KSFR: N.M. House passes partial ban on cell phones while driving (2010-02-09)

-- Feb. 9, 1 p.m. -- It would be illegal statewide for a driver to hold a cell phone for talking and for texting under a bill the state House of Representatives has passed. New Mexico would be the seventh state to enact such a ban. Some of New Mexico's largest cities - Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Las Cruces - already have municipal ordinances that bar these types of cell phone use by drivers. While the state law would carry a $25 fine, it would not prevent local governments from higher fines or stricter rules.

-- 9 a.m. -- The judge in the felony case against Public Regulation Commissioner Jerome Block, Jr., needs another week to think about arguments made by Block's defense lawyers. At Monday hearing, the defense argued that Block should not face criminal charges for lying about his campaign expenses because he had already been punished when he was ordered to pay a civil fine. They say the way the law is written gives the secretary the state the option of ordering him to pay a fine or referring the case to the attorney general. Block paid a $2,100 fine for falsifying his reports of how he used taxpayer funds for his campaign.

-- 7 a.m. -- The state House of Representatives has given unanimous approval to a bill that could put the state's $1.4 billion checking account in local, community banks. State Rep. Brian Egolf of Santa Fe authored the proposal which would call for withdrawing the money from one big, out-of-state bank and putting it in local banks where he says they could use the funds for making more local loans. The measure now goes to the state senate.

A split Santa Fe Public Works Committee on Monday voted to recommend razing a Railyard building adjacent to el Museo Cultural. The structure in question is the current home of Santa Fe Clay where the owners are seeking to terminate their lease. The nonprofit that oversees the Railyard says no new tenant is likely to be interested in leasing the structure as is. The referral that now goes to City Council tomorrow night calls for demolishing the building when a new tenant is found who would agree to cover the costs.

Senate Bill 3, providing for tougher DWI penalties including a mandatory 72 hour jail term for a first conviction has been tabled by the Senate Judiciary Committee. The bill was sponsored by senator Peter Wirth of Santa Fe and was endorsed by Governor Richardson. It would have also provided for a minimum mandatory fine of $1000, with enhancements to fines and incarceration upon subsequent offenses. A fiscal impact study estimated an annual implementation cost of $1.5 million.

New Mexico's secretary of state says she doesn't have enough money for the June primary elections or for the November general elections. Mary Herrera has told state lawmakers that the last legislature didn't appropriate enough money to handle both elections. She says she is more than a million dollars short. The situation also occurred in 2008, but she was able to get a loan from the Board of Finance. She says she's not sure if the board will have enough money in their budget to come up with a million-dollar loan this year.

Weather for Santa Fe...mostly cloudy today and Wednesday. Highs in the upper 30s with a 20% chance for passing showshowers. That increases to 30% tomorrow night as a system crosses the southern portion of New Mexico. Skies clearing Thursday. And Kerry Jones with the Nat'l Weather Service now says that a big storm they expected for the weekend is fizzling out and the overall weather pattern is about to change.

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