AG King issues opinion on HOA Solar Panel Rules

Homeowners who want to install solar panels on their homes, regulated by HOV covenants, are lining up in support of Rep. Mimi Stewart's HB-9, which would prohibit cities from restricting their use.

And, a legal opinion issued today by New Mexico Attorney General Gary King could also help.

King's opinion clarifies a 2007 state law allowing homeowners associations to regulate the installation or use of solar panels-- so long as the regulations do not “effectively prohibit” their installation or use.

Rep. Mimi Stewart, D-Albuquerque, who is sponsoring the 2011 Home Owners Association Act, asked the AG's office for an official opinion on whether or not a homeowners association can require that members seek its approval before installing solar panels?

King's opinion allows homeowners associations to continue to require homeowners to obtain the prior approval of the associations before placing solar collectors on rooftops as long as restrictions on the installation, or use of solar panels, does not make installations unreasonably difficult or costly.

If approved,, Stewart's HB9 would not allow any municipality to restrict the installation of a solar collector as defined pursuant to the Solar Rights Act, except that placement of solar collectors in historic districts.

The AG has posted the full opinion online.

Attorney General outlines legislative priorities

New Mexico Attorney General Gary King, a former legislator himself, said he plans to propose a number of measures to lawmakers meeting in Santa Fe for the state’s 50th Legislative Session.

His wish list includes ethics and campaign finance reforms, and Forfeiture and Drug law revisions to apply to real property seizures, along with several others.

Ethics reform was a focus of King's first term as AG and this year he plans to urge the Legislature to enact a law that prohibits government contractors from donating funds to the government officials with whom they contract, and to require full disclosure of all funds either given to them in the past or directed to other organizations, including nonprofits, at the request of the elected officials.”

King said that he wants all local government employees to be subject to the Governmental Conduct Act, the same law that state officers and workers are bound by.

King, who served 12 years in the New Mexico House of Representatives before losing his 2004 congressional bid to Rep. Steve Pearce, said his measures are “designed to improve the lives and protect the well being of all New Mexicans.”

King’s 2011 priorities (from a news release):

• Ethics and Campaign Finance Reforms, focusing on enhanced campaign practice and government contractor disclosures. I am particularly interested in helping New Mexico enact a good, strong public disclosure law so that at a minimum all funds used for political campaign purposes, and all of the sources for those funds, are fully disclosed. Additionally, I will again urge the Legislature to enact a law that prohibits government contractors from donating funds to the government officials with whom they contract, and to require full disclosure of all funds either given to them in the past or directed to other organizations, including nonprofits, at the request of the elected officials. I intend to renew my request to have all local governments subject to the same main Ethics law that governs state officers and employees, the Governmental Conduct Act. This will incorporate a patchwork of Ethics laws into one Code, and be applicable statewide.
• DWI and Underage Drinking Prevention...McKinley County has successfully used its ability to raise additional revenues to address serious alcohol and drug abuse problems; that option should be expanded statewide so that the voters in every state county can decide whether they want to tax sales of alcohol to provide additional funds to address alcohol and drug abuse problems.
• Domestic Violence law improvements, especially to protect victims using Uniform Orders of Protection.
• Criminal Law Enforcement initiatives, including Securities Laws enhancements, Child Pornography law amendments and Animal Cruelty law revisions.
• Border Violence and Drug Enforcement issues such as Money Laundering Act revisions to update property crime violations and Administrative subpoenas for computer and bank records to investigate and prosecute sexual exploitation; ID theft and computer crimes; Forfeiture and Drug law revisions to apply to real property seizures and authorize community service improvements.
• Consumer Protection proposals, such as a Usury cap on small loans and mortgage foreclosure practice reforms to protect innocent homeowners.
• General Fund increased revenues for the State, including strengthening the Fraud Against Taxpayers Act and Tobacco law amendments to maximize the State’s access to full recoveries.
  

Land office lawyers call AG's claims ludicrous

Attorneys representing the State Land Office say because Land Commissioner Pat Lyons is granted ”complete control over the care, control, and disposition of state trust lands,” the Supreme Court should reject Attorney General Gary King’s premise that four controversial land swaps at Whites Peak were predetermined “shams.”

A month ago, the Supreme Court granted an emergency petition filed by King that effectively halted those swaps. Now justices will have to decide if Lyons’ proposals violate any laws or if they may continue as planned.

Land Office Chief Legal Counsel Robert Stranahan, who directed a team of contract attorneys and filed the Land Office’s response with the court last week, told us that the “SLO is not a public auction house,” and that “the AG is “100 percent wrong on the law.”

“The Attorney General’s Office already has an opinion that says we can do land exchanges,” Stranahan said, referring to an opinion issued by former Attorney General Tom Udall.

“The commissioner is the one that decides what’s in the best interest of the trust – he has a fiduciary duty to the trust, and that’s what he’s exercising,” Stranahan said.

