way to $12.00 an hour in a few years. There is serious talk of further increasing the minimum wage again this session.

Cliffs’ workforce consists of 98% teenagers. They are the state’s largest employer of young people and – not surprisingly – have been hit especially hard by the pandemic and economic shutdowns. Even if the park opens on time and as usual this spring, the hostile policy climate is making business for Cliff’s and other small businesses more difficult each year.

Do we really want a Cliff’s-sized hole in the middle of Albuquerque? If the park closes, the prime real estate will be filled by warehouses or fast food joints, but an unfillable hole will remain for this and future generations of New Mexico youth.

The Rio Grande Foundation is an independent, nonpartisan, tax-exempt research and educational organization dedicated to promoting prosperity for New Mexico based on principles of limited government, economic freedom and individual responsibility.

On this week’s podcast, Paul sits down with Sandoval County Commissioner Dave Heil.

As President Trump’s presidency reaches its conclusion and Joe Biden heads into the White House fortified by Congressional majorities (albeit narrow ones) we can undoubtedly expect some ambitious “green” energy policies. While the media and the political left (often one and the same) continue to decry the supposed damage Trump did to the climate over the past 4 years, the reality is that CO2 emissions in the US are at their lowest TOTAL levels since Ronald Reagan’s first term as President. See below:

Yes, 2020’s decline was “aided” by the shutdown of the US economy, but the long-term trend was toward lower emissions anyway thanks both to the abandonment of coal fired power plants and the advent of fracking and cheap natural gas. Trump didn’t do anything to change that.

The real question is whether (with the COVID vaccine and, presumably the broader reopening of the US economy) whether “green” Joe Biden will preside over an INCREASE in CO2 emissions over the next year or even his next four years. Talk about ironic!