Who wins when everybody loses?

It’s the question many may be asking when this session wraps up because when all is said and done, you may find neither side got much of anything they wanted this year.

Why the doom and gloom after a session that seemed to start with one compromise after the other (gun control, spaceport being the two that come to mind immediately)?

It comes from taking an honest look at where proposals for both Democrats and Republicans sit.

Let’s look at the Republican side first, specifically from Governor Martinez’s perspective.

The State of the State address that opened up this session had a main theme of competitiveness. Highlighted proposals included a corporate tax rate cut from 7.6 percent to 4.9 percent and allowing businesses to base their corporate taxes on a single sales factor.

That paired with several key education proposals including merit pay for teachers and mandatory retention for third graders who can’t read among others.

Add to all of that the annual push to repeal the law that allows illegal immigrants to get driver’s licenses.

From the Democratic side, there’s plenty they were looking to get done as well.

Pay raises for state workers and teachers was a priority. So was increasing the minimum wage and expanding the film tax credits the state currently issues. On the education side, reforming the A-F grading system used to evaluate schools was one of the proposals pitched.

So what’s happened on all of these issues?

Driver’s licenses appears to be going nowhere fast and would seem an incredible long shot to get done this session after stalling in a House committee. The third grade reading retention proposal never got even that far.

Merit pay was originally in the House version of the budget but was pulled out by the Senate. Even though that budget passed the Senate unanimously, House Republicans say they’ll fight the House agreeing with those amendments Wednesday.

On the Senate side, the Governor’s tax reforms were bundled together with a Democratic proposal she vetoed last year dealing with cutting exemptions for out-of-state companies. In addition, the corporate tax cut proposed would drop the state rate down to 6.4 percent, well below what the Governor wants. The Governor’s office has said they won’t support that bill either and called it “gimmicky”.

All of that has led to the threat from the Governor to veto the budget in its current form, which would kill teacher pay raises in the process.

It’s also led to a Dem-backed film tax credit bill (the Breaking Bad bill) that had bipartisan support in passing both chambers being left in limbo on the Governor’s desk with a veto not out of the question.

That adds to expected vetoes on minimum wage and any attempt to alter the A-F system PED implemented.

Add it all up and unless there’s some significant compromise in the last four days of the session (don’t hold your breath), we could be in for a special session after a 60-day session.

Of course, this could all be just one big game of chicken and a deal could be cut.

The answer is only four long days away.

Bill of the Day

HB 325

Rep. Georgene Louis’, D-Albuquerque, bill would give employers an alternative to layoffs by allowing them to cut hours of a group of employees instead.

You can find out more about the proposal here.

HB 325 squeaked by the House and is heading for the Senate.

Monday we saw the pace pick up in Santa Fe as bills both large and small (mostly small) made their way to the fourth floor to face the wrath of the Governor’s veto pen or into the next chamber.

That included the “Breaking Bad” film tax credits bill, a statewide health insurance exchange, a bill cutting penalties pot possession and the long-awaited spaceport liability bill.

The quick pace should be get a little quicker on some issues because of the two deadlines in effect at the Roundhouse.

One is the obvious one…. Saturday at noon. That’s when the session is over. If your bill isn’t up to the Governor by then, you’re out of luck plain and simple.

But the other one is one Democrats especially have their eye on.

According to the New Mexico Constitution, the Governor’s time to render a veto has everything to do with when that bill is passed.

During the first 57 days of the session (or 27 days during even years), any proposal that makes it past the legislature must be acted on within three days or it becomes law.

A veto then and a two-thirds vote of each chamber overrides the Governor.

But in the last three days, the power shifts to the fourth floor. The Governor gets 20 days to look at bills and any veto is final.

That means any proposal that has the support of the legislature but leaves doubt as to whether the Governor is totally on board is best passed before the last three days.

There’s no perfect example for what that kind of bill would be.

Minimum wage certainly appears to be unpopular with Governor Martinez, but there would likely be problems scraping together the two-thirds vote needed.

The “Breaking Bad” bill is expected to be signed, but some Democrats tell me it makes sense to get it on her desk before the three-day deadline “just in case”. This hesitancy could have to do with the cap Governor Martinez helped put on film tax credits in the first place.