Stranahan said the commissioner’s authority is laid out in the state’s constitution, and “to suggest that we would need somehow to seek some other kind of guidance on how to exercise that authority is just improper.”

The Land Office has proposed trading about 11,000 acres of trust land around Whites Peak for about 9,600 acres of private land in an effort to consolidate the checkerboard area north of Ocate. The office says it is trying to clearly define state and private holdings and help eliminate problems with trespassing and littering on private lands.

Stranahan rejects the AG’s assertion that the bids were steered to predetermined parties.

“To suggest that we had negotiations with private parties is absolutely true. You bet we did. It’s completely within the province of the commissioner to do that,” Stranahan said. “If we are trying to fix this issue we need to go with the people who would potentially be bidders, but that doesn’t preclude someone else from bidding.”

He claims the SLO doesn’t even need to conduct a public auction if the end result of an exchange increases the value of the land.

‘Bidding process was flawed’

Former game commissioner Oscar Simpson, who now works as a campaign coordinator for the New Mexico Wildlife Federation, disagrees.

He told us at a game commission meeting in Santa Fe last week “the bidding process needs to start over.” Simpson is upset because, he said, he doesn’t believe the SLO’s bid process was transparent or fair.

“It was a flawed process,” Simpson said. “The attorney general quite plainly asked the court to intervene because of the process in which the State Land Office proceeded.”

Families in the area, hunters and sportsmen groups have protested the deals. They claim Lyons is giving away pristine wilderness area that has been hunted by generations of New Mexico families, and they fear the land will be closed off to them and the public by the private ranchers.

“Every aspect of what they did to inform the public and the game commission was devious,” Simpson said. “The attorney general looked at all the records and said it wasn’t a public process – that it was an inside deal. By the time anyone else found out it was too late.”

He told us he thinks Lyons is “trying to get these land swaps pushed through” because it’s his final year in the land office.

“This is his last-ditch effort to appease his friends and political contributors,” Simpson said. “He’s certainly giving private ranchers a primo deal as far as big game parks, ranches and their land.”

'The public hasn't really benefited'

Simpson said he thinks state laws that regulate land exchanges are antiquated, and the “process of public auctions has basically been prostituted.”

“In the past, we’ve lost about four or five million acres of state land. A lot of this has been under the cover, and the public hasn’t really benefited – especially all the trustees and beneficiaries.”

Hunting guide Albert Goake agrees.

“This land swap has nothing to do with boundaries, vandalism or poaching. It’s all about the money,” Goake said. “Those ranchers are going to make millions of dollars selling trespasser fees for the elk permits.”

Simpson claims big land owners are coming in from out of state and buying up ranches because of the value of wildlife, “especially where you have a lot of big game and bull elk.”

“The big game hunts, that run anywhere from $8,000 to $15,000, are worth a lot of money, and are worth a helluva of a lot more than cattle grazing, and this basically augments the value of the ranch, because you can get so many elk tags, and the resale value is tremendous,” Simpson said.

Land worth more

On the same day that the SLO attorneys filed their response with the court, the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) filed a brief in support of the Attorney General’s efforts. LULAC wants the justices to consider historic land grants given to Spanish settlers in the Whites Peak area.

In its brief, LULAC said, “The Whites Peak land and other land at issue here is highly likely to have originally been land held within community land grants.”

They claim land involved in the proposed exchange “is worth far more than the Land Commissioner asserts when its cultural and historic value is adequately taken into consideration.”

Attorney General spokesman Phil Sisneros told us that the attorney general’s office is still reviewing the response filed with the Supreme Court by the SLO.

Whites Peak land swaps head to NM Supreme Court

After months of investigating, the State Attorney General’s Office filed a petition with the NM Supreme Court, on Monday, asking the justices to stop four controversial land exchanges at Whites Peak — contending the swaps violate state law and are unconstitutional.

In fact, the petition characterized public auctions, used by the State Land Office and private ranchers, in the bidding process, as “shams.”

Attorney General Gary King said he believes Land Commissioner Pat Lyons did not follow the “procedural safeguards that are necessary to assure the state got the best deal” through the public auctions.

“By the time they got to the point where they published the public auction the parameters had been set so there could only be one possible bidder,” King said. “The public auction requirement for State Trust Land exchanges with private parties appears to be predetermined in the first two of the four proposed deals.”

But, the land office’s Chief Legal Counsel Robert Stranahan said he is confident “we have done exactly what every commissioner in the history of the land office has done.”

King wants the High Court to issue a writ of mandamus and an emergency stay to halt the deals with Express UU Bar Ranches, Stanley Ranches, CS Cattle, and Galloway Ranch.

Lyons wants to trade 14,000 acres of trust land -- most of it in the Whites Peak area north of Ocate, but the deal also includes 3,600 acres near Espanola and 40 acres at near Mesa Del Sol (South of Albuquerque) -- for 9,600 acres now owned by the four ranchers.

