Tuesday, January 31, 2006

 

Cockfighting Hearing Coming Up!

SM 10, Delcaring cockfighting the state disgrace, will be heard by Senate Rules Committee on Monday, February 6th at 8:30 am in room 321. Please show your support by either attending the hearing or contacting the committee members.

Follow this link, http://legis.state.nm.us/lcs/committeedisplay.asp?CommCode=SRC, then click on the legislator's name to access his/her phone number. Senator John Grubesic is the vice chair of the committee and sponsor of this measure.


The animals are having a good session with a number of very quick hearings this week.

The Animal Sheltering Services Act, HB 227, had a successful hearing today in House Consumer and Public Affairs before being passed unanimously. Sponsor Joni Gutierrez takes the bill to House Appropriations and Finance next.

Rep. McCoy's memorial on animal evacuation planning passed House Government and Urban Affairs and is now on the House Calendar. It could be voted on by the full House on Wednesday. Since it is only a House memorial, not a joint memorial, it doesn't have to go the Senate.

SB 157, the bill to ban internet hunting, passed Senate Conservation and is on its way to Senate Judiciary. A number of people I've talked to about the bill haven't realized that real animals are killed in this activity and that it is not some sort of virtual hunting computer game.

The Land, Wildlife and Clean Energy Act is charging ahead as well. SB 407 was heard by Senate Conservation today and passed on with no reccomendation. The committee members were concerned about a lack of legislative oversight on the spending of the estimated $10 million by the proposed bill and hoped that the sponsor could work out that issue as it goes to its next committee, Senate Finance. The committee members also appeared a bit shocked by the wide consensus on the bill from groups that often are at opposition (oil & gas industry, agriculture, environmentalists, and so on). The hearing room was packed full of supporters! The House version of the bill is heard by House Taxation and Revenue Committee on Wednesday afternoon.

Friday, January 27, 2006

 

Go Bears!

HB 252, Bear-Proof Containers, won the approval of the House Energy and Natural Resources Committee today. The bill is sponsored by Rep. Kathy McCoy at the request of the Department of Game and Fish, and the department head Bruce Thompson was there today to advocate for he bill. Committee members agreed on the need to be pro-active in reducing human-wildlife conflicts, but wondered if more money is needed for designated communitites to purchase the bear-proof trash containers. There was however, a light moment in the hearing, during audience testimony when someone questioned the bills public notification provisions--he wanted to make sure the bears were getting notified too! HB 252 goes to the House Government and Urban Affairs Committee.

A bill that would have allowed the Chiropractic Board to promulage regulations for non-human patients, SB 202, was tabled in the Senate Public Affairs Committee today. While it is important to have rules in place for chiropractic treatment of animals, the bill was in direct conflict with the current Veterinary Practice Act. The Vet Board and the Chiropractic Board will need to work this issue out collaboratively.

Next up for the animals is HM 2 relating to animal evacuations in disaters. That will be Saturday at 8:30 am in the House Government and Urban Affairs Committee.

On Sunday, House Business and Industry Committee will hear a new version of the Land, Wildlife and Clean Energy Act at 1:30 pm. A substitute bill has been prepared to include input from a number of stakeholders. The coalition of groups backing this bill carefully weighed all proposed amendments and worked those that maintain the integrity of the bill into the new language, in conjuction with the sponsor, Rep. Ken Martinez, and the Governor's office.

The hearing on HB 227, the House version of the Animal Sheltering Services Act, has been moved to Tuesday morning at 8:30 in room 310.

Thursday, January 26, 2006

 

Things are moving Quickly

Thanks to all who attended our lobby day on Wednesday. You made a great impression on a number of legislators. Press coverage was wonderful as well, thanks to our spokesdog Buster. A large photo of Buster and House Majority Chief of Staff Helga Schimkat appeared in the Albuquerque Journal, and Matt Grubbs with Channel 7 did an amazing story on the Animal Sheltering Services Act.

A special thanks to all our leglative champions who attended our press conference: Rep. Ken Martinez, Sen. Mary Jane Garcia, Sen. John Grubesic, Rep. Kathy McCoy and Rep. Joni Gutierrez.

