Don't Bully a County Surveyor Wearing a Squash Blossom

With the deadline for bill signings approaching (it's on Friday), Gov. Susana Martinez has stepped up the pace on bill signings.

According to her most recent press release, she's signed another 19 bills today, including legislation to require police to train in handling child abuse cases, (SB 77); SB 78, which requires local schools districts to establish anti-bullying policies; and SB 109, which establishes the squash blossom as the state necklace.

Not only that, but the governor shattered my political dreams of running for county surveyor by signing SB 429, which eliminates surveyor as an elected position.

My story on some of the bills that remain to be signed can be found in today's New Mexican. None of the ones I mentioned there were signed in this last batch.

A couple of updates though:

The number of Martinez vetoes was correct when I filed the piece on Friday evening, but she vetoed a few more on Saturday. These include HB 11, which would have allowed adults to ride motor scooters without a license; HB 35, which would have established a county health demonstration project in Hidalgo County; and HB 469, which would have directed each judicial district to establish sanctions for probationers who violate conditions of their probation. (She said the judicial districts already have that power)

Also, one of the bills I mentioned in the story, SB 9, needs some clarification. I said in the story that the bill "would require an extra six months of driving — and a cleaner driving record — before a teen could get a full license."

But Sen. Peter Wirth, the sponsor, told me that the extra six months was amended out of the bill. "... but an extra thirty days is added for a whole string of offenses including the new one of texting or using a cell phone," Wirth said. It still awaits Martinez's signature.

To keep up with the various bill signings and vetoes, check the governor's website.