Denver’s Peyton Manning rewriting record books at age 37 Sports, B-1
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Poll: More say Christmas is cultural, not religious Attendance at worship services decline in favor of social events. natIon & world, a-2
Mental health exec quits State administrator leaves amid controversy By Steve Terrell The New Mexican
City sewage, utility woes costly
Blood pressure treatment argued
Santa Fe has paid more than $578,000 to settle tort claims this year. local news, a-7
Experts are at odds on new findings, which could mean taking fewer pills. Page a-6
A state Human Services Department administrator who has been at the center of this year’s behavioral health system shake-up resigned Wednesday to take a job in Philadelphia. Diana McWilliams, acting
director of the Behavioral Health Services Division and acting CEO of the New Mexico Behavioral Health Collaborative, told The New Mexican that she has been hired as the chief executive officer of a nonprofit that deals in behavioral health and child welfare services.
Varela eyes $20M to help ‘at-risk’ students succeed
“It was a hard thing to do,” McWilliams said of her decision to leave the department. “I’ve been proud to have been part of the Human Services executive team.” In addition to her new job, she said, she has several family members on the East Coast. Sen. Bill O’Neill, D-Albuquerque, who has been a leading critic
Diana McWilliams
Please see Mental, Page A-4
Luciano ‘Lucky’ Varela
to lead Philly nonprofit.
Caps on campaign spending reversed Court nixes law limiting PAC donations in N.M. By Susan Montoya Bryan
The Associated Press
Fifth-graders learn the hora, a traditional folk dance, during Kristina Kortes’ music class Wednesday at Sweeney Elementary, which has a high percentage of ‘at-risk’ students who would benefit from a bill that would change the formula for funding public schools. CLYDE MUELLER/THE NEW MEXICAN
Santa Fe lawmaker’s bill would change state funding formula for public schools By Robert Nott The New Mexican
S
ince 1974, when New Mexico established a formula for funding public schools, the system has been altered more than 80 times in an effort to make it equitable to all students statewide. If Rep. Luciano “Lucky” Varela, D-Santa Fe, has his way, the formula will be changed again after the
Pasapick www.pasatiempomagazine.com
‘a christmas carol’ Santa Fe Playhouse presents Charles Dickens’ classic adapted by Doris Baizley, 7:30 p.m., Santa Fe Playhouse, 142 E. De Vargas St., $20; discounts available; santafeplayhouse.org, 988-4262. More events in Calendar, A-2 and Fridays in Pasatiempo
today Partly sunny. High 49, low 26 Page B-6
Index
Calendar a-2
Classifieds B-7
legislative session that begins next month. On Tuesday, he prefiled a bill that would appropriate $20 million from the general fund to offer districts extra money for programs aimed at serving “at-risk” children, including impoverished students, English-language learners and special education students. The funding formula, known as the State Equalization Guarantee, assigns unit values to school districts, based on the number and types
of students they serve. The units help determine the number of dollars provided by the state. For instance, a first-grade student is worth 1.2 units. A bilingual student is worth another 0.5 units. So, a bilingual first-grader is worth a total of 1.7 units of state funding. Varela’s House Bill 19 would allow districts to become eligible for additional funding units if they
ALBUQUERQUE — New Mexico will be prohibited from imposing limitations on certain campaign contributions and spending under a ruling filed Wednesday by a federal appeals court. The 10th U.S. Circuit of Appeals in Denver backed a lower court’s decision to issue a preliminary injunction in a legal challenge filed by the state Republican Party, GOP lawmakers and others. The Republicans had argued the limits were unconstitutional and violated the First Amendment right of free speech. At issue were caps on contributions to political action committees for use in federal campaigns and contributions used for independent expenditures, which would include spending that isn’t coordinated with a candidate. State Republican Party Chairman John Billingsley said Wednesday he sees the decision as a victory for free speech. “We know that such a decision has impact on individuals not only in New Mexico, but across the nation who are fighting similar battles,” Billingsley said. The state had appealed the District Court ruling, arguing that limiting such contributions was in the interest of preventing corruption. “Of course, we are disappointed,” Democratic Attorney General Gary King said. “Our goal has always been
Please see Varela, Page A-4
Please see caPs, Page A-4
Budget deal costs N.M. $10M in oil, gas royalties Western states lament new spending provision
Workers tend to a well head during a hydraulic fracturing operation earlier this year outside Rifle, Colo. Western states will lose $415 million in mineral payments under provisions of the new budget deal approved by Congress.
By Matthew Daly
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — The budget deal in Congress will cost Wyoming, New Mexico and other states $415 million in lost oil and gas royalties over the next decade, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Legislation implementing the agreement makes permanent an effective 51-49 percent split that favors the federal government in dividing the 12.5 percent royalty collected from energy companies on oil and gas production on federal land. Until 2008, when the Interior Department began setting aside 2 percent of the royalties as an administrative fee, the split between
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Lotteries a-2
Opinion a-11
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the federal and state government had been 50-50. The administrative fee, renewed several times by Congress, had been scheduled to expire in January. The government last year paid $2.1 billion to 35 states under the royalties-splitting program for onshore
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Editor: Ray Rivera, 986-3033, rrivera@sfnewmexican.com Design and headlines: Dennis Rudner, drudner@sfnewmexican.com
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oil and gas production on federal lands. The largest payments went to five Western states: Wyoming, New Mexico, Utah, Colorado and California. Returning to the effective 50-50 split would have provided Wyoming an extra $19 million next year and
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Main office: 983-3303 Late paper: 986-3010
InsIde u Senate approves bipartisan budget deal despite opposition. Page a-3
nearly $200 million over the next decade. New Mexico would have collected an additional $10 million next year and Utah $2.8 million. While supporting the budget deal, Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, said making the 51-49 split on royalties permanent “has an extremely negative impact, primarily on the Mountain West.” Rep. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., called the 51-49 split unfair. “By perpetuating the policy of taxing mineral-producing states to pay for federal government bureaucracy, the deal unfairly burdens Wyoming to support increased spending in
Please see roYaltIes, Page A-4
Two sections, 24 pages 164th year, No. 353 Publication No. 596-440