‘Deal doesn’t add up’

State Rep. Brian Egolf, who has characterized the deals as being too secretive, said the court filing is “a very positive step.”

Last year, Egolf called for more legislative oversight of the State Land Office and grilled Lyons about how the deal benefits public schools –the beneficiaries of the trust.

“I’m very glad that the attorney general has recognized, like so many other people, that this deal doesn’t add up and is asking for intervention so that the beneficiaries of the trust and the people of New Mexico just don’t get stuck with the damages,” Egolf said.

If the court decides to hear the case they could set a new legal precedent, because the petition filed on Monday addresses a relatively narrow question never addressed by a New Mexico court:

Does the Commissioner violate the duty imposed on him by the Enabling Act, the New Mexico Constitution, and his fiduciary obligations to the trust by conducting substantially constrained “public auctions” in order to achieve a predetermined result?

“We’re not saying that the land commssioner doesn’t have the authority to do exhanges, but in this particular case it appears he steered it to one bidder,” King said. “From my perspective this is a good valid way for two parties that disagree to get a resolution to a dispute.”

But Stranahan, said while he recognized King was testing a novel constitutional legal theory, he cautioned him against challenging some exchanges and not others.

“If they want to void this particular sale … then I’m assuming the attorney general is going to go in and void all similar sales, which could include some of his [King's] own land,” Stranahan said. “If he’s seeking to pick and choose which things he’s going to go after he needs to remember that the Enabling Act doesn’t have a time sensitive restriction on it. You can go back and void anything.”

Stranahan maintains the exchanges benefit the people of New Mexico, because “by consolidating the lands and taking out in holdings we're going to increase our land value by $13 million. No one seems to care about, the AG certainly doesn’t.”

He believes there is a political angle to the current controversy and said his boss, Lyons “has shown political fortitude to try to do this.”

“Lyons has been the far most productive commissioner in the history of the office,” Stranahan said. “You can’t try to claim that he’s not good at what’s he’s doing, because he’s obviously been the best.”

He claims the office, which has sought creative ways to develop state trust land, is being blocked by anti-development people.

“We are prohibited from law improving and developing them ourselves,” Stranahan said. “It seems to me that it’s just a desire for us to sit on the land and not do anything. Commissioners have done that in the past. We’re proactive. We’re out there trying to find solutions.”

King disputes claims that his legal action is just a politically expedient act in an election year.

“After being actually advised by our office that we had concerns about these particular land exchanges they decided to do it anyway,” King said. “This particular filing in the court didn’t come out of the blue. There have been lengthy discussions about what we think the requirements of a good land exchange are. If he had decided to do this kind of deal after the election then we’d be in court next year.”

Attorney General King says the unusual step of bypassing the lower courts and petitioning the Supreme Court was taken because of the constitutional issues in question, the immediate effects on the public interest, and the fact that more White Peak land exchanges are proposed.

Video: Attorney General King, 'I'll miss his advice'

'He'd be tickled. He and President Clinton were good friends. They fought a lot of political battles together' -- NM Attorney General Gary King.

Former President Clinton will attend services

New Mexico Attorney General Gary King confirmed that the former President Bill Clinton will attend the funeral of his father, former three-term Gov. Bruce King on Saturday inside the Moriarty High School gym at 10am.

"The Clintons have certainly said that they developed a lot of their campaign style -- a lot of their philosophy of how policy should be approached -- by watching my father and my mother," King said. "We are very touched that President Clinton wants to come."

King, who is still recovering from neck surgery, is still wearing a neck brace, and says that being raised on a farm helped prepare him for his parents deaths -- former First Lady Alice King died last December.

"He sort of taught me to be philosophical about this," King said. "I think those of us who grew up on farms and ranches are more comfortable with life and death, because you see a lot of it, I think, growing up on a ranch. We know that it's a part of the natural cycle of life. In actuality we miss him sorely."



Picking up the slack

King revealed that he use to call his father at home for advice whenever things are "rough" at the office and for political advice. Now he says he feels like he'll have to pick up the slack and continue the family philosophy of public service.

"I think that there's still a lot of things that need to be done for children in New Mexico," King said. "I think that there is a lot of things to be done, you know, to make New Mexico the place he thought it should be, and I suspect that I will give some speeches as we go through that encourage a lot of other people to adopt that philosophy of focusing on what's the best for the people of the state of New Mexico and let's get together and get that done."

Funeral Arrangements

Flags continue to fly at half staff around the state and the former governor's body will lie in state on Friday at the Roundhouse in Santa Fe.

King said his father's wishes were for a simple service "without a lot of speeches and eulogies," but they are going to make an exception and let the former President, who became Governor of Arkansas during King's second term, say a few words. He also does not want pictures taken of the family during the service or burial.

