Source: http://nmpovertylaw.org/2017/06/
Timestamp: 2019-04-25 12:03:11+00:00

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Action Alert: Act Now Against TrumpCare — Don’t Take Healthcare Away from Millions of Americans!
The U.S. Senate will vote very soon – likely next week – on its version of a bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act. It’s called the Better Care Reconciliation Act but it won’t provide better care at all. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that 22 million Americans will lose coverage if the bill becomes law.
Pay More For Less – The bill will make low- and middle- income New Mexicans spend more for less healthcare coverage. It will increase out of pocket costs, while reducing tax credits that help people buy private insurance.
New Mexicans Will Lose Healthcare Coverage – Medicaid expansion will be phased out starting in 2021. This will jeopardize healthcare coverage for 260,000 low-income adults in New Mexico.
Medicaid Funding Will Be Slashed – The rest of the Medicaid budget will be cut by shifting the program to a per capita cap system â€“ giving New Mexico a set amount to spend per person rather than a federal match for actual state costs for Medicaid. If costs grow faster than the state’s set amount, New Mexico will have to make even deeper cuts to Medicaid services and eligibility for children, people with disabilities, and seniors.
Consumer Protections Will Be Gutted – States will be allowed to opt-out of covering “essential health benefits” (doctors, prescriptions, maternity and newborn care, and mental healthcare).
Huge Tax Breaks For The Wealthy – The bill will make all of these devastating cuts to healthcare to give tax breaks to the wealthy and big corporations.
What Can You Do? Senators Heinrich and Udall are fighting hard to protect our healthcare. However, you can call 6 key Senators in neighboring states who are considering voting for the bill. Please call them THIS WEEK and tell them to vote NO on the Better Care Reconciliation Act!
ALBUQUERQUE, NM — On Wednesday afternoon, Judge Alan Malott ordered the City of Albuquerque to hand over the mock 2017 municipal ballot to members of the Healthy Workforce ABQ campaign, which advocates for the passage of an ordinance that would allow all Albuquerque workers to earn sick leave. The judge also ordered the Albuquerque City Clerk to testify at a deposition about how the City will fit all required issues, contests, and questions on the 2017 ballot.
In its lawsuit against the City of Albuquerque, the campaign argues that because the full text of the Healthy Workforce Ordinance will only fit on the ballot in an illegible and illegally-small font size — approximately 6-point font — the City Clerk should place a legible summary on the ballot and provide a legible, large-text copy of the full ordinance in each voting booth so that voters can read both documents.The City’s uses the same practice for bond questions.
“I’m legally blind and have to cast my ballot in a special voting machine that has long lines. Small font on the ballot will mean more people will have to make use of the limited machines that help visually-impaired people read their ballots,” said Jerry C De Baca, veteran and voter.
According to federal voting systems guidelines adopted in Section 1-9-14 of the New Mexico Election Code, election ballots must be printed at a minimum of 8.5 point font or larger to ensure that voters with poor vision can read their ballots. In their demand for a copy of the City’s mock-up ballot, Healthy Workforce argued that it will show that the earned sick days ordinance can only fit on the ballot in in a font size well below 8.5, in violation of law.
“Everyone deserves a fair election. Voters will be frustrated and discouraged from voting because the election ballot will be printed too small for voters to read,” said Diane Goldfarb of the League of Women Voters.
Albuquerque City Clerk, Natalie Howard, was also ordered to testify in a deposition about whether she can fit the Healthy Workforce Ordinance on the ballot in legible type alongside all the other issues that voters will decide in 2017, including the mayoral race, city council races, and bond questions.
Judge Malott did not rule on the font size question or issue any final rulings today. The plaintiffs plan to seek a final ruling soon after the City produces all of the information the Court ordered it to produce today, to ensure the people of ABQ will have a chance to vote a ballot they can read in October.
ALBUQUERQUE, NM — Public hearings start this week on the Human Services Department’s (HSD) recently released plan for the future of Medicaid in New Mexico – Centennial Care 2.0.
More information about Centennial Care 2.0 can be found on the HSD website here.
The Center on Law and Poverty has released a packet of information detailing alarming changes from the plan that will be harmful and costly to our families and the State that can be found here. Stakeholders are expected to be present to provide public comment at the hearings.
SANTA FE, NM—A state-court trial will start Monday in a landmark education lawsuit that alleges New Mexico is violating the state constitutional rights of students placed at risk.
The trial will focus on legal claims filed by the New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty (the Center) and MALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund) challenging the state’s failure to provide economically disadvantaged students, English-language learners (ELL), Native Americans, and students with disabilities with a “sufficient” education, as guaranteed by New Mexico’s constitution.
While the state’s constitution mandates a “sufficient” and “uniform” education for all students in New Mexico, a majority of public school students are unable to read, write, or do math at grade level. The consolidated lawsuit calls for the court to order the State to provide the programming and resources necessary for all public school students to succeed, as well as ensure that funds are distributed equitably, including for economically disadvantaged and ELL students.
The Center’s lawsuit, Yazzie v. State of New Mexico, was filed in March 2014 on behalf of a group of families and school districts including Gallup, Rio Rancho, Santa Fe, Cuba, Moriarty/Edgewood, and Lake Arthur. The families represented have children who are ELL, Native American or economically disadvantaged and have been negatively impacted by the lack of resources provided to New Mexico public schools.
MALDEF’s lawsuit, Martinez v. State of New Mexico, was filed in April 2014 on behalf of parents and public schools in Española, Santa Fe, Albuquerque, Zuni, Magdalena, Las Cruces and Gadsden. The suit alleges that the state’s inadequate funding for ELL and economically disadvantaged students, the lack of quality pre-K programs and other problems violate state constitution. State attorneys sought to dismiss the lawsuit, but the court denied the request and ruled for the first time in New Mexico’s history that education is a fundamental right.
The Center’s legal counsel on the case include Gail Evans, Preston Sanchez, Christopher Sanchez, and Lauren Winkler of the Center along with co-counsel Daniel Yohalem and Mark D. Fine. MALDEF’s lead counsel is Marisa Bono, Southwest regional counsel, and legal counsel include staff attorneys Ernest Herrera and Jack Salmon; E. Martin Estrada, Nick Sidney and Jessica Baril with Munger, Tolles & Olson; and David Garcia. The trial is expected to last nine weeks.
For more information on the Yazzie lawsuit, including plaintiff profiles, please visit: http://nmpovertylaw.org/our-work/education-2/.
The mission of the New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty is to advance economic and social justice through education, advocacy, and litigation. The Center works with low-income New Mexicans to improve living conditions, increase opportunities, and protect the rights of people living in poverty. Underlying its mission is a vision of New Mexico without poverty, where all peoples’ basic human rights are met. For media inquiries, please contact Maria Archuleta at (505) 255-2840 or Maria.A@nmpovertylaw.org.
ALBUQUERQUE— On May 30, 2017, Second Judicial District Court Judge Alan Malott rejected a legal challenge to Albuquerque’s Minimum Wage Ordinance, denying a motion to dismiss a minimum wage case, Atyani et al. v. Bonfantine et al., No. D-202-CV-2016-2775, filed by employees of Kelly’s Brewpub against the former owners of the restaurant, Dennis and Janice Bonfantine.
The Bonfantines’ former employees have alleged that Kelly’s illegally required workers to kick back three dollars per hour from their tips after the tipped minimum wage officially increased in Albuquerque from $2.13 per hour to approximately $5.16 per hour. To defend against these claims, the Bonfantines argued that the Albuquerque minimum wage was invalid because it was increased through a voter initiative that put a summary of the wage increase on the 2012 ballot rather than the entire ordinance. Judge Malott rejected this argument, ruling that any challenge to how the 2012 election was conducted should have been made right after the election.
Judge Malott also rejected the Bonfantines’ argument that the Albuquerque minimum wage ordinance was invalid because it “logrolled” multiple issues into one question presented to voters. Malott ruled that “logrolling” is not an issue in municipal ballot measures.
A similar case, Association of Commerce and Industry et al. v. City of Albuquerque et al., No. D-202-CV-2017-02314, filed in April by a group of business organizations, also asks the courts to invalidate the Albuquerque Minimum Wage Ordinance. That case, which is currently pending before Second Judicial District Court Judge Shannon Bacon, raises many of the same arguments that Judge Malott rejected in the May 30 Atyani v. Bonfantine decision.
Atyani v. Bonfantine is set to go to trial in summer 2018. Attorneys on the case are Wagoner and Tim Davis of the Center, and Shane Youtz and James Montalbano of Youtz & Valdez, P.C.
A copy of Judge Malott’s order can be found here.

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