2023 Legislative Wrap: Transparency, Budget, Reproductive Rights & Juvenile Life Sentences
New Mexico in Focus Senior Producer Lou DiVizio runs through some of the biggest items to come out of the 2023 legislative session, including a record-setting $9.6 billion budget plan and a wide-ranging tax package that went through some last-minute tweaks. Among those tweaks came another change to a proposed alcohol tax increase, amounting to about a penny per drink. Read more from Trip Jennings and Marjorie Childress at New Mexico in Depth.
New Mexico in Focus Political Correspondent Gwyneth Doland heads back to the Roundhouse to talk about sunshine week, and transparency in that record-setting budget.
Then, Gene Grant and the Line Opinion Panel assess the work of the legislature during the final week of session. The panel begins with a conversation about the record-setting $9.6B budget plan and some of the transparency criticisms surrounding the bill.
Secondly, the Line reacts to new legal threats from an anti-abortion activist who promises a lawsuit over the new reproductive rights bill is signed by the Governor.
Finally, the panelists also discuss a new report from ProPublica revealing the state lost track of nearly two dozen people who had been sentenced to life without parole as children.
Host: Lou DiVizio
Political Correspondent: Gwyneth Doland
Line Host: Gene Grant
Guests:
Dan Boyd, Albuquerque Journal Capitol Bureau Chief
Rob Black, president & CEO, New Mexico Chamber of Commerce
St. Sen. George Muñoz, (D) NM District 4 – Gallup, chair of the Senate Finance Committee
Line Opinion Panelists:
Dan Foley, fmr. NM State Representative
Sophie Martin, attorney
Rebecca Latham, CEO, Girl Scouts of New Mexico
For More Information:
Legislative Roundup: What Passed & What Didn’t – The Albuquerque Journal