LWVNM Council Minutes, April 27 2024

LWVNM Council Minutes

April 27, 2024

Via Zoom

Board Members Present

Kathy Brook, Co-President (SNM)
Hannah Burling, Co-President (SFC)
Barbara Calef, Second Vice President (LA)
Rebecca Chaiken, Secretary (LA)
Akkana Peck, Action Chair and Webmaster (LA)
Dick Mason, Voting and Elections (CNM)
Judy Williams, Past President/Program (SFC)
Meredith Machen, Education and Special Projects (SFC)
Karen Douglas, Spent Nuclear Fuel (CNM)
Janet Blair, Communications (CNM)
Jody Larson, Archivist and SFC Liaison (SFC)
Edwina Jaramillo, Voter Services (SNM)
Felicia Orth, Los Alamos President (LA)
Jo Galván Nash, Southern New Mexico President, (SNM)

Delegates Present

Karen Wentworth (CNM)
Debbie Helper (SF)
Lisa Hampton (LA)

Observers Present

Brenda McKenna (CNM)
Anne Galer (CNM)
Lori Feibelman (CNM)

Call to Order

The 2024 LWVNM Council was called to order by Co-President Kathy Brook at 11:07 a.m. A quorum was established. Felicia Orth and Barbara Calef volunteered to read the minutes following their completion. When both readers are satisfied, the minutes will be filed.

Agenda

Minor changes were made to the proposed agenda. Dick moved that the amended agenda be approved, and this motion was seconded by Meredith. All voted in favor.

Co-President’s Reports

According to Hannah’s report, the LWVUS “moonshot” goal of abolishing the Electoral College was announced at the 2022 Convention. The official launch has been delayed due to the sudden death of Dr. Deborah Turner and the departure of Virginia Kase Solomón. The digital campaign will launch at the end of May with a webpage, toolkits, social media, video, and email content. Paid ads will run through June and there will be informed opinion leaders at Convention. League member Anne Galer will attend the Convention as a delegate for CNM, along with Hannah, Dick, and Edwina, who will represent LWVNM. Anne is particularly interested in this issue.

There are five phases to the campaign. Phase One will be adoption of the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, which we have already done in New Mexico. Our state pledged to have our electors support the popular vote winner. The NPVIC needs 270 electoral votes and currently has 209 from 16 states and the District of Columbia. Phase Two will be observing the public response to One Person One Vote. These and the subsequent Phases are expected to take place over several decades.

Kathy spoke with SNM and indirectly with a Sociology class on Democracy and Voting. Responses to the plan of moving away from the Electoral College were mixed, because some have heard that it helps New Mexico to have disproportionate representation.

Anne Galer suggested that we spend time on educating people on how the Electoral College works. Dick disagreed, saying that it is difficult to educate in the abstract. Meredith agreed with Dick and maintains that we should not spend any more time on this issue. She suggests that a Constitutional Amendment is unlikely to pass. Hannah agreed as well and said that there is little we can do until the National Popular Vote passes.

Kathy explained why this Council does not have a featured speaker. The LWVNM board had discussed asking Justice Shannon Bacon to speak on the judicial system in New Mexico. A hybrid meeting was planned, but it became too complicated to initiate. Kathy hopes the difficulty of conducting hybrid meetings will be a topic of conversation after the November election.

Kathy also discussed the LWVUS plan to move to a centralized membership and dues-paying system. She is aware of negative feedback on this plan. There will be a state leader meeting soon with a demonstration of the new system. It will be easier to identify issues and challenges following this demonstration. There may be an issue with our bylaws, which will need to be addressed.

Kathy added that since she has been co-president, she has learned a lot but has a lot left to learn. She has appreciated the assistance of the Executive Committee. She has read our bylaws and position descriptions and is trying to make sense of the LWVUS management site. Kathy welcomes our feedback.

Membership Report

Kathy reported that LWVUS considers our membership numbers as of January 31. At that time, LWVNM had a total of 534 members made up as follows:

Local League Members
LWVNM – members at large       9
Central New Mexico 171
Los Alamos 114
Santa Fe County 136
Southern New Mexico 104

We currently do not have a Membership Director. Kathy has reviewed the job description for this position and maintains that we need one to ensure we are taking care of things in this area.

