I’ve talked about compromise before on this blog, but nowhere was it more evident than today at the Roundhouse.

A tough committee process saw Rep. Miguel Garcia, D-Albuquerque, amend his gun-show background-check bill again and again. That is until a proposed compromise from Rep. Nate Gentry, R-Albuquerque, on Friday that got 13 out of 16 members to back the bill was good enough for HB 77 to sail to a floor vote less than a week later.

The debate was intense at times, and certainly long, but the vote wasn’t close with 43 of 70 representatives saying “yes.” The governor is already on record saying she’ll sign it if it makes it to her desk.

There’s another key compromise Wednesday that will likely have a much tougher road and may not even be called a compromise by some.

Early attempts at repealing the New Mexico law that allows illegal immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses have fallen flat in the House with two separate bills dying quick deaths in committee.

Now SB 521 has been introduced, a bill sponsored by Senate Minority Leader Stuart Ingle, R-Portales, with two conservative Democrats as co-sponsors, Sen. John Arthur Smith of Deming and President Pro Tem Mary Kay Papen of Las Cruces.

While Gov. Susana Martinez called SB 521 a “reasonable compromise” in a statement I received this afternoon, some Democrats are saying this is barely one.

That’s because the bill allows only some illegal immigrants to receive driver’s licenses.

Under SB 521, two different driver’s licenses would be issued, one valid for boarding planes and entering federal buildings, the other for driving only.

The first type would be issued to U.S. citizens and foreign nationals who could prove they’re in the U.S. legally (i.e. a valid visa). Foreign national licenses would expire when the authorization for them to stay does.

The second type would be issued only to so-called DREAMers, those brought to the US as children but who don’t have legal status in the country.

Any other illegal immigrants would not be allowed licenses under the bill.

With two Democratic senators already on board, some legislative math would show that only two others would have to join them to get the bill through the Senate.

But hold the phone because there’s another compromise on this issue.

Sen. Pete Campos, D-Las Vegas, says he’ll introduce a version similar to SB 521 Thursday that would allow all illegal immigrants to get that second-tier license, not just DREAMers.

This opens the door for a compromise. It seems only fitting.

Bill of the Day: House Bill 349

Freshman Rep. Liz Thomson, D-Albuquerque, wants to take it tougher for those with an ignition interlock to get that interlock removed from their cars.

Under her proposal, anyone looking to make their car interlock-free would have to go not only six months without tampering with the device but would also have to have no readings above a 0.04 (half the legal limit) and blow into the interlock at least once a week.

Thomson’s bill is waiting for a hearing in House Judiciary.

A fast NW flow will continue over the area for the next few days.  This flow will carry in two weak storms.  The first may touch off a quick shower over the north and NE.  This one will come in late Thursday.  The second system will come in late Friday.  This storm has the chance to drop 2″-4″ of snow over the northern mountains and Raton Ridge.  Hardly a big time storm but enough to help skiers and boarders out a little.

The weekend looks very quiet before another system comes into the NE on Monday.  We will keep you posted on this one as we get closer to the weekend.

Volunteers birdwatchers will be flocking on Saturday and Sunday to join in the Great Backyard Bird Count.

The annual national effort sponsored by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the Audubon Society is intended to provide information on migratory birds.

In Albuquerque the volunteer birdwatchers meet from 8 a.m.-noon Friday at Tingley Beach and 8 a.m.-noon Saturday at the Albuquerque BioPark Botanic Garden.

Expert leaders and educational discovery stations are planned (more details here).

Bird-spotting checklists will be provided, but volunteers wanting binoculars will need to provide their own.

Participation is free although volunteers arriving at the Botanic Garden after 8 a.m. Saturday will have to pay regular BioPark admission.

Anyone wishing to participate is asked to RSVP no later that Friday by calling the BioPark Education office at (505) 848-7180.

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When you see it happening, Report It! Submit news, photos and videos by e-mail or use the KRQE.com Report It! page.

If you noticed smoke coming from the Manzano Mountains Wednesday, not to worry.

Officials are conducting a prescribed burn in the area Wednesday.

For more information, residents can call the Sandia Ranger District at 281-3304.

Here are the five things you need to know before go this morning.

5) Today is Ash Wednesday and the first day of Lent for many Christian churches. It’s a season of prayer and penance — and a period of preparation for the Easter season. Lent lasts six and a half weeks, ending on Easter.

4) Looking for a job? Spruce up the resume and head to the gobs of jobs job fair. It’s at the marriott pyramid from 11 this morning the 3 this afternoon. Dozens of employers with hundreds of jobs available will be there.

3) It’s going to be a nicer day! Today will be sunny, with a high near 43 and a Northwest wind 10 to 15 mph. Then tonight will be mostly clear, with a low around 28 and a Northwest wind 5 to 10 mph.

2) Some big national news here. Investigators in San Bernardino County, California will use forensic tests to determine whether a charred body found inside a burned-out cabin is that of Christopher Dorner, the former Los Angeles police officer accused in at least four killings. Authorities say Dorner had barricaded himself in the cabin in Big Bear Lake Tuesday and had gotten into a shootout that killed a Deputy. The cabin then caught fire.

1) A big decision could come out of Santa Fe today about gun control legislation. The State House is expected to vote today on the Firearms Transfer Act. Many want to close the loophole concerning gun shows. Governor Susana Martinez is expected to sign the proposed bill once lawmakers pass it. The law will ensure that background checks are run on anyone buying firearms at gun shows -so that anyone with a criminal background cannot get their hands on a gun.