Also on Wednesday, the Animal Sheltering Services Act, SB 122, passed the Senate Judicary Committee unanimously. Senator Richard Martinez was especially supportive as he had received a call just the day before from an out-of-state woman who had visited the Espanola animal shelter and had some concerns. Like many shelters in the state, they are facing a huge overpopulation challenge and doing what they can given their resources. The Animal Sheltering Services Board, which will be created by this law, would help shelters to address those types of problems. Senator Rod Adair found that the bill's provisions for training and licensing those that must euthanize homeless dogs and cats would help shelters in his district reduce the number of animals brought there from outlying areas to be euthanized. There was no opposition to the bill during the hearing. Next, sponsor Senator Mary Jane Garcia, takes the bill to the Senate Finance Committee.

Over on the House side, HB 227, a mirror of SB 122, goes before the House Consumer and Public Affairs Committee on Tuesday afternoon in room 315.

HB 252, which addresses the need for bear-proof trash containers in certain parts of the state, will be heard by the House Energy and Natural Resouces Commitee on Friday at 8:30 am in room315.

HM 2, a memorial concerning the evacuation of companion animals during disasters, is up before the House Government and Urban Affairs Commitee on Saturday at 8:30 am in room 324.

Both HB 252 and HM 2 are sponsored by Representative Kathy McCoy.

The Land, Wildlife and Clean Energy Act was scheduled for a hearing in House Business & Industry Committee today, but the committee decided to hold the bill, HB 188, over until Sunday. There are a number of proposed changes, as many different constituencies weigh in...

We hope to have a hearing soon for SM 10, a measure declaring cockfighting the state disgrace. It's generated a lot of talk around the Roundhouse!

Monday, January 23, 2006

 

Capitol Re-Cap--the first week

Week One--Introductions
During this first week of the session, we’ve been focusing on getting our bills introduced.
Nearly all of APV’s priority bills have been introduced and our website will have the updated information up very soon. In the meantime, here is a quick summary:

Animal Sheltering Services Act: SB 122 sponsored by Senator Mary Jane Garcia and HB 227 sponsored by Representative Joni Gutierrez. We hope that these bills will have hearings scheduled within a week.

Cockfighting as the State Disgrace: SM 10 sponsored by Senator John Grubesic. This is our fun way of reminding legislators about the cockfighting issue during a session where the bill to ban the bloodsport can’t be introduced.

Spay-Neuter Awareness Month: HJM 13 sponsored by Representative Ken Martinez. This memorial is on the speaker’s table, meaning it can come up for a full House vote at anytime; there will be no committee hearings. APV is also working with other advocates on a funding package for spay-neuter efforts in the state. We’ll have more to report on that later.

Animal Disaster Planning: HM 2 sponsored by Representative Kathy McCoy.

Conservation Funding—Land, Wildlife and Clean Energy Act: HB 188 sponsored by Representative Ken Martinez. It has a hearing scheduled in House Business and Industry Committee on Thursday. A senate version is expected to be introduced today, sponsored by Senator Michael Sanchez.

Week Two—Advocacy Day
Wednesday, January 25th is APV’s 2nd annual lobby day. We invite all animal advocates to join us between 9 am and 3 pm in the capitol rotunda. We’ll have info on all the bills and will be available to answer questions and help you lobby the lawmakers in support of animal protection. APV will also hold a press conference at 11 am.

APV staff will also spend this week letting legislators know what’s on our agenda for the session and working to get our bills scheduled for their committee hearings. As the session progresses, we’ll be blogging more info about what we are doing and how you can help.

Monday, January 09, 2006

 

Welcome to Animal Protection Voters

The Political Animals are ready to swarm the Roundhouse as New Mexico's legislative session convenes on January 17th. Animal Protection Voters will be there with an animal-friendly agenda, including bills to improve animal sheltering, address companion animal overpopulation, provide the state with a wildlife conservation legacy and remind lawmakers that cockfighting is our state disgrace.

We'll be using this blog to provide more detailed updates on what's happening at the state capitol than you will find on our e-alerts. So please visit us regularly!

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