"Not everyone in the family -- the nieces, nephews, and grand kids -- they didn't all sign up for public service," King said.

Security has been tightened but the public is still invited to the funeral. Parking is expected to be very limited near the high school.

King's burial in the Estancia Valley will follow the funeral service.

Attorney General Targets Environmental Crimes

GUEST COMMENTARY:

One of the most important jobs I have as Attorney General is to help protect, preserve and enhance New Mexico’s environment, water and natural resources. This is accomplished through litigation, cooperative efforts with stakeholders and enforcement of environmental laws. Many of these laws impose criminal penalties on conduct that presents a serious harm or risk of harm to human health and the environment.

To help protect New Mexico families, I am pleased to report that we are beefing up the public education and outreach efforts of the Environmental Crimes Unit (ECU) within our Water, Environment & Utilities Division. This unit is dedicated to enforcing environmental laws and ensuring that those who violate them are held accountable.

We are providing several ways for the public to help report violations to the ECU. These tips are important and could prove valuable to the ECU as it investigates and helps prosecute violations of New Mexico's environmental protection statutes. Additionally, a new publication is in the works that provides information about environmental crimes and how to report them. This new tri-fold brochure will be available to the public and other governmental agencies. The following is some of the information that will be contained in the publication.

New Mexico is a large state and just learning about potential environmental law violations can be a difficult task. That is where you come in...with the help of the general public, the ECU can cover a lot of ground throughout the state.

What Are Environmental Crimes?

Air Pollution: burning of commercial or industrial waste; release of hazardous substances into the air; illegal removal of asbestos from buildings.

Hazardous Waste: improper storage, disposal, or transfer of hazardous waste. Hazardous waste can generally be described as any material that threatens public safety and the environment. It includes degreasers, acids, metals, paint waste, solvents, cyanides and pesticides.

Water Pollution: discharge of waste into streams, rivers, lakes, including farm drainage and waste generated by construction sites and factories.
Solid Waste: improper dumping of large quantities of garbage or refuse


What to Look For:

• Containers or drums that appear to be abandoned (for example you find them in a forest, along a roadside or otherwise in a place where it appears they do not belong), especially if they are corroded or leaking.
• Dead fish in streams or waterways, particularly if the water appears to contain foreign substances (such as detergent, bleach, chemicals or has a strange color).
• Dead animals alongside a river bank or in a field.
• Discolored and/or stressed, dying plant life.
• Visible sheens on the ground or in the water.
• Foul smelling or oddly colored discharges onto the ground or into a stream or waterway.
• Foul smelling or strange looking emissions into the air.
• Pipes or valves that would allow for discharge from a plant that appear hidden.
• A truck dumping materials into a manhole or sewer drain.
• A person burying drums on business or residential property.

There is more information on our Web site about examples of environmental crimes, what steps you should take to report suspected violations and some cautionary measures to be taken by anyone who encounters potential environmental waste contamination.

With the help of citizens who report environmental crimes to our ECU and the new publication, the Attorney General's Office can better protect New Mexico and work to keep it forever, The Land of Enchantment. Thank you.


Gary K. King
New Mexico Attorney General

NOTES:

The Environmental Crimes Unit has established ways for you to report suspected environmental crimes:

Environmental Crimes Telephone Tipline: (505) 827-6629

Environmental Crimes E-mail: ecrimes@nmag.gov


Fill out an on-line form.

Attorney General's Top 10 List of Consumer Complaints

Probably no surprise here. Auto Dealers top the New Mexico Attorney's Generals Top 10 List of consumer complaints.

Today, Attorney General Gary K. King's Consumer Protection Division released New Mexico's Top 10 Consumer Complaints for fiscal year 2008.

1. Auto Sales

2. Contests/Sweepstakes/Prize Promotion

3. Retail Sales

4. Home Repair/Construction

5. Debt Collection

6. Telemarketing Communications/Slamming/Cramming

7. Auto Repair

8. Credit Cards

9. Satellite TV Sales and Service

10. Travel

The National Top 10 Consumer Complaint list was also released today by the National Association of Attorneys General.

1. Debt Collection

2. Auto Sales

3. Home Repair/Construction

4. Credit Cards (tie)

4. Internet Goods and Services (tie)

6. Predatory Lending/Mortgages

7. Telemarketing/Do-Not-Call

8. Auto Repair

10. Auto Warranties (tie)

10. Telecom/Slamming/Cramming (tie)

The AG's Consumer Protection Division Director Karen Meyers said, "We have seen a 22% increase over last fiscal year in consumer calls reporting potential deceptive or unfair trade practices. At a time when more families face an increasing struggle to make ends meet, it is extremely important that the Attorney General's Office maintain the level of consumer protection needed to keep New Mexicans from becoming victims of dishonest business practices."

