On this week’s episode, Paul and Wally provide a Coronavirus update. Which states have quarantines active? Where are things heading with the stock market and oil prices? What about New Mexico Republicans pushing for a special session?

The Lujan Grisham Administration supported the Yazzie v. Martinez suit as long as there was plenty of money available to spend on K-12. Now it looks like New Mexico is heading into a budget shortfall. It is asking the courts to drop Yazzie v. Martinez. Why now? Is this simply a nod to budgetary reality?

Based on its own ideas as well as some crowdsourced thoughts, the Rio Grande Foundation has a few ideas for Gov. Lujan Grisham to consider in this time of crisis.

RGF files a lawsuit against the City of Albuquerque arguing that city councilors violated open meeting laws.

We’re living the “Green New Deal” right now Wally and Paul discuss why.

Despite plenty of evidence (and news from both Maine and New York which have put their bans on hold) neither the City of Albuquerque nor Bernalillo County are acting to suspend or repeal their plastic bag bans.

In New Hampshire the governor issued an emergency order banning reusable bags, requiring stores to use plastic or paper instead,

The NM Grocers Association wants temporary repeal of bag ban.

With the economic challenge facing New Mexico in this crisis, here are a few small ideas for getting back to work and prioritizing what matters in these challenging times. The Rio Grande Foundation produced its original list of specific ideas and then reached out to the public online for additional ideas.

The full list which is being sent to Gov. Lujan Grisham is below.

• Waive increases in unemployment insurance costs under the State’s formula. Consider rescinding the 4% raise given to public employees and used for that purpose.
• Request a Section 1135 Medicaid waiver to eliminate burdensome rules with regard to Medicaid (Florida was just approved fort the first one in this emergency);
• Allow full licensing reciprocity for qualified medical personnel from other states;
• Relax occupational licensing rules and regulations so people can work. Giving haircuts in your home for money shouldn’t be a crime;
• Suspend business licensing rules that interfere with solo or very small startups;
• Re-purpose money from film subsidies (the industry, like most, has shut down in the State for now) and Rail Runner operations (the train is shut down as well) to health related initiatives;
• Give state tax breaks to businesses that are able to continue to pay employees through shutdowns;
• Instead of landlords shouldering the burden of unpaid rent, let the tenants pay with a form that provides the necessary documentation then allow the landlord to fully deduct that amount from his/her property taxes in the future. Government could even reimburse directly then deal with the back payments itself if it requires back payments.
• Delay collection of property taxes since many are going to lose jobs or lose salaries for awhile.
• Facilitate the transfer of workers being laid of from restaurants to be transferred, temporarily, to help out the food chain, like grocery stores stocking shelves, and unloading trucks for example. The State could facilitate with leaders in the food sector to make it happen and to compensate for wage differences.
• State government should place a moratorium on any new State regulations at least for the duration of the crisis.
• The governor, should immediately eliminate the SS tax on seniors
• Businesses which have been forced to close should not be required to pay ANY expenses including loan payments, utilities, rent and vendor invoices. Those payments should be absorbed by the state. The Land Grant Permanent Fund should be considered as a means of helping the State “backstop” these efforts.
• Schools are closed for at least three weeks and may be closed for the rest of the school season. Funds devoted to that period of time should be diverted to relieve businesses that have been shut down by the State.
• The Gov. and PED should work with virtual education providers to increase and improve education options for students in traditional public schools.
• With the Four Corners already struggling and natural gas prices (a main economic driver of the area falling from already-depressed levels) the State of New Mexico must give Enchant Energy a chance to see if its carbon sequestration plans to keep San Juan Generating Station open (and people working at the Plant and mine) will work.
• The Rail Runner is shut down. Now is the time to consider whether continuing this money-losing service is necessary.

The Lujan Grisham Administration has petitioned for dismissal of the Yazzie v. Martinez education funding suit. The Rio Grande Foundation has always been skeptical of this lawsuit so in many ways we support the Gov. in making this decision.

New Mexico already spends “adequately” (more per-student than any of its neighbors) but our education outcomes remain among the worst in the nation. So there are serious questions about the “adequacy” of our education system, but how much money is enough? What measurable outcomes would cause our system to be considered “adequate” by the courts? Perhaps, given the precipitous decline in oil prices (and likely the State budget) the Gov. is simply preparing for fiscal reality in future K-12 budgets.

