Autonomous vehicles are coming. Soon—and New Mexico needs to be ready.

That was the message from a recent summit on autonomous, or driverless, vehicles organized by the state Department of Transportation. Local officials, technology experts and even industry representatives all agreed legislators need to understand the technology before changing laws or other policies.

Earlier this year, Sen. James White, R-Albuquerque, introduced a memorial asking NMDOT to organize the summit and get New Mexico ready for autonomous vehicles.

While some predict widespread use of fully autonomous vehicles is decades away, White said it could be closer to 5-10 years away. And in fact, some...

ALBUQUERQUE – Attorney General Hector Balderas, part of a coalition of 17 attorneys general, filed comments March 6 opposing the Trump Department of Labor’s Proposed Rule, which seeks to expand the criteria for forming association health plans (AHPs) in order to evade the consumer protections enshrined in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and sabotage the ACA. AHPs have a long history of fraud, mismanagement, and abuse, with millions in unpaid claims for policyholders and providers, often leading to consumer bankruptcies.

“President Trump is directly threatening the health of hundreds of thousands of New Mexico children, parents and senior citizens with his reckless rule,” Balderas...

The art of compromise

SANTA FE – I was once told that a good compromise is when each side is not happy with the deal, but they can live with it. I think that explains where this year’s budget ended up, and I am satisfied with our work to reach this compromise.

As the chair of House Appropriations and Finance Committee, it is my responsibility to provide a balanced budget that reflects the priorities and needs of New Mexico and the critical investments that will raise the bar and better the lives of all New Mexicans. Just one year ago, our state found itself nearly insolvent, leading us to make difficult decisions and cuts across all agencies.

I am happy to report that our...

County officials discuss findings

The recent 2017 McKinley County audit summary report is a clear indication that the county is headed in the right direction when it comes to fiscal accountability. There were no major findings in the report.

Farley Vener, president and managing shareholder of Hinkle & Landers, an Albuquerque-based CPA firm, presented the report during the Jan. 23 regular meeting of the McKinley County Board of Commissioners.

“We conducted an audit of financial statements according to generally accepted accounting standards within the United States,” Verner said. “We’re required to give opinion on the single audit.”

He said the engagement team for the audit...