ROUNDHOUSE ROUND-UP: STUDY HALL

As published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
March 17, 2005

Here's a modest proposal for future legislation: a memorial to direct a study about the effects on state government of studies directed by the Legislature.

Every year our lawmakers pass measures that don't actually do anything but ask some state agency to study some particular issue.

Here's a sample of some of the studies that both chambers of the Legislature have agreed upon so far:

* House Joint Memorial 63, sponsored by Rep. Debbie Rodella, D-San Juan Pueblo, requests the State Commission of Public Records conduct a written study to document Chimayó chile's cultural, traditional and industrial connection to present ways of living in Chimayó and surrounding communities.

* House Bill 684, sponsored by Rep. Kandy Cordova, D-Belen, would ask the state Department of Health to conduct a study on gambling addiction and its relation to suicide and bankruptcies. (Because this is a bill, with an appropriation of $110,000, it would have to be signed by the governor.)

* Senate Joint Memorial 15, sponsored by Sen. Steve Komadina, R-Corrales, asks the State Parks Division to study boating safety education programs.

And here's one that feeds a paranoia I didn't even know I had:

* HJM 75, sponsored by Rep. Richard Vigil, D-Ribera, which directs the Regulation and Licensing Department to study the elevator industry. It turns out there's no state agency responsible for making sure the elevators in this state are operating or maintained correctly.

I think I'll take the stairs, at least until they do this study.

Besides the studies that have passed both chambers, there's plenty still creeping through the legislative process.

And just last week, Sen. Mary Jane Garcia, D-Doña Ana, frustrated at not being able to pass her bill to ban cockfighting, said she might introduce a last-minute memorial to ask the state to study the socio-economic effects of cockfighting on the state. So far, that measure hasn't seen the light of day.

Two state cabinet secretaries interviewed Wednesday said they don't feel put upon by all these calls for studies.

"You don't have to do these studies," said Health Secretary Michelle Lujan Grisham, noting that most of them come in the form of memorials, which are non-binding. "But these express a clear legislative intent and our job is to respond."

But both Grisham and Human Services Secretary Pam Hyde said they sometimes worry whether their respective departments have the expertise needed to conduct some of the studies they are asked to conduct.

Frequently, the secretaries noted, this year's study turns into next year's legislation. This happened with the state telemarketing bill that passed the Legislature two years ago.

"These studies are usually topics that constituents have raised with legislators," Hyde said. "It's an appropriate way of raising an issue for public discussion."

St. Jeff?: Last week in this column, I quoted a recent National Review article that claimed U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman is one of the most vulnerable senators up for re-election next year.

Bingaman's office responded by sending a poll conducted earlier this year by New Mexico Research and Polling Inc., that basically showed Bingaman to be pretty darn popular in this state.

According to the poll, 67 percent of voters have a favorable opinion of Bingaman - 29 percent saying "very favorable," 38 percent saying "somewhat favorable." Only 14 percent said they have an unfavorable opinion of the Democrat. Even a healthy majority of Republicans - 60 percent - have a favorable opinion of Bingaman, the poll said.

The same poll showed U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici to have a total of 68 percent favorable rating with 20 percent saying they have an unfavorable opinion of the Republican senator.

Most of the questions in the poll dealt with environmental and energy issues.

The poll was commissioned by Green and Associates, a New Mexico public-policy consulting firm, said Research and Polling president Brian Sanderoff. A random sample of 500 voters statewide were interviewed by telephone between Jan. 26 and Feb. 1. The margin of error is plus or minus 4.4 percent.

Sanderoff said the numbers indeed look good for Bingaman's re-election effort.

Another indication that Bingaman might not be that vulnerable, Sanderoff said, is that there is not a "long line of people" waiting to challenge him. So far only former state Sen. Tom Benavides, a perennial candidate who at various stages of his career has run as a Democrat an independent and most recently as a Republican, has said he'll challenge Bingaman.

