New Mexico State Senator Bill Soules held a town Hall at Onate High School to find out what people in Las Cruces were most concerned about during the upcoming legislative session.
Much of the conversation at the town hall centered on a single topic, and Senator Bill Soules says it is the concern he hears most often.
“Education is one of the big ones,” Soules said. “There is lots of concern about that right now, both with the funding of schools, with the testing going on in schools, with teacher evaluations that are happening in schools. Lots and lots of concern about those.”
He says that even thought the house is majority republican and the senate is majority democrat, he still thinks they will be able to get a lot done.
“Most bills up in the legislature, at least the two year’s I’ve been there, lots of them are non controversial,” Soules said. “Lots of them don’t deal with democrat or republican issues. Sometimes it’s rural, urban, north, south. It’s all kinds of other things. And many many bills are things that clearly everybody agrees on. On the more partisan bills I think there will be a lot less movement on both sides. I think that things will move and they will die in a committee here or there, or there will be lots of discussion. But I don’t think lots of the partisan issues are going to move very far in either direction.”
He says with falling gas prices, this year’s budget has a lot less money then originally anticipated.
“Budgets are very, very tight, that’s going to have everybody fighting over crumbs,” Soules said. “And so that will be very interesting. It might actually make it easier to get a budget because there won’t be anything to argue about.”
He says one of the things he is fighting for is more money for the developmentally disabled.
“Probably the one I’m most passionate about is the one of the developmental disabilities waiver,” Soules said. “Where people who have developmental disabilities are waiting over 10 years to start getting services. And I think that’s just appalling, and we really need to start providing those services in a timely matter. So, that they can live good lives as New Mexicans.”
He is also sponsoring legislation on the minimum wage, and trying to control predatory lending.
