{"id":44089,"date":"2024-01-22T13:50:53","date_gmt":"2024-01-22T20:50:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/?p=44089"},"modified":"2024-01-22T13:53:21","modified_gmt":"2024-01-22T20:53:21","slug":"pack-it-in","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/pack-it-in\/","title":{"rendered":"Pack it in"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Subscribe to NMiF Enews<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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One of the things I always loved most about New Mexico in Focus as a viewer \u2014 before I took the executive producer gig last spring \u2014 was the show\u2019s legislative coverage. Gwyneth Doland, my longtime friend and co-conspirator, in hornrims and a sporty blazer, shoving a microphone into the faces of the powerful after asking a perfectly-crafted, nine-word question it would\u2019ve taken me a minute and a half to get out? Yes, please. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, I\u2019m delighted to now be part of the team that will once again bring Gwyneth\u2019s dispatches to your screens each week as the Legislature does its thing. (Also, by way of shameless self-promotion: Gwyneth is now one of the longest-tenured statehouse reporters in New Mexico, and she works for us.) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On this week\u2019s show, we\u2019re giving you a double dose. Gwyneth caught up with Republican leaders<\/a> to get their reaction to Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham\u2019s State of the State address<\/a> \u2014 and to give viewers a sense of the minority party\u2019s plans and strategies for this year\u2019s session. She also hosted a three-part discussion with journalists Trip Jennings and Jessica Onsurez looking ahead to what New Mexicans should expect during the next month. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

An exchange between Gwyneth and Jessica piqued my interest. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gwyneth began with a quote State Auditor Joseph Maestas had given the Santa Fe New Mexican<\/a> in which he said Lujan Grisham \u201cbreaks the mold when it comes to traditional budget sessions,\u201d such as by taking on gun control and other hot-button issues. \u201cIt\u2019s a 30-day session; there\u2019s a 15-day cutoff for introducing new legislation, so it\u2019s going to be hectic.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFifteen days,\u201d Gwyneth intoned. \u201cThat should put this short session into perspective. Is the governor asking too much of our elected officials by trying to pack a monthlong budget session with proposals aimed at things outside of the budget: social issues \u2014 guns, housing \u2014 and does this bring back last year\u2019s talks to \u2018modernize\u2019 the state Legislature, extend the session, add paid staff, things like that?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jessica pointed out that the so-called modernization debate isn\u2019t likely to fade away anytime soon; nor are each of the dozens of items on the governor\u2019s wish list likely to reach her desk by session\u2019s end on Feb. 15. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The back and forth reminded me of the scope of the work lawmakers face. New Mexico has grown an awful lot in the last several years, both in terms of the size of its annual budget and the severity of our challenges. Think education, climate change, police violence and poverty, to lightly run a fingernail over the surface. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s have a crack at all of that in the space of 30 days! Daunting, no? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jessica finished her answer to Gwyneth\u2019s question thusly: \u201cIt\u2019s definitely going to be interesting to watch, if not chaotic and hectic.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

-Jeff Proctor, Executive Producer\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n