At the Rio  Grande Foundation we have long supported broader school choice including improving our charter school law and allowing parents to direct education funding to private schools via tax credits or vouchers. Those are NOT among Gov. Lujan Grisham’s solutions.

So, should Yazzie be dismissed? Probably. Is New Mexico’s K-12 system “adequate?” Not really. But, the tools needed to make the system adequate really don’t require more money and we see no sign that this union-friendly Gov. will embrace choice as a means of making our system “adequate.”

RGF president Paul Gessing recently sat down with Fred Martino of KRWG TV in Las Cruces to discuss the aftermath of the 2020 Legislature and how things will likely shake out in the wake of the Coronavirus situation and the rapid decline in oil and gas prices.

Ryan Laughlin of KOB TV did a great job covering the special Albuquerque City Council meeting which resulted in Mayor Keller receiving significant new powers. He also covered our lawsuit which was filed in the aftermath of the meeting and challenges the legality of the meeting and the powers delegated to the Mayor.

On this week’s podcast, Paul sat down with Charles Sullivan. An attorney, Charles moved to New Mexico from upstate New York several decades ago, largely for the weather. But, as you can read for yourself in his recent American Thinker column Charles is frustrated by the State’s politics and what he believes it has done to the State in terms of the overall economy, the education system, and crime.

Mr. Sullivan clearly loves New Mexico. He isn’t going anywhere, but he also has some tough love for the state he’s lived in for nearly 40 years.

Imagine,  massive reductions in vehicle traffic as this photo of “The 405” during a recent “rush hour” in Los Angeles illustrates.

Massive declines in air travel as flights are canceled and people refrain from air travel.

And even slower population growth (long a quiet goal of the environmental movement) due to as many as 1.6 million deaths.  That is obviously the reality we are living through right now due to the Coronavirus, but in many respects this is what environmental groups WANT to see happen as a means of reducing CO2 emissions.

Finally, while presidential candidate Joe Biden said recently that he wants to “ban new fracking”the fact is that due to dropping demand (see travel declines above) we may not see much fracking in the near future. Gas prices may be low, but New Mexico’s Permian Basin and oil producers across the nation are going to see massive reductions in jobs and states will see big declines in tax revenues. All of this is gleefully supported by radical environmentalists.

Less mobility, less economic growth, less freedom, and potentially even fewer people on the planet. For most of us it is an experience we are gritting our teeth and bearing while hoping it will end as soon as possible. For many in the environmental movement the current crisis is (at least temporarily) advancing their agenda of lower CO2 emissions.

This article appeared in the Albuquerque Journal on March 18, 2020.

Albuquerque City Councilor Pat Davis’s recent comments on expanding the city’s ban on plastic bags were out of touch, especially in this time of coronavirus.

The councilor recently said he wants to amend city law to get rid of plastic bags that are thicker than 2.25 thousandths of an inch. The thicker bags were exempted from the law for the simple reason they are considered “reusable,” but Davis thinks retailers and the public are abusing the situation and that it amounts to a “loophole.”

Davis recently stated, “If (retailers) keep bringing back new plastic bags, we’re going to keep banning them, and eventually they’ll get the message.” He anticipates the city will try to ban more bags this summer.

In the meantime, due to coronavirus concerns, major retailers are rightly emphasizing public safety above environmental concerns. Dunkin’ Donuts and Starbucks are just two of the largest companies that have disallowed the use of reusable cups due to health concerns.

Apparently Davis has no concern about the impact of the virus, which has disrupted all facets of American life. This isn’t mere hyperbole on my part. The problem with reusable cloth bags preferred by Davis and other opponents of plastic bags is real.

A 2018 report from Loma Linda University was based on an experiment in which researchers purposely “contaminated” a reusable bag with a harmless form of a virus. A single shopper then went through a typical grocery store, and the research team tracked the spread of the virus.

Quoting directly from the executive summary of the report, “The data show that MS2 spread to all surfaces touched by the shopper; the highest concentration occurred on the shopper’s hands, the checkout stand, and the clerk’s hands.”

Additionally in 2012 epidemiologists from the Oregon Public Health Division and Oregon Health & Science University published a peer reviewed article in the Journal of Infections Disease that documented a reusable grocery bag was the point source in an actual virus outbreak in the Pacific Northwest.

