What will be a defining issue for Roundhouse Democrats and the new Governor came barreling out of the House Education Committee on a 10-4 vote Wednesday, but there is still no clarity on how it will fare when it reaches the Senate, after what is expected to again be easy passage by the full House.

The constitutional amendment would ask voters in 2020 to allow the state to distribute annually one percent of the state's $17 billion Land Grant Permanent School Fund for early childhood education--ages 0-5.

It has been the subject of a long, often bitterly fought battle for eight legislative sessions and this one, with a new Democratic Governor at the helm and padded electoral majorities for the Dems, is shaping up as the decisive session.

There have been no overt signs that conservative Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee where the amendment has repeatedly died for lack of action are about to change their minds. But with another big Democratic year shaping up in 2020 the opposition Dems have to be more mindful that they could be subjected to serious primary challenges, if they again block the amendment. That's not to mention the risk they take in blocking one of the Governor's prime campaign proposals.

So unlike past years there could be negotiating and a