Perhaps the best example might be the budget. The Senate hasn’t monkeyed around too much with the House version, except for taking out a key provision for teacher merit pay the administration wanted.

There’s some thought that the 1 percent raise for all state workers could be axed by a line item veto as retribution. Getting the budget upstairs sooner rather than later would give the legislature time to override. They may have the votes based on the support the House gave the bill.

Bill of the Day

HB 223

Rep. Larry Larranaga’s, R-Albuquerque, bill to push economic development stirred some debate on the House floor before passing 51-14.

HB 223 provides a GRT deduction for companies working with the Department of Defense on directed energy and satellite projects.

You can learn more about the bill in my story»

HB 223 has one committee to clear in the Senate but it faces a tall task.

It’s been assigned to Senate Finance, where chair John Arthur Smith, D-Deming, (aka Dr. No) presides. In past interviews I’ve done with him he hasn’t looked at tax breaks and loopholes too fondly and the potential $33.6 million revenue loss from the bill in the first four years isn’t likely to make him smile.

With time running short in the session, the timeline to get things done shortens. That applies to House-Senate feuds as much as bills.

The set-up for Thursday’s blowup may have come from a few sources.

During a debate on pension reform, Senate Majority Leader Michael Sanchez, D-Belen, wanted an amendment on a bill to overhaul the Public Employees Retirement Association.

Before the session, it appeared there was an agreement on the plan to solve PERA’s woes (an unfunded liability of $6.2 billion). As part of that plan, the employee contribution would go up 1.5 percent as would the state’s contribution.

But several Republicans and the governor’s office balked at the state increase, pointing out that New Mexico is among the most generous of states in paying into its public employee’s pension plans.

So the bill was amended in committee to cut the rate increase for the state to just 0.4 percent.

Sanchez backed an amendment to take that change back. After a long floor debate though, he lost 24-18. That vote meant seven fellow Democrats bailed on him.

Sanchez was one of just four votes who opposed the bill’s final passage out of the Senate.

Meanwhile over in the House, representatives struck down a bill that was popular with senators, for a good reason.

Senate Bill 336, a bill effectively allowing senators and other elected officials serving four-year terms to double the contribution limits they can receive from individual donors, passed the Senate 40-0. But the House representatives, who are elected to two-year terms and wouldn’t be affected, voted down the bill 34-32, killing the legislation.

Meanwhile the House appears at least somewhat upset that the only bill of theirs passed out was the very bill needed to fund the Legislature.

All of that happened before sparks flew in Santa Fe. You can read my story for what exactly happened or watch the full uncut video of the confrontation here

But even as early as Thursday night, the rift seemed to be mending. And Friday, it seemed like nothing ever happened. Senate Education moved on several House bills in the morning, and the House never seemed to stop hearing Senate bills.

All in all, it seems like nothing more than a small bump in the road practically. Part of that is because there’s little time left in the session. Bickering is one thing, but getting nothing done is a far bigger problem for state lawmakers.

Even hurt feelings don’t change that political reality.

But Thursday’s battle and votes on the Senate floor further indicate a point I’ve talked about a lot on this blog. On many issues (except for minimum wage), conservative Democrats and Republicans appear to have the votes, not majority leadership. That one theme could set the stage for more tough battles as both parties try to get their priority bills through.

Bill of the Day: Senate Bill 306

Sen. Steven Neville, R-Aztec, wants school districts to have the opportunity to set up their own school district police departments.

SB 306 would give school district police authority to enforce laws within the districts and on school grounds. In the fiscal impact report, APS notes that setting up independent police forces could allow districts to reap federal grant funding.

Neville’s bill was scheduled for its second committee, Senate Judiciary on Friday.

Today we saw a dramatic move in the House to try and move the driver’s license issue forward through a procedure known as a call of the House.

This is a rare process where all 70 members of the House must be brought into the chambers for a full floor vote with all the doors locked.

For as rare as it is, it’s not hard to execute. A call of the House only takes seven representatives.

One of the quirks of a call means no matter how long it takes, every representative must be present in their chairs. That led to a more than an hour-long delay while Rep. Sheryl Williams Stapleton, D-Albuquerque, was tracked down.