For years, people have simply believed that people will wash their bags. But recent runs on hand sanitizer and toilet paper show society doesn’t always act with balance. Loma Linda researches found only 3% of bags get washed. With companies prohibiting reusable cups as a precaution, we should at least temporarily suspend government-mandated use of reusable bags, a known and documented risk.

Far from “doubling down” on a plastic bag ban that is of dubious environmental benefit and may in fact be a threat to public health, Davis and the rest of Albuquerque’s City Council should consider ending the plastic bag ban at least until fears of the coronavirus subside. Of course, common colds, the flu and other illnesses are a constant threat, so the Loma Linda University study’s findings should be of concern to all of us.

Perhaps a more realistic assessment of the pluses and minuses of plastic bags and other items might be in order at City Council – and Bernalillo County which has an even more onerous plastic ban in place? We’re not holding our breath for an outbreak of sanity to occur alongside that of coronavirus, but we can hope and hold politicians like Davis accountable.

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

Update: on the same day this article was published in the Journal, New York State put its plastic bag ban on hold for health reasons.

(Albuquerque, NM) – On Friday, March 13, 2020, the City Council of the City of Albuquerque announced that it would be holding a closed meeting the following Monday, March 16, 2020. At that meeting which occurred this past Monday, the Council amended its Emergency Powers Ordinance which has been on the books for several decades.

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The Emergency Powers Ordinance contains numerous controversial provisions which, under New Mexico’s Open Meetings Act, residents of Albuquerque have a right to participate in with their members of the City Council.

The language of the Open Meetings Act is very simple. It states in part that, “…all meetings of any committee or policy-making body of the legislature held for the purpose of discussing public business or for the purpose of taking any action within the authority of or the delegated authority of the committee or body are declared to be public meetings open to the public at all times.”

The Rio Grande Foundation asserts in the lawsuit which has been filed in New Mexico district court that the City has violated the New Mexico Open Meetings Act by holding a City Council meeting March 16, 2020 without proper notice and without conducting such according to the provisions of the Open Meetings Act therein violating the Due Process owing to the citizens of Albuquerque.

Furthermore, the decades-old Emergency Powers Ordinance to which several amendments were made is itself unconstitutional. The Ordinance gave the Mayor power to restrict sales of firearms and ammunition. These provisions which were not amended on Monday violate New Mexico’s Constitution, which states:

“No law shall abridge the right of the citizen to keep and bear arms for security and defense, for lawful hunting and recreational use and for other lawful purposes, but nothing herein shall be held to permit the carrying of concealed weapons. No municipality or county shall regulate, in any way, an incident of the right to keep and bear arms.”

Said Rio Grande Foundation President Paul Gessing, “The Rio Grande Foundation understands that we are in a crisis situation right now, but laws like the Open Meetings Act and our State and Federal protections on the right to self defense were intended for crises.”

The Foundation’s lawsuit states that both the Open Meetings Act and the long-existing firearms restrictions violate New Mexico Law and should be considered void.

Click Here to View the Complaint as Filed

Paul and Wally give an update on the current situation: oil prices are close to $30. The Federal Reserve slashes interest rates to zero (rates were 1.75/1.5 at start of 2020).

While government is considering a number of “stimulus” measures, Paul and Wally wonder how government can stimulate the economy when Americans can’t really spend any money because virtually everything has been canceled?

Also, while traditional schools have been closed virtual options exist.

Paul and Wally address the State budget and what they expect to happen. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham vetoed a spending bill that would have appropriated $49.5 million to fund 216 road projects statewide, including funding for bike paths, safety enhancements and median landscaping in Albuquerque. Wally and Paul agree that a special session is still likely. When will/should it happen?

Does the virus justify mandatory paid sick leave? If so, what kind of leave policy?

Pat Davis wants to crack down on plastic bags. Could there be a worse idea?

Finally, channel 13 covers our successful complaint against Mayor Keller’s use of City website to campaign for Democracy Dollars:

RGF recently hosted successful Liberty on the Rocks in Albuquerque and Las Cruces.

We at the Rio Grande Foundation remain busy and active in this trying time and we also are working to keep government accountable and push back against government overreach. Here in Albuquerque an ordinance was passed that expands the Mayor’s powers to include times of health emergencies. This ordinance was passed very quickly and without a single public meeting on the issue and that concerns us.

