Welcome to the e-Voices MONDAY MINUTE, your weekly email newsletter from New Mexico Voices for Children. Please take a minute to add your voice to the pressing issues of the day. Also, tell us what issues you'd like to know more about so we can tailor the MONDAY MINUTE to your interests. Thanks!

March 19, 2007

 

Winding it up at the Roundhouse ... Almost

Just when it seems the madness will never end, the legislative session winds to a close. And then the governor calls a special session. Oh well. In all, the regular session was good for the children of New Mexico. Many of their parents will see a boost in their paychecks come January and another boost on their income tax refunds come April 2008. Here’s a rundown of the victories:

 

Signed, sealed, delivered

These bills have already been signed into law by the governor:

  • Working Families Tax Credit (WFTC) Working families that qualify for the federal Earned Income Tax Credit will now qualify for a state-level credit worth 8 percent of the federal credit ... and they won’t have to choose between that WFTC or the Low Income Comprehensive Tax Credit (LICTR).
  • Low Income Tax Exemptions Personal exemptions were increased to give low-income workers a break on their income taxes.
  • Cockfighting Ban Finally! This barbaric blood "sport" is no longer a black eye for the state. Now, only Louisiana remains as the last state to allow cockfighting.
  • Dee Johnson Clean Indoor Air Act Beginning in June it will be illegal to smoke in most work places – including most bars and restaurants. Sounds like a good time to kick the habit.
  • State Budget: Native American youth suicide prevention was funded at $50,000; a study of minority youths’ disproportionate representation in the juvenile justice and child welfare systems was funded at $100,000; LIHEAP, which helps low-income families pay their winter heating bills, got $6 million for the current fiscal year; $10.9 million was appropriated to expand Medicaid to adults living at the federal poverty level (FPL); $3.7 million was appropriated to study and treat autism; childcare assistance was increased by $5.7 million with $2.5 million going toward expanding the program to include families living at 165% of the FPL and another $2 million for increasing wages for childcare workers; pre-K funding was increased by $6 million; the college affordability fund got $48 million.

Also Passed

  • Payday Lending This compromise bill represents a tremendous win for us and our partners in limiting the payday industry’s ability to prey on the poor. The bill caps fees at $15.50 per $100 borrowed and allows for no rollovers – which is where the industry made most of its money ... and the poor lost most of theirs. Loans that are not repaid during the initial loan period automatically revert to a 130 day payment plan which amounts to an annual percentage rate of 42 percent – the lowest rates in the nation!
  • Minimum Wage Beginning in January of next year, minimum wage earners across the state will make $6.75 and hour, which bumps up to $7.50 an hour in January 2009. While the bill also precludes cities and counties from raising their minimum wages above that amount until 2010, it does not affect those municipalities (Santa Fe, Albuquerque and Bernalillo County) that already have. The bill also does not allow the wage to rise automatically with inflation. Still, it’s a big win.
  • Unemployment Insurance Benefits for workers will increase from 52.5 percent of their weekly wages to 53.5 percent, and the dependent benefit climbs from $15 a week per child to $25 a week. UI taxes were also reduced for employers.
  • Child Helmet Law Requires children to wear safety helmets when bike riding, roller skating and the like. This bill will cut down on head trauma injuries, keeping kids safe and saving the health care system money.

On Call

Tax Expenditure Reporting has passed, but we don’t know for certain that it will get the governor’s signature. The bill requires that the Tax and Revenue Department create a report of all the tax exemptions, deductions and credits allowed in previous years with an analysis of the benefits those expenditures had on the state’s economy.

 

Please contact the governor’s office and ask him to sign this bill because it makes for good government. Also, please thank him for signing all of the above legislation that will make New Mexico a better place in which to grow up. You can reach the governor at 476-2200 or email him from an form at http://www.governor.state.nm.us/emailchoice.php?mm=6

 

Still Ahead

The special session starts tomorrow, and we’ll be watching bills that relate to domestic partnerships and ethics reform. Stay tuned.