Treasurer’s Report and Budget

Treasurer’s Report

In Kim’s absence, Kathy reviewed the Treasurer’s Report for Fiscal Year May 2023 to April 2024. Our Income of $19,486 is slightly higher than the budgeted amount. It is unclear if members at large have paid dues during this period. Operating Expenses were reported to be $3,687, but this does not include office use, which was budgeted for $600. Karen noted that rent will be increasing, so this budgeted amount may be insufficient. Hannah noted that our Social Media expenses were also higher than the budgeted amount. In any event, our Total Operating Expenses total is higher than budgeted. Advocacy Expenses ($10,104) were also higher than budgeted. We paid more for Zoom due to webinars and the bill from Rio Chama for the Legislative reception was substantially higher than expected. The $5,445 in the Advocacy Expenses was for lobbying work done by Linda Siegle. Some of this, however, was from a previous Fiscal Year and not picked up in the original budget. Kathy noted that while our expenses were higher than anticipated, and our income was lower than expected, we still have a cash balance of $45,153. Kim’s report also reflects an unrestricted fund balance of nearly $29,000.

Jo recommended that we should join the Chamber of Commerce. There was some opposition to this, and it was agreed that the board will take up the issue. Jo also suggested that we could use a free publication service for La Palabra, like Word. Janet objected. Dick noted that some of these budgetary issues stem from the lack of carry-over from previous Fiscal Years. Judy questioned the line item “diversified membership dues to locals.” Meredith said there should be a balance reflected and Dick believes this is another issue from our lack of carry-over.

Budget Review and Proposed Budget Modifications

In Kim’s absence, Kathy reviewed the Treasurer’s Report for the Annual Convention, dated March 25, 2024. Kathy suggested several changes to the proposed budget for 2025 based on actual income and expenses.

Meredith moved that we move the $700 for Convention Auction income from 2024 to 2025 and Jo seconded this motion. All voted in favor.

Meredith moved that we change the budgeted amount for Constant Contact to $750 and Dick seconded this motion. All voted in favor.

Judy moved that we increase the budgeted amount for the Legislative Reception to $3,500 and Meredith seconded this motion. All voted in favor.

Jo moved that a separate line item for Social Media be created and Janet seconded this motion. All voted in favor.

Hannah reported that our most recent Social Media consultant charged $40 per hour and worked 10 hours per week ($1,600). Based on this and more needs in the future, Meredith moved that we include $2,000 in the new Social Media line item and Dick seconded this motion. Judy maintains that $2,000 is nowhere near enough and Hannah agreed. Hannah suggested no amount be inserted in this line item at this time. Jo said any amount chosen needs to be based on data. Kathy agreed and suggested that we need a better idea about what we are approving. The board can address this. Based on this discussion, four members voted in favor of the motion. The motion failed.

Kathy’s proposed budget modifications also included three bullet points which were reviewed by the Executive Committee. One bullet point we just voted on (separating Website and Social Media expenses). The remaining bullet points are as follows:

Dick moved that we adopt these proposed modifications and Meredith seconded the motion. All voted in favor.

Transfer to Education Fund

Kathy summarized document 2.7, Transfer of Funds from the (c)(4) organization, LWVNM, to the (c)(3) organization, the LWVNM Education Fund. The Executive Committee met on April 19, 2024, and voted to transfer $20,000 from LWVNM to the Education Fund. The purpose of the transfer is to cover expenses for Vote411 which were charged to the Education Fund. These items specifically are Vote411 license for 2023 ($5,000); payments to Maia Pugh ($6,699); Vote 411 license for 2024 ($5,000); and payments to Maia Pugh and Mark Coomes ($3,206). Kathy explained that some expenses can be charged to either entity and some only to the (c)(4) organization. In short, some invoices were sent to and paid by the (c)(3) organization and some invoices were submitted late. Procedurally, the Executive Committee has already approved this transfer and it will be brought to the board this afternoon.

The relationship between the two entities is less than clear, and a free flow of information is necessary. This will be addressed by the board.

Education Fund Report

According to Hannah’s report, the LWVNM Education Fund has developed some forms and policies; developed a collaboration policy in conjunction with LWVNM; applied for and received a $60,000 grant from the Thornburg Foundation for redistricting and election work; formed a Development Committee made up of members of each local League; written to 500 businesses across the state in areas not covered by local Leagues; and worked on creating a website, which is now close to launching. Hannah thanked Karen Wentworth for her work, and CNM for help finding a printer.

Program

Program Report

Judy submitted her Program Report for informational purposes. Nothing needs to be acted upon.

The board agreed to add the following language to our position on Campaign Finance and Ethics: “The League of Women Voters of New Mexico supports government officials and employees being held accountable for carrying out their duties in an effective and ethically responsible manner.”