But, thanks to State laws now in place, local ordinances dealing with guns and liquor provisions in the local ordinance that existed prior to its being amended last night WILL NOT impact gun rights.  See our analysis here. 

This story (in which RGF’s Paul Gessing is quoted) from KOB 4 TV deals with the ordinance prior to it being voted on:

This story which does not include video quotes RGF after the vote.

This story for which Gessing was quoted discusses the economic impacts of what is happening right now.

Finally, you ‘ll note that the video of Mr. Gessing is not in the usual setting. KOB TV requested a Skype interview due to virus concerns.

At last night’s (Monday’s) Albuquerque City Council meeting the Council passed this ordinance which expands the Mayor’s emergency powers. Among the specific provisions was an expansion of when these powers can be used. Here is the language, “[An actual or eminent outbreak, or reasonable threat of an actual or eminent outbreak, of any infectious disease that presents an unusual threat to the health or safety of the residents of the City, or threatens to unreasonably strain the medical or emergency service resources available in the City.”

The ordinance goes on to allow the Mayor to do the following:

(C) Order the closing of all retail package liquor stores and outlets.

(D) Order the closing of all bars and other establishments selling intoxicating liquor or beer by the drink.

(E) Order the discontinuance of selling, distributing or giving away gasoline or other liquid flammable or combustible products in any container other than a gasoline tank properly affixed to a motor vehicle said sale to be limited to not more than one gallon per motor vehicle, or in the alternative, order the closing of gasoline stations and other establishments, the chief activity of which is the sale, distribution or dispensing of liquid flammable or combustible products.

(F) Order the discontinuance of selling, distributing, dispensing or giving away of any firearms or ammunition of any character whatsoever, or in the alternative, order the closing of all establishments or portions thereof where arms and/or ammunition are kept for sale or distribution.

So, how does the City claim that the expanded ordinance “Does not allow the prohibition of sales of any item during a public health emergency.”

Simply put, the regulation of guns/ammo and liquor are preempted by the State of New Mexico and State laws supersede local laws. At least as it currently stands, these provisions of the expanded ordinance cannot take effect.

Of course, the existence of a national abortion policy (Roe v. Wade) has not stopped advocates on both sides of the abortion issue from having heated public debates over a 1969 New Mexico law which restricts abortion.

It would seem that many of these concerns and problems could have been avoided if City Council had taken some time to formulate this policy rather than introducing a bill on Friday and passing it on Monday in a meeting that was closed to the public.

Rahm Emmanuel once said, “Never let a crisis go to waste.”

The Albuquerque City Council is considering a “new” ordinance (actually amending its existing ordinance) to dramatically expand the powers of the Mayor to regulate or outright ban certain activities including public meetings and assemblies in times of civil unrest or potential civil unrest (or threatened epidemics).

The City ALREADY has a broad ordinance on the books which allows the Mayor to “Order the discontinuance of selling, distributing, dispensing or giving away of any firearms or ammunition of any character whatsoever, or in the alternative, order the closing of all establishments or portions thereof where arms and/or ammunition are kept for sale or distribution.”

The new version would expand those powers to allow for the Mayor to act in “An actual or eminent outbreak, or reasonable threat of an actual or eminent outbreak, of any infectious disease that presents an unusual threat to the health or safety of the residents of the City, or threatens to unreasonably strain the medical or emergency service resources available in the City.

The entire ordinance (which is currently the information that is not underlined or struck, that is the new material) is pretty aggressive. Do we want the Mayor to be able to take on a lot of new powers due to the “reasonable threat of an ’eminent’ outbreak?” It is a big question. There has been zero public debate or discussion on the issue and it will be voted on at the Council meeting the evening of Monday, March 16.

Because of said epidemic public comment is NOT being done in person at the meeting Monday night. Instead, you can use the following link specifically for this meeting to contact your City Councilors to let them know what you think.

Can elected officials use taxpayer-funded websites to campaign for and against local ballot measures? That’s what Mayor Keller’s Administration did using the City of Albuquerque’s website in the November 2019 election and the Rio Grande Foundation called “foul” and filed a complaint against the Mayor.

We won. Channel 13 covered the situation in the story below:

Just a few days ago Albuquerque City Councilor Pat Davis told local media outlets that he was planning to “close a loophole” in the City’s plastic bag ban which took effect this year. Davis wants the Mayor to get rid of plastic bags that are thicker than 2.25 thousandths of an inch. The thicker bags were exempted from the law for the simple reason that they are considered “reusable.”