AG King's Consumer Protection Division has offices in Santa Fe, Las Cruces and Albuquerque. Walk-in hours are 10:00 am-3:00 pm, Monday through Friday. Consumers can make appointments and ask questions by calling 1-800-678-1508. Complaint forms are available at each office and on the AG's website.

School Changing Name to Honor Alice King

The APS Board of Education's Policy Committee voted this morning to allow the North Albuquerque Cooperative Community Charter School to change its name to the Alice King Community School.

King, was the wife of three-term governor Bruce King, died last December at the age of 78 after dedicated most of her public service life as an advocate for the state's children.

In December, Attorney General Gary King told Kate Nash at the SF New Mexican, "She cared about all the other kids in New Mexico. She spent most of her time and energy working to improve kids' lives in New Mexico."

King, who was a major supporter of the Carrie Tingley Children's Hospital, was chairwoman of the New Mexico Children's Trust Fund. She is also credited with creating the state's Children, Youth and Families Department.

"No one could have cared more for all New Mexico children and all of our citizens," King told Nash.

Nash wrote in her tribute article to King that the former first lady "forged her own role in the governor's office man sion and gave new Mexico a fresh focus on families.

for Pete's Sake - I remember Mrs. King. When I was in elementary school in Albuquerque we went on a field trip to the state capitol and then the governor's mansion. It was my first time to Santa Fe and I remember her personally scooping ice cream and giving us all ice cream cones.

Her personal touch is remembered and appreciated. Now her name will be a living legacy for many school kids for decades to come.

[hap tip Ched MacQuigg, Diogenes' Six]

King Honored for Animal Advocacy

New Mexico Attorney General Gary King was honored as Animal Advocate of the Year for his work with the New Mexico Animal Cruelty Task Force on Monday night in Albuquerque.



King discussed his work with the task force, accomplishments in enforcing the State's cockfighting ban and interactions with animal hoarders in New Mexico.

King said he was receiving the award on behalf of all people working in law enforcement and credited Dona Ana County District Attorney Susana Martinez for prosecuting dog fighting cases in Southern New Mexico.

King said when law enforcement finds people violating animal cruelty laws, they often find drugs, gambling and even prostitution.

"It's not just an issue of protecting animals, it's an issue of protecting our society and making it a more civil," King said.

He told the crowd he realizes that some people want to block new laws regarding cockfighting with lawsuits, but that push back motivates him to work harder. He said the award given to him is not the end of the relationship with the task force, but just the beginning.

Attorney General Will Appeal Nonprofits Ruling

On Saturday morning, New Mexico Attorney General Gary King told Bernalillo County Democrats, at a monthly pancake breakfast in downtown Albuquerque, that his office is preparing to appeal a recent District Court ruling exempting two nonprofit groups from New Mexico's campaign reporting laws.


During a 15 minute interview Mr. King told 770KKOB that his office is prepared to appeal all the way to the Supreme Court.





In the brief interview above, the Attorney General also told us that he does not believe his office has a conflict of interest prosecuting last weeks political corruption indictments against former Secretary of State Rebbecca Vigil-Giron and three others despite allegations being made by defense attorneys.

On Saturdya King's office issued this statement on his decision to appeal the non-profit ruling:

We will ask the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn the District Court because we feel the U.S. Supreme Court has raised some important concepts that have a bearing upon States' rights to require organizations to disclose who is paying for political ads that are put forth by these same organizations," says Attorney General King. "This case has never been about the First Amendment, despite misinformation to the contrary. We are not (emphasis added) trying to control the content of political ads. We believe, however, that the case has everything to do with voters' having the right to know who is paying for political advertising.

The District Court ruling involved a lawsuit filed by New Mexico Youth Organized, known as NMYO, and SouthWest Organizing Project, or SWOP.

Earlier this month, Judge Judith C. Herrera that King and New Mexico Secretary of State Mary Herrera's threat to prosecute the non profits violated their constitutional rights.

Herrera wrote that applying state disclosure regulations to the groups falls outside guidelines set by the U.S. Supreme Court.

But, King said he disagrees with the legal reasoning used by Herrera; so, he plans to ask the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn her ruling.

Governor Flip Flops on Double Dipping!

On Friday, Gov. Bill Richardson changed his mind and vetoed a bill aimed to place more stringent restrictions on "double dippers." The issue has been in the spotlight ever since a local TV reporter chronicled several state workers who had "faked" their retirement and still collecting both a salary and pension.

The governor is allowed to change his mind, but on a windy afternoon in late February, Richardson told me personally he was going to sign legislation that would have curtailed the practice.

He said the double dipping was being abused and it needed to be restricted.

Richardson agreed it hurts the morale of many state employees "we're trying to move up" the ladder in state government.

Listen to our short one-minute conversation where the Governor promised to "sign it."



New Mexico Independent reporter Marjorie Childress wrote here that Richardson believes the system is generally “fair and efficient,” but that he does share concerns that it’s being abused.


