Font ResizeGov. gets budget help from public
SANTA FE - More than 1,250 state residents have e-mailed Gov. Susana Martinez to tell her how to cut waste.
Martinez said the suggestions were being reviewed by her cabinet members and even the Department of Public Safety. Some who wrote the governor alleged that crimes had been committed, so their e-mails were forwarded to the law enforcement agency.
Martinez said most suggestions for a leaner, more efficient government centered on limiting vehicle use by state workers. In her State of the State speech more than a week ago, Martinez said she had placed a one-year moratorium on purchasing new cars. Law enforcement is exempted.
Though she already had curtailed new-car purchases, she signed an executive order Wednesday repeating her stand. Martinez did this after calling a news conference to discuss the public's ideas to cut waste.
Martinez could not say how many vehicles the state owns and operates. She said her cabinet members were gathering that information. She has been in office just under four weeks.
•Enforcing restraining orders: A legislator from Las Cruces introduced a bill Wednesday that would enforce restraining orders across state lines.
Democratic Rep. Joseph Cervantes said his bill, HB 209, recognizes the importance of enforcing domestic violence protection orders, especially in communities near state borders.
"Victims of domestic violence are entitled to our greatest effort to maintain their personal
The bill is supported by the Uniform Law Commission. It promotes a system of state laws that are similar, so that people moving between states are subject to the same rules and regulations.
Cervantes said his bill would be considered in the House Consumer and Public Affairs Committee and the House Judiciary Committee. He is vice chairman of the Judiciary Committee.
•Texting while driving: Rep. Antonio Lujan, D-Las Cruces, introduced HB 197 in the House of Representatives today, a bill that would prohibit the use of an electronic wireless communications device to write, send, or read a text message while operating a motor vehicle,.
"This is a simple, straight forward bill," Lujan said. "It would make it illegal to operate a motor vehicle while text messaging. I have introduced this bill for a few years now because I find it to be an important public safety measure. This will ultimately save lives."
Under the proposal, texting would be allowed to report illegal activity, summon emergency help, prevent injury to another person or property, in the operation of an authorized emergency vehicle, or to relay information between a transit or for-hire operator and that operator's dispatcher when the device is permanently affixed to the vehicle.
The bill provides graduated penalties. First offenses would incur a $25 fine, second offenses levy a $50 penalty and being caught a third time texting and driving could result in a driver's license suspension for up to 90 days.
House Bill 197 heads to the Consumer and Public Affairs Committee and the House Judiciary Committee for consideration.
Sun-News and
Santa Fe Bureau reports