Instead of mandating “reusable” products, retailers (like Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts) concerned about potential health implications of reusable items are banning them. Davis cares about politics whereas the retailers are doing what is sensible.

The problem in this age of Coronavirus is that Davis’ preferred reusable bags are KNOWN vectors for viruses in grocery stores. Don’t take my word for it, check out this report from Loma Linda University.

A 2018 report from Loma Linda University was based on an experiment in which researchers purposely “contaminated” a reusable bag with a harmless form of a virus. A single shopper then went through a typical grocery store and the research team tracked the spread of the virus.

Quoting directly from the executive summary of the report, “The data show that MS2 spread to all surfaces touched by the shopper; the highest concentration occurred on the shopper’s hands, the checkout stand, and the clerk’s hands.” The graphic below which was taken directly from the report reflects this.

Instead of pushing to make the plastic bag ban even more onerous and aggressive, Councilor Davis, Mayor Keller, and Bernalillo County Commission should ALL reconsider their bag bans…at least for the duration of this public health emergency.

On this week’s interview, Paul talks to Jason Espinoza. Jason is the New Mexico State Director for the National Federation of Independent Businesses. The organization and the interests of small businesses are in line with the Rio Grande Foundation, but what issues/bills did Jason and his members target this session?

Health care, in particular, is of concern to small business groups. What, if anything, happened in the Legislature on that and other small business issues?

With the onset of the Coronavirus outbreak there has been an increasingly-loud outcry for mandatory paid sick leave. This is of course a policy that the Rio Grande Foundation opposed when it was voted on in a 2017 referendum the City of Albuquerque. A proposal for mandatory paid sick leave was proposed in the 2020 Legislature, but it died without significant discussion or debate.

Should the US, New Mexico, or city/county governments impose mandatory paid sick leave? Before answering that question, it is notable that major corporations including Wal Mart, the Darden restaurant chain (Red Lobster, Olive Garden), and  McDonald’s have recently adopted new paid sick leave policies to deal with the outbreak.

The private sector, especially big corporations, are definitely reacting to the Virus and trying to protect their employees and customers alike.

As with so many economic regulations, we at the Rio Grande Foundation are not fans of blanket federal proposals. However, state level proposals to mandate paid sick leave during a public health emergency, including the current threat would appear to be a reasonable compromise. Attempts to shove mandatory paid sick leave through just because you have wanted that policy in place for years is simply overreach.

Assuming that there is a clearly-defined way to ensure that a public health emergency is not adopted indefinitely (as the left attempted with the food stamp waivers) it would seem like that is a reasonable compromise. We’ll see. Lots happening these days.

With everything going on in the US and the world right now including the Coronavirus panic, the Democratic primaries, plunging stock market, and oil price collapse, what does it all mean for New Mexico and its economy (not to mention the US economy)? Paul and Wally take a thoughtful and reasonable approach to the long list of issues playing havoc with the economy.

We are giving our “awards” to the best performers in our Freedom Index. Wally and Paul discuss who the top performers are.—

Gov. Lujan Grisham signs HB 364 (the union giveaway bill) despite concerns expressed by transparency/good government groups.

Las Cruces Public Schools hires left-wing activist to promote “equity:”

In last November’s election the Rio Grande Foundation noticed that Mayor Tim Keller had put a message on the City’s website cabq.gov calling on voters to support the various bond measures and Democracy Dollars. The Rio Grande Foundation has had long standing concerns over government’s use of tax dollars to lobby the public for even more of our tax dollars. So, when we saw the complaint we filed an ethics complaint against Mayor Keller.

Recently, we WON! You can find the Agreement here. The text of the agreement is found in the image below. In it Keller admits he was wrong and that he will not use the website to campaign in the future. While this victory against Mayor Keller won’t completely solve the issue which is a problem at all levels of government, it is an important step towards limiting City of Albuquerque government’s use of your tax dollars to plead for even more of your money. We remain vigilant on this important issue.

The actual posting by Keller that was made on the City’s website prior to the November election can be found below:

Who in the Legislature voted in favor of freedom and personal responsibility in 2020? We tracked it all on our Freedom Index and you can find out for yourself by clicking the link and plugging in your address (if you don’t already know who your legislators are). While 2020 was another tough year in terms of government spending and taking our freedoms, here are a few of the points of light in the Legislature. We’ll be highlighting a few of the best and worst from this session in the days ahead.

Is “equity” an inherently left-wing value? See definition below and then consider this announcement from the Las Cruces Public Schools in which the District has hired left-wing activist Sarah Silva (formerly the head of the left-wing activism group CAFé) to head up the District’s Equity Council.

CAFé is based in Las Cruces and, while their primary focus these days is fighting the Trump Administration’s immigration policies, their efforts have involved pushing Las Cruces to adopt its current minimum wage which is now $10.25.

It’s not that folks like Silva shouldn’t be able to work for government bodies like the School District. Rather, if you read Silva’s background and job description (available again here)  it is clear that Silva is simply taking her political activism from the private sector to the public sector. She’ll now be paid by New Mexico taxpayers to be a political activist. To say this kind of arrangement would not work for a conservative candidate is to state the obvious.

Of course, rather than obsessing about how much funding is allocated and to which racial or ethnic group, New Mexico schools would be better off adopting reforms like a student-centered school choice program, but that would actually require political courage.

On this week’s interview, Paul interviews law professor Josh Blackman. Blackman and Gessing discuss several important current and past legal issues involving the Supreme Court. Blackman’s book “100 Supreme Court Cases Everyone Should Know” is an important read for anyone interested in legal issues in the United States.

Paul also asks Josh about ObamaCare, guns and the Constitution, and whether President Trump will get to name additional justices to the Court if he wins the election.

This story from the Santa Fe New Mexican caught my eye. Long story short, members of the Navajo and Hopi tribes in northeastern Arizona have long relied on coal to heat their homes are looking to other sources after last year’s closure of a coal mine.

We know that closing coal mines is a top priority of the environmental movement. But, as the article notes, this mine closure has made life more difficult for tribal members who, “In the first winter without it, are having to travel farther for coal, switching to firewood or even burning household items to stay warm.”

Burning “household items” for warmth is likely not very “green” (even less so than burning coal in a home stove for heat).

In other tribal news from the same are of our State, Navajo lawmakers opted to support a much smaller buffer around Chaco Canyon than had been supported by environmentalists and members of New Mexico’s Congressional delegation (or do I repeat myself?)

On an 18-1 vote the buffer size approved by the Tribe is half of that supported by the NM Congressional delegation. An inability to benefit from oil and gas (and mineral) leasing on the land was the primary reason for the Tribe’s decision.

The Rio Grande Foundation’s vote tracking tool, the Freedom Index, has been available all throughout the 2020 legislative session with bills ranked and legislators’ votes scored in what amounts to “real time.”

At the Rio Grande Foundation website you can access bill rankings and votes going back to the 2015 session.  Click the logo below to find out who your legislators are (if you don’t know already) and for the 2020 Index and votes.

Bills are rated anywhere from -8 (worst bills) to +8 (for the very best). Some of the most important bills that made it to the floor of at least one house of the Legislature for a vote and their respective ratings and a short description are found below:

SB 5; -7 (worst of the session): Red Flag Bill infringes on gun rights, due process, and creates new opportunities for costly lawsuits against local governments;

HB 364; -6 Public Employee Give away

HB 83; -6 Creates new $320 million fund for early childhood

HJR 1; -5 Taps the Land Grant Permanent Fund for pre-K and early childhood programs

SB 98; -4 Changes New Mexico’s Davis Bacon (prevailing wage) law to provide costly new fines and penalties for businesses working on public works projects

Best Bills Passed

SB 72; +6 Makes changes to PERA pension system to bring it closer to full funding.

SB 96, +3 Increases school budget transparency

A few notes about this year’s scores:

Rep. Larry Scott (R-Hobbs) had the top overall score of +104.

Sen. Mary Kay Papen (D-Doña Ana) had the lowest overall score of -72.

Other top scorers include: Rep. Schmedes, +86, Rep. Candy Ezzell +83, Rep. Rod Montoya and Rep. James Townsend +82, and Rep. Jane Powdrell +80.

The highest scoring Senator was Bill Sharer +42.

Rep. Candy Sweetser was the top scoring Democrat at +6.

How did YOUR legislators vote? Check the index and tell them what you think of their voting record.