Death penalty repeal on House calendar

HB285 is the ninth item for "third readings" on Wednesday's calendar. Unless they move it up, that sounds like late morning, or, more likely, early afternoon before they get to it.

If it goes like past years, it should pass the House by a pretty-much party-line votes. A few Democrats will vote against the bill, and probably a couple of Republicans will vote for it.

As I noted in a recent story, "Four of six Republicans who voted for (Rep. Gail) Chasey's death-penalty repeal bill in 2007 are no longer in the Legislature. Of those six, only Larry Larranaga and Janice Arnold-Jones, both of Albuquerque, still remain."