SENATE MEMORIAL 115

53rd legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2018

INTRODUCED BY

Cliff R. Pirtle

 

 

 

 

 

A MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THAT THE SECOND SESSION OF THE FIFTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE BE PROCLAIMED "THE MEMORIAL SESSION" IN THE SENATE AND THAT EVERY SESSION AFTER "THE MEMORIAL SESSION" BE PROCLAIMED "MEMORIAL SESSION II", "MEMORIAL SESSION III", "MEMORIAL SESSION IV", ET CETERA, IF SUBSEQUENT LEGISLATIVE SESSIONS PRODUCE MORE MEMORIALS THAN THE PREVIOUS ONES.

 

     WHEREAS, decades ago, the introduction of senate memorials was a rare occurrence, carrying much significance and memorializing prestigious members of New Mexico communities; and

     WHEREAS, over the last several years, the number of memorials introduced in the senate has dramatically increased; and

     WHEREAS, in 1997, just fifteen senate memorials were introduced; and

     WHEREAS, in 2016, during the sixty-day session, there were one hundred eleven senate memorials introduced; and

     WHEREAS, in 2018, at the beginning of the last week of this thirty-day session, there have been one hundred thirteen, and counting, senate memorials introduced and only sixty-three have passed; and

     WHEREAS, forty of those memorials that passed named a day in the legislature, ten more than the allotted thirty days, and two memorials declared entire weeks in the legislature; and

     WHEREAS, there are still three and one-half days remaining in the 2018 session in which to introduce even more senate memorials; and

     WHEREAS, at this current rate, the senate is on pace to introduce nearly two hundred memorials during the 2019 legislative session; and 

     WHEREAS, the senate has spent an average of two hours per day debating and passing memorials, which is time not spent working on substantive legislation, to the detriment of the taxpayers of the state; and

     WHEREAS, the people of New Mexico would be disappointed to know that their elected senators are spending two hours per day debating memorials that carry no legal weight; and

     WHEREAS, in the past, memorials were used to recognize significant people, while currently, senate memorials are being used as a way to circumvent the legislative process; and

     WHEREAS, if the senate wants to change public policy, it should be done through meaningful legislation with full debate;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the second session of the fifty-third legislature be proclaimed "The Memorial Session" and that every session after "The Memorial Session" shall be known as "Memorial Session II", "Memorial Session III", "Memorial Session IV", et cetera, if subsequent sessions of the legislature produce more memorials than previous ones, until the legislature gets back to the business of the people of New Mexico; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to each member of the senate, except for those members who have exercised restraint by not introducing any memorials.

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