The board agreed to move a statement on transparency from the Land Use position to the Transparency position. This statement is, “Transparency and public participation in decision-making must be part of the process at all levels of government.”

The board declined to concur with the LWVVT Proposal for Consideration with Privatization at the 2024 Convention.

The board agreed to concur with the LVVWA position on the support for local news.

The board agreed to the LWVDC Resolution to support and take action on achieving statehood for the District of Columbia. The Resolution is to urge LWVUS to move this item to their action list.

Nuclear Issues

Karen’s report detailed the Nuclear Issues Study approved by delegates to the LWVNM Convention on April 30, 2023. Task leaders were Jeanne Logsdon, Kathy Brook, George Chandler, and Karen Douglas. Along with other Committee members, the group evaluated relevant literature, interviewed nuclear industry subject matter experts, and formulated eight consensus questions which were revised and approved by the LWVNM board in November 2023. Consensus meetings were held on December 16 and December 19, 2023. The LWVNM Executive Committee subsequently met with the four task leaders to consider adoption of a Position. Executive Committee members decided that no consensus was reached. During the subsequent January 2024 LWVNM board meeting, it was decided to publish the study report and make it widely available to LWVNM and other state Leagues for reference.

The Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel and Greater than Class C Wastes Position was adopted during the 2021 LWVNM Convention. This was in relation to the proposed siting of a consolidated interim spent fuel storage facility (CISF) in New Mexico. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) granted the CISF construction and operating licenses in September 2022 (Texas ISP) and May 2023 (New Mexico Holtec). In August 2023, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Atomic Energy Act does not give the NRC the broad authority to license a private, away-from-reactor, storage facility for spent nuclear fuel. The Holtec license was also vacated. Both issues have been appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. Furthermore, legislation was recently passed in New Mexico halting progress on the Holtec facility. Legal challenges may ensue if the Holtec license is reinstated.

Action

Akkana reported that the legislative session was short but eventful. Our top priorities were Voting and Elections, and Ethics (including Redistricting); Modernization of the Legislature (meaning longer sessions and paying legislators); Budgets and Taxes; and Gun Safety. In addition, the Action Committee tracked bills on Education, Health Care, Environment, and a few other topics. The Action Committee had high hopes at the beginning of the session, but by the end of the session a lot of good bills had stalled, either in committee or on the House floor. Action Committee members were frustrated that so many bills in this session stalled or were prevented from advancing, while legislative time was wasted on filibusters, memorials, recognition certificates, and other time-wasting maneuvers. The Committee hopes to advocate for more legislative efficiency in the future.

The Action Committee held numerous educational sessions on topics including legislative interim committees, redistricting, the legislative process and the role of the legislative council service, gun legislation, and New Mexico reserve funds. The Committee also participated in the annual advocacy workshop, legislative reception, and League Day at the Legislature.

Akkana noted that a special session may be starting on July 18. Topics are likely to focus on gun control and how it relates to behavioral health. Because of its short duration, the Action Committee will not have time to advocate.

As part of the Action Committee, Meredith submitted a detailed report on three projects that continue to require attention: gun violence, the need for paid family medical leave, and substance abuse and behavioral health. According to her report, LWVNM is a leading partner of the Alliance for Gun Violence Solutions, an informal group working together on policies to reduce gun violence and strengthen community safety. This network supports gun violence prevention programs that are effective, evidence-based, and discourage reliance on the criminal justice system. Two important bills passed during the last legislative session: the gun purchase waiting bill (HB 129) and firearms near polling places (SB 5).

The plan to pass Paid Family Medical Leave has been modified in recent years to address some of the arguments from opponents. Still, the current plan is ambitious and complex. The bill introduced during the last legislative session (SB 3) was amended several times but still lost by one vote. The goal remains to pass it next session.

LWVNM plays an active role in the Alcohol Harms Alleviation Coalition. Alcohol consumption has soared in New Mexico since the pandemic, and we continue to have the lowest alcohol tax rate in the nation. Our legislature continues to ignore the data, pleas from experts, advocates, and law enforcement. Legislators continue to be influenced by campaign contributions from industry lobbyists, casino operators, the restaurant association, and other vested interests. The coalition remains undaunted and will continue to advocate for reasonable tax increases and more funding for behavioral health.

Redistricting

According to Dick’s report, Fair Districts New Mexico (FDNM) worked towards the establishment of an Independent Redistricting Commission. While legislation did not pass, the response to this effort has been promising. The Navajo Nation Human Rights Commission endorsed the efforts. FDNM is also working with representatives from San Felipe and Mescalero for assistance in reaching out to the Pueblos. The lead sponsor, Natalie Figueroa, is running for Senate, so FDNM will be seeking a new lead sponsor in the House.