Richardson said:

While in general this system is both fair and efficient — and provides for an experienced talent pool from which public agencies can hire skilled management and technical employees — in a few high profile, high salary cases there has been a perception in some quarters that this system has been abused. Frankly, I share that concern.

HB 616 was State Representative Lucky Varela. It would have required state workers to wait at least 365 days before being rehired. Their new salaries would have been capped at $35,000.

Earlier this week the Governor received a letter from NM Attorney General Gary King saying parts of the bill sent to the 4th floor for the Governor's signature could be unconstitutional.

Earlier this week, the Governor told me that he was measuring the public sentient and had polled state workers on their view of the proposed law. He also wanted to determine the fiscal impact of the contentious bill before making today's decision.

Homeowners & Buyers Get Predatory Lending Protection

Lt. Gov. Diane Denish

The NM Mortgage Originators Licensing Act, a big part of Lt. Governor Diane Denish's legislative package, has been signed. It ensures public oversight of the mortgage originator industry which was previously unregulated.

On Monday, Denish said:

New Mexico now has the strongest consumer protection for home buyers in the nation. Licensing of mortgage originators will certify the many reputable New Mexico players in the business and remove the few bad actors, assuring consumers that getting a mortgage from a New Mexico mortgage broker will be a safe and honest transaction. This tightening of our Home Loan Protection Act will ensure that USDA, FHA, and VA loans remain available to low-income and first-time homebuyers, a critical tool in helping those New Mexicans who most need assistance in purchasing a home.

Angela Muxworthy, President of New Mexico Mortgage Lending Authority commented:

The New Mexico Mortgage Lenders Association is proud to have worked in conjunction with Lt. Governor Diane Denish, RLD, the NM AG's office, and consumer advocacy groups in support of sweeping, comprehensive and effective mortgage reform in New Mexico. [The State] has taken another step to the forefront of the national effort to help stabilize the local housing market through this legislation.

NM Attorney General Gary King added:

This legislation will help us tackle the underlying problems that caused the mortgage lending crisis by putting in place strong regulation of loan originators, outlawing predatory mortgage practices and expanding consumer protections for New Mexicans. My office will continue to work closely with the Financial Institutions Division and the Lt. Governor’s office to enforce this law and assure that homeowners are protected.

The Mortgage Originator Licensing Act was crafted by Lt. Governor Diane Denish in partnership with Attorney General Gary King, members of the industry and consumer advocates. SB 342 was sponsored by Senator Phil Griego and championed in the House by Representative Lundstrom. SB 342 takes effect July 1, 2009.

New Law Shines New Light on State Business

Also on Monday, the Lt. Governor hailed the signing of the State Contractor and Contract Database. The bill brings transparency to state government by requiring all contractors who have contracts with the State worth more than $20,000 to be listed in an online, searchable database made available to the public.

Denish noted:

New Mexicans deserve to know who is doing business with their government. This law will enable all citizens to track state government contracts, follow the flow of public money, and understand how it is being used. Ethics reform in government starts with transparency, and I’m proud to have worked hard on this effort which guarantees more sunshine on the business of government.

HB 546, sponsored by Representative Al Park, will take effect on January 1, 2010.

Photo credit: Mark Bralley

UPDATED: Slaves in Our Own Neighborhoods

The Faces Of Human Trafficking!

A Bi-national conference will tackle human trafficking in Albuquerque today.

Attorney General Gary King says even though slavery was abolished in the United States more than 140 years ago, it still exists today and it is happening in New Mexico.

Updated at 5:15 with Video from the Attorney General's office:

"Victims may be found working as domestics or in the service industries; maybe even being forced to be sex slaves," says Attorney General Gary King. "We've only had a law against human trafficking for less than a year in New Mexico so we are in the early stages of being able to identify and help victims."

The Attorney General is scheduled to speak today during a human trafficking conference at the Sheraton Uptown Hotel in Albuquerque.

The conference, entitled Modern Day Slavery in the Americas: A Regional Approach to a Global Epidemic, brings together law enforcement, policy makers, service providers and researchers from Mexico and the U.S.AG

King says hard statistics on how widespread the problem is in New Mexico are hard to come by due to a number of factors such as fear and language barriers, but the anecdotal evidence is strong and as more people learn about human trafficking, more cases will become apparent.

The Polaris Project tracks human trafficking crimes. Read more here.

A 2005 estimate suggested that annually between 17,500 and 20,000 people are trafficked into the United States.

Assistant Attorney General Maria Sanchez-Gagne who heads the AG's Border Violence Division will also address the conference. She says, "Many victims do not speak English so its hard for them to communicate with service providers. Most have been threatened by the traffickers and are afraid to talk to law enforcement."

King's office has worked hard to get the human trafficking law passed in New Mexico. "We are working just as hard to educate law enforcement, the judiciary and others about how to enforce it and get help for the victims, " King says.