During the empty time, one lawmaker juggled. A number of others acted like it was open mic nights at the Roundhouse and told jokes (three of them targeted at the Irish).

When the House got down to business, Rep. Nate Gentry, R-Albuquerque, introduced a series of four motions designed to get House Bill 606 out of committee and onto the floor.

What came next was a strange series of events.

The first vote succeeded 36-34, with four Dems (including now consistent thorn in her own party’s side Rep. Mary Helen Garcia, D-Las Cruces) joining the Republicans to “blast” the bill out of one of its three committees.

But before a second vote, a long debate ensued. During that floor debate, a number of fellow House Democrats and Senate Majority Whip Tim Keller, D-Albuquerque, appeared to put a lot of pressure on freshman Democrat Rep. Stephanie Garcia Richard, D-Los Alamos.

She had originally voted with the Republicans, possibly because of a campaign promise to help support a driver’s license repeal, but it appears the pressure got to her on vote number two. A visibly distraught Garcia Richard changed sides and voted with her own party.

Normally that would’ve deadlocked the vote at 35-35, but another freshman Democrat made a major blunder.

Rep. Christine Trujillo, D-Albuquerque, accidentally voted with the Republicans and it was 36-34. She brought that to Speaker Ken Martinez’s attention, but only after he announced the vote. The vote stood.

The third vote was enough for Democrats to stall the Republican tide. It was 35-35, leaving the bill in House Appropriations and Finance, where it’s now waiting for a hearing. That ended the call of the House.

Ultimately it was a bold gamble from Republicans that was at best a half-victory.

On the positive side for the GOP, the bill would’ve certainly died without the move. Instead it’s now skipped two very politically tricky committees and is in a committee that may have a chance of moving the bill ahead onto the floor.

On the negative side for the GOP, there are only 10 days left in the 2013 session after today and time is running out to move the bill forward.

For House Democrats, this was a big hold, even if only by the skin of their teeth. Stalling Republican ambitions may also help better unite their own party as the session picks up and becomes more contentious in its final days.

Bill of the Day:  Senate Bill 559

Sen. Cliff Pirtle, R-Roswell, thinks daylight savings time has outlived its usefulness in New Mexico.

SB 559 would exempt the state from daylight savings time. New Mexico would join Arizona and Hawaii, the only other two states which do not observe daylight savings time.

New Mexico would effectively be in the Pacific Time Zone with California half of the year and in the Mountain Time Zone the other half, just like Arizona.

Pirtle says long hot nights created by daylight savings time in the summer lead to higher air conditioning costs and don’t make sense.

Daylight savings time haters shouldn’t celebrate yet. SB 559 hasn’t passed a single committee yet.

Arguably the most important person in the Roundhouse Tuesday wasn’t the Governor Martinez, House Speaker Ken Martinez or Senate Majority Leader Michael Sanchez.

For one day and one day only, the spotlight was on Sen. Jerry Ortiz y Pino, D-Albuquerque.

As I’m typing this, Ortiz y Pino is running the Senate Public Affairs Committee, a committee charged with determining a number of high profile bills all in one night.

Here’s a short list of what’s up for debate:

• Spaceport liability legislation
• Gun show background checks
• Driver’s licenses for illegal immigrants
• Forfeiture of vehicles when driver’s license is suspended or revoked for DWI
• Public hearings for fatal officer-involved shootings

It’s possible all of these won’t get handled, but that’s an impressive list nonetheless.

It comes from time ticking down in the session. Several of the House bills are now in the Senate (and vice versa) and as lawmakers scramble to get things done, committees will simply start getting packed.

Bill of the Day:  Senate Bill 41

SB 41, introduced by Sen. Sander Rue, R-Albuquerque, could prove a big help to the Children, Youth and Families Department.

If an emergency placement of a child is necessary, the bill gives CYFD the ability to make an emergency instant background check on any person potentially designated to take care of the child. That would help ensure the emergency home is a suitable one for that child as quickly as possible.

Sen. Rue’s bill passed the Senate floor overwhelmingly and is now over in the House.