At the request of LWVNM, Representative Kathleen Cates carried HB122 that provided an appropriation for the Secretary of State to study county redistricting. That bill passed one committee and will be refiled in 2025.

The Navajo Nation settled their lawsuit with San Juan County and will now be represented on the County Commission. The Sandoval County lawsuit against the County Commission is ongoing. If successful, it will give the Pueblos a greater chance at representation.

Dick said that New Mexico is ahead of the national trend towards redistricting. He added that Santa Fe has a municipal independent redistricting commission, which is a good model.

Dick and Hannah will be conducting a workshop on redistricting at the LWVUS Convention in June.

Education

Meredith’s report indicated that the Public Education Department (PED) received substantial funds during the short legislative session. A court also ordered the attorney general to manage the Yazzie-Martinez case to achieve better compliance by schools than PED has been able to demonstrate. With the change in management and continuing investments, it is hoped that improved educational outcomes will be seen within a few years.

Because the 2024 legislature had the largest revenues in state history to appropriate, there was no pushback on early childhood and pre-K12 spending requests. It is hoped that the next legislative session will focus on higher education.

The Governor ordered PED to implement a plan requiring 180 instructional days. Rural districts have sued to stop this because they cannot comply without an increased budget.

The LWVNM Education Study Committee was pleased to endorse bills concerning high school graduation requirements and school board training and accountability. The Governor signed both bills.

Voting and Elections

Dick reported that groups working on election integrity (e.g., Common Cause) have requested a meeting with the Secretary of State so they can more easily coordinate their efforts.

Voter Services

In late January, Edwina and other League members met with Secretary of State (SOS) staff to discuss concerns arising from the 2023 election that may translate to the upcoming elections. Specifically, they asked for GIS shapefiles that were not published in a centralized, publicly accessible location prior to the election, and they asked for missing GIS shapefiles for the upcoming elections. This meeting was followed up with an email from Hannah requesting the specific files that were missing. To date, there are still four shapefiles that have not been received (Cibola, San Miguel, De Baca, and Colfax counties). If they are not received, a disclaimer may need to be inserted in Vote411 indicating that a district map is unavailable. The voter may wish to view their sample ballot at NMVote.org to verify whether their race will be on the ballot.

Additionally, a separate request was sent to SOS staff requesting judicial and district attorney candidate email addresses. They were received within a week. Judy noted that in the past we have also received telephone numbers. She is disappointed and concerned that this data was omitted. Dick thinks there was legislation prohibiting the disclosure of this information.

Regarding Vote411, Candidate invitation letters were sent on or before April 1 by all local Leagues. Edwina sent 232 candidate letters followed by two reminder letters. With the help of volunteers, telephone calls were also made to all candidates who had not responded. The Voter Guide is set to be published online on May 1. To date, however, only approximately 20 percent of candidates have responded.

Hannah suggested that Outreach Circle may be used as an experiment. Edwina noted that a representative from Outreach Circle provided a presentation, but it was not useful, and the representative has not been responsive.

The Voter Services Committee held their third monthly meeting on April 8 to discuss possible issues and to share information. No major concerns were voiced regarding Vote411 or Get Out the Vote activities for the primary and general elections. The Committee voiced concerns about the lack of publicity for Vote411. The Committee meets again on May 8. Prior to that date, Edwina will meet with Janet regarding communications.

A letter was also sent to the state Republican, Democratic, and Libertarian party chairs to encourage their candidates to respond to Vote411 invitation letters and received a positive response. Jo suggested that this letter be shared with the local Leagues.

Karen Wentworth indicated that CNM has tracked analytics, and they found that “Voter Guide” is the term people search for, rather than League or Vote411. Hence, they purchased the domain name CNMVoterGuide.org. At the request of their County Clerk, a flyer with this address will be placed in voting booths during the next election.

Local League Reports

Submitted in writing and will be published in the next edition of La Palabra.

LWVNM Planning and Directions to the Board

Kathy requested that attendees complete and forward to the board the “Directions to the Board” form included in the packet of materials.

Adjournment

Kathy adjourned the 2024 LWVNM Council at 2:36 p.m.

Written by Rebecca Chaiken (April 30, 2024)
Edited by Barbara Calef (April 30, 2024)
Edited by Felicia Orth (May 1, 2024)