Less Than 24 Hours To Go: House Republicans Push Senate Democrats To Act

Legislation includes House-passed bills like social promotion

Santa Fe, NM With less than 24 hours to go, House Republicans called on Senate boss
Michael Sanchez to allow a full floor vote on several pieces of House-passed legislation that a
vast majority of New Mexicans support. Since the start of the session, Sanchez and fellow
Democrats have made it clear that they would rather promote Washington-style gridlock than
respect the will of the people.
Sen. Michael Sanchez can still do the right thing: Stop the Washington-style gridlock and bring
these bills to a full vote, said Rep. Nate Gentry, Majority Floor Leader. This is an opportunity
to prove that the Senate Democrats are above partisan politics.
The legislation includes a bill (HB 41) that would end the failed policy of social promotion,
which passes kids onto the next grade even when they cannot read; legislation (HB 32) that
would repeal the dangerous law that allows illegal immigrants to get a drivers license; and rightto-work compromise legislation (HB 75) that would allow workers to choose whether they
financially contribute to a union, while at the same time raising the minimum wage to the third
highest in the region.
With less than 24 hours to go, the Senate still has time to allow a full vote.
All three of these proposals have support from a vast majority of New Mexicans. It is time for
the Senate Democrats to act, Gentry said.
Sanchez has schemed all along to stop these popular pieces of legislation. On Day One of the
session, Sanchez himself declared, Bills have always come to die in the Senate.
Gentry concluded, Sen. Michael Sanchezs line of thinking is inexcusable it is a disservice to
people to promote gridlock and prevent bipartisan legislation from ever reaching the Senate
floor.
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