 

Going Federal

While it may seem that all of the political excitement is centered in Santa Fe, the truth is, they're still going at it in Washington. Which raises the all-important question: is 'political excitement' an oxymoron? No, wait. The all-important question is: will Congress give President Bush's budget a thorough lashing?

 

As we speak (or type and read, as the case may be) the House and Senate Budget Committees are hard at work on their budget resolutions. Why do we care? Because the budget determines how your money is spent – and whether it's spent on tax breaks for millionaires or home heating assistance for our nation’s elderly.

 

While that sounds painfully simple, the federal budget is really a complicated document and our congressional delegation has a lot of difficult decisions to make. Unfortunately, they can't make the decisions we want them to make unless we tell them what they are.

 

We know we've asked you before, but just in case you didn't take the opportunity to email your congressional representatives about the budget last time, we're repeating our ever-popular Budget Talking Points and congressional contact info here (and then we'll quit bugging you about it. Unless Congress does something silly):

 

Budget talking points

  • Making Bush's tax cuts for the wealthy permanent would increase the income disparity that's been steadily growing under his watch.
  • There is no evidence to support his belief that Bush's tax cuts have helped the economy.
  • The president's budget makes drastic and unconscionable cuts to programs that benefit children, the elderly and low-income workers.
  • Among the many programs slated for funding cuts are Head Start, health care for children, assistance to the elderly so they can pay their heating bills, and childcare assistance so low-income parents can work. And it would terminate a program that gives seniors a bag of foodstuffs each month to help keep them from going hungry.
  • The president's claim that the budget will be balanced in 2012 only works on paper.

When the S-CHIPS are Down

One of the parts of the federal budget that we’ve been watching closely is the funding for the State Children’s Health Insurance Program – called SCHIP.

 

There are some 6 million uninsured children in America, and reauthorizing SCHIP would go a long way toward covering them. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities reports that there are several ways Congress could pay for SCHIP, and you can read about them here: http://www.cbpp.org/3-14-07health-fact.htm

 

Congressional contact info

All About the Bennies

There was a time when people put twenty or thirty years in at one company. Such loyalty paid off, as a job meant far more than a paycheck – it meant health insurance, paid vacation time and even a pension. So much for the good ol’ days.

 

According to a new report from The Mobility Agenda, more than 40 million American jobs in the United States – or about one-third – pay low wages ($11 an hour or less) and often do not offer benefits like health insurance, retirement savings accounts, paid sick days, or family leave. Moreover, these jobs tend to have inflexible or unpredictable scheduling requirements and provide little opportunity for career advancement.


You can read the whole report here:

http://www.cepr.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1080&Itemid=8

 

Fame & Shame Awards

This annual Oscar-style event takes Hollywood to task for its shameless promotion of cigarettes and smoking. Join the teens from our Youth Link program and a host of other coalitions to shame Hollywood and celebrate the youth advocates of the year. The red carpet rolls out in front of Albuquerque's KiMo Theater at 4:30pm on Saturday, April 14. If you’d like to attend, polish up your best rhinestones and RSVP here: kperea@nmvoices.org.

 

Amy Biehl Youth Spirit Awards

Join us in honoring New Mexico youth who take community service to the extreme at our Amy Biehl Youth Spirit Awards Ceremony with keynote speaker is Carol Cassell, the author of "Swept Away" and "Straight from the Heart: How to Talk to Your Teenagers About Love and Sex." The awards ceremony is Friday, April 20, in Albuquerque. Call 244-9505 ext. 10 or visit http://www.nmvoices.org/abysa.htm for more information and to purchase tickets.

 

Free Tax Help

Don't forget that if you are over the age of 65 or have an annual income under $36,000 you can get free tax preparation through TAX HELP New Mexico. Offices are open statewide and some offer services in Spanish and Navajo. TAX HELP NM is a program of Central New Mexico Community College (CNM). Get more information here: http://www.cnm.edu/taxhelp/.