Democrats will be the Minority Party for the first time in decades when the New Mexico House of Representatives begins the 2015 Legislative Session.
Current New Mexico House Majority Whip, and Democratic State Representative, Antonio “Moe” Maestas says he expects some changes when Republicans take control of The New Mexico House of Representatives for the 52nd Legislative session.
“Their agenda isn’t to grow the economy. Their agenda is two folds, Number one-it’s shrinking government, and Number two- it’s voter suppression. They are going to push Voter ID laws," says Maestas. "Intuitively it makes sense, I mean everyone who listens to this radio show probably has an ID, but not everybody does; and so you can make voting easier for people and expand our democracy or you can make it more difficult for people, restrict the franchise, and maintain power that way."
Rep. Maestas says that there may be some areas where Democrats and Republicans may be able to find common ground in the upcoming session.
“One thing we are hoping to accomplish is criminal justice reform. We’ve had a bipartisan effort (Republicans, Democrats, Senate House) to try to alleviate the stress on the criminal justice system that takes the our eye off the ball of violent criminal. There’s so much emphasis on non-violent drug offenses and other non-violent crimes, that violent crimes are not getting the time and attention they deserve. So hopefully, we can pass a criminal justice reform bill that alleviates jail overcrowding, and increases public safety by prioritizing violent crimes," says Rep. Maestas.
KRWG is waiting for a response from New Mexico House Republicans regarding the upcoming legislative session.
The 60-day Legislative session starts January 20th, 2015.