In Arizona, Mexican drug cartels grossed an estimated $2 billion last year on smuggling illegal immigrants according to state officials.

Meanwhile, in California, Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Garden Grove) says greed and opportunity has prompted the cartels to move into illegal immigrant smuggling. AG King believes that immigrant smuggling often leads to human trafficking, which is very different and requires its own separate handling in New Mexico.

Stars of the 2008 Elections Recognized in New Mexico.

Democratic Party Chairman Brian Colon,
Bernalillo County Clerk Maggie Toulouse-Oliver,
and young voters,and bloggers like Matthew Reichbach
are celebrating election day success.

As you may have noticed, I didn't post anything on the day after the election. It took half a day to recover from my 18-hour shift on Tuesday.

In the meantime, I've been sorting thru audio and will post some great interviews with NM Attorney General Gary King, State Auditor Hector Balderas, Lt. Governor Diane Denish, and Analyst Joe Monahan in the next few days.

I'm preparing my thoughts and will be a panelist this week on KNME's New Mexico In Focus. The group will be discussing election results in New Mexico, the impact of race and the election of the country's first African American as president, possible cabinet/ambassador positions for key leaders in New Mexico, and what the election results mean for Obama. Will the big wins give Democrats the political clout they need to stir things up in Washington? Plus will update all the down ballot races, and discuss the relatively clean election in our state. Please plan to watch the show on Friday night at 7pm on channel 5.

I've also been thinking about the stars of the election. Certainly NM Democratic Party Chairman Brian Colon, who was nearly eaten alive after the problems with the Super Tuesday Caucus, deserves credit for huge election victories across the state. It appears the legislature will pick up three new Democratic senators, and perhaps four new Democratic Representatives. Colon gets our top star for the state going blue, from top to bottom. He also gets our Top Star for upgrading our credentials in Denver and promising us a ticket to the inauguration in Washington this January.

Maggie Toulouse-Oliver, and the NM State Senate, gets our props for their contribution to Election 2008. The vote count delay jinx has finally been lifted. New Mexico will not be the last state to count their votes. The legislature authorized county clerks to start counting absentee ballots five days early, and early voting machines the morning of the election. While some close races still require provisional ballots to be counted, the results were posted early. Toulouse-Oliver told me early in the cycle she wanted to run "free, fair and accurate" elections. She met those expectations and gets another one of our stars awarded to her.

We would be remiss for not awarding a triple gold star to freelance photographer Mark Bralley. He made our blog look great with current and fresh pictures. Heck he's responsible for this blog's creation. His encouragement and advice was both welcomed and cursed.

We also tip our hats to Joe Monahan. We, like thousands of others, read Joe's blog first thing every morning. He's the king of the hill, and was the first to understand the implications, downline, of six-term Senator Pete Domenici resignation. Joe's been like a big brother always willing to share advice, especially when trying to chase down answers to our questions from candidates unwilling to even take questions at their own news conferences.

We also want to award stars, to all those young energized voters, campaign staffers, volunteers and bloggers (like LP at NMFBIHOP, Barbara and Mary Ellen at Democracy for New Mexico, and the entire staff at the NM Independent) who worked so hard during the election. They also get one of our stars. UPDATED: Plus all the bloggers on my recommended links section to the right.

At the end of the election cycle, we also want to say "thank you" to all the candidates who gave us access, including Sen. John McCain, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin (albeit for :32 seconds), both U.S. Senate candidates, Tom Udall and Steve Pearce, all the congressional candidates, and each of their media handlers. We know most of you staffers will be leaving the state, seeking new jobs (on the Hill), and we just wanted to take this opportunity to say, what we heard so often during the campaign, "thank you...move along."

Tune back to our blog posts on Friday, and over the weekend, for great audio interviews, and make sure to watch KNME this weekend for my appearance with Gene, Marco, Jim, Margaret and David.


Photo Credits: MG Bralley

Two for Tuesday!

Today, we're clearing out some great audio files left on our mini-recorder from Denver, but never posted, to make space for the fall campaign.

Attorney General Considers Running For Governor!

Attorney General Gary King, a Colorado University (Boulder) graduate, made a one-day trek to the Dems Convention in Denver last week. Not surprisingly, he told us he'd like to be Governor of New Mexico one day, but says he's glad he's not running in this election cycle.

King also talked about the advice he recently gave to the Secretary of State's office regarding several non-profits political involvement in three senate races during June’s primary.

He told me that after talking to other Democratic AG's in Denver that he's confident they can win in court, but says he's open to talking to the non-profit about other ways of bringing the groups into compliance with NM Election laws.

The AG also told us he talked to several other state AG’s about recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings giving the Federal Government preference over individual state consumer rights laws.

King also talked about how wonderful mass transit was in Denver. He hopes Albuquerque is able to adopt some of the transportation ideas he thinks are working well in the Mile High city.