THOUSANDS OF INNOCENT CDs CONDEMNED TO GRUESOME DEATH

I just received this e-mail from the wife of Jerry Lawson, former lead singer of The Persuasions, that classic a cappella band.

we just got word that there are 4,000 Persuasion Grateful Dead cds at a warehouse in Virginia. They are all going to be thrown away because they are not selling and they are taking up shelf space. There's a sleaze bag guy in the middle of it all and he says the only way he'll stop them from being scrapped is to find people who'll buy them in batches of 100 @$7 each... we don't know anyone who wants to spend $700 and own 100 cds... but if you think you'll ever need 100 gifts of Persuasion music through the years well here's your chance to get them below retail.. they'll be destroyed in a week or so unless we can guarantee him sales...

what a world....

For the record, I haven't heard The Persuasion's Grateful Dead CD, Might As Well. I did enjoy their Frank Zappa CD, Frankly A Cappella.

Strangely enough, I first came into contact with Jerry a few years when he e-mailed me over a bad review I wrote about The Persuasions' Beatles tribute. The music itself wasn't bad. I just didn't like the trend at the time of this great group being reduced to being an a cappella cover band of white classic-rock groups. Jerry's email wasn't disputing that. He acknowledged that all these tribute albums were forced upon them by the money men. He wanted to assure me that the group was working on an album of the kind of soul and gospel material that made us love them in the first place. And in 2003 the group released the excellent A Cappella Dreams, which unfortunately was to be the last Persuasions album. Jerry soon afterwards moved to Arizona and set out on a solo career.

If you know anyone who can help spare the lives of some these 4,000 innoent CDs contact Jerry Lawson.

TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST

Sunday, March 13, 2005
KSFR, Santa Fe, N.M.
Now Webcasting
10 p.m. to midnight Sundays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell

OPENING THEME: Let it Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres
Under My Thumb by Social Distortion
Bad Boy by The Beatles
Shortnin' Bread by The Cramps
Pagan Baby by Creedence Clearwater Revival
She Lives in a Time of Her Own by 13th Floor Elevators
F'!#in' Up by Neil Young
I've Got To Be Me by Iggy Pop
Keep on Lovin' Me, Baby by Ike Turner

Fear Song by Joy Harjo
Existentialist Polka by The Polkaholics
Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White by Brave Combo
George W. Bush Loves Poland by Kazik Staszewski
The Forest of No Return by Sun Ra
Ramblin' Gamblin' Man by Bob Seeger

DEATH PENALTY SET
Send Me to the 'lectric Chair by David Bromberg
Stack O'Lee Blues by Mississippi John Hurt
I've Just Got to Get a Message to You by The Bee Gees
Green Green Grass of Home by Dave Alvin
Long Black Veil by The Band
Sam Hall by Tex Ritter
Sam Hall by Black 47
The Mercy Seat by Nick Cave
Karla Faye by Mary Gauthier
Sing Me Back Home by Merle Haggard
Ellis Unit One by Steve Earle

Shining Pain by Soel
The Face of Love by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan & Eddie Vedder
CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis

RFDTV

I just watched an old black-and-white episode of The Porter Wagoner Show, featuring Left Frizzell (!!!) Norma Jean (Porter's featured female vocalist before Dolly came along) and the lovely and talented Speck Rose. Even though Lefty only sang about half of "Saginaw, Michigan" it was great.

I owe this to Helen, who yesterday morning stumbled across a wonderful bluegrass program The Cumberland Highlanders Show (the episode we saw had Joe Isaacs as a guest) on RFDTV, "Rural America's Most Important Network." It's on channel 9409 on Dish Network.

Before Porter this morning we caught the tail end of the Big Joe Polka Show (a music show I'd seen with my daughter a year or so ago.)

I notice RFDTV also has The Wilburn Brothers Show, Gospel Sampler, and other music shows that look promising.

Of course the focus is agriculture, not music on RFDTV. But sometimes that's interesting too. During a "comemrcial break" for Porter there was an interestingly little featurette on organic farming.

RFDTV is a nice human-scale network. Maybe someone will convince them to run old episodes of The Buck Owens Ranch.

THE SANTA FE OPRY

I didn't do the Santa Fe Opry Friday night due to my work covering the Legislature, so I won't be posting a playlist. I heard my substitute host Tom Knoblauch (who graciously agreed to fill in when I called him Friday morning) say he'd e-mail his list to me so I can post it later.

I did hear part of the show and it sounded great.

Next Friday Laurell Reynolds will fill in for me, That's the last night of the legislative session.

I'll be doing Terrell's Sound World Sunday, Tune in for the death-penalty songs.