Listen to the interview to hear King's take on the upcoming Bernalillo County Albuquerque Metropolitan Courthouse construction corruption case, and his reaction to the acquittal of Roberta Vigil.






Last week, former Democratic Presidential Candidate and life-long DNC Committeeman Fred Harris talked to us on the floor of the convention. Listen to how delighted he is to see history being made 45 quick years after he watched Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech. Harris tells us he's impressed with Obama and the youth boosting his candidacy.




King Photo Credit: MG Bralley
Harris Photo Credit: PDS

AG Clears the Air on Campaigning Dispute

Attorney General Gary King today answered erroneous reports that his office was somehow backing away from its request to the Secretary of State's Office to require a non-profit group to report campaign expenditures and abide by other requirements under the Campaign Practices Act and Lobbyist Regulation Act.

"Despite some reports to the contrary, we fully support our earlier position in a letter that the Secretary of State's Office needs to tell the New Mexico Youth Organization (NMYO) to immediately comply with the law," says Attorney General King. "Due to the spread of misinformation there seems to be some thought that my office had "disavowed" our letter or told the Secretary of State to "ignore" our advice, that is just not true. Those words were used, however, by others who support theNMYO."

The AG also says, "If the Deputy Secretary of State thought we had instructed him to simply ignore our letter, then that was a misunderstanding on his part of what was said."

Following receipt of a letter from the Center for Civic Policy (CCP), the Secretary of State's Office forwarded the letter to the AG's Office. In the letter, the CCP set forth a number of claims supporting NMYO's actions and urged the Secretary of State not to grant the AGO's request. Before they made a decision to disregard or follow the AG's advice, the SOS was asked to let the AG's office closely examine the CCP's claims and report back. That is where the issue stands today.

NMYO is responsible for a number of messages distributed publicly that targeted state Legislators. The group claims that the mailers it sent out were not campaign materials. The Attorney General disagrees.

"There's an old saying that if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, then its probably a duck," say AG King. "And I think we know a duck when we see one."

AG Consumer Alert: Learn to Protect Yourself Now...

Identity Prevention and Repair Kit Available Online.

The New Mexico Attorney General’s Office is advising consumers to learn how to prevent and recover from identity theft. In light of the recent national fraud involving credit and debit card holders that shopped at TJ Maxx and various other retail businesses, the NMAGO has moved the Identity Theft Prevention and Repair Kit to the top of the Web site publication list at: http://nmag.gov/Publications.

With the help of the ID Theft Prevention and Repair Kit, consumers can learn how to prevent identity theft before it happens as well as learn how to identify signs of identity theft.

Visitors to the next month’s New Mexico State Fair can pick up a copy of the Identity Theft Prevention and Repair Kit free of charge from New Mexico Attorney General’s Office representatives in the Manuel Lujan Jr. Exhibit Hall throughout the run of the fair.

Access to Information Key to Open Government Act

On Friday, New Mexico Attorney General and Attorney Pat Rogers addressed a crowd of lawyers at the Radisson Hotel in Albuquerque in conjunction with Medical Education Services and the Professional Development Network. King talked about the impact of technology on the legal requirements for public records and New Mexico's Open Meetings Act (OMA).

King gave a comprehensive overview of the ACT and IRPA including a discussion of current cases and complaints and how the OMA affects public bodies in conducting business. Afterward both King and Rogers talked to blog contributor Mark Bralley.

Pat Rogers

In this AUDIO INTERVIEW Rogers told Bralley having access to information in a timely and accurate manner is an important aspect of open government.

In this AUDIO INTERVIEW King talks about the OMA and his compliance guide.

King also talked about why he filed an immediate appeal to Thursday's Environmental Protection Agency's decision to issue an air permit for a 1,500-megawatt coal plant (Desert Rock) that Sithe Global Power and the Navajo nation plan to build south of Farmington in northwest New Mexico.

Gary King

King told Bralley legislative candidates need to comply with a state law prohibiting legislative candidates from raising money from now until after the special session. King says he'll send them a reminder and if they don't comply he'll investigate complaints.

1-19-34.1. Legislative session fundraising prohibition.

A. It is unlawful during the prohibited period for a state legislator or a candidate for state legislator, or any agent on behalf of either, to knowingly solicit a contribution for a political purpose. For purposes of this subsection, "prohibited period" means that period beginning January 1 prior to any regular session of the legislature or, in the case of a special session, after the proclamation has been issued, and ending on adjournment of the regular or special session.

B. It is unlawful during the prohibited period for the governor, or any agent on his behalf, to knowingly solicit a contribution for a political purpose. For purposes of this subsection, "prohibited period" means that period beginning January 1 prior to any regular session of the legislature or, in the case of a special session, after the proclamation has been issued, and ending on the twentieth day following the adjournment of the regular or special session.

Audio and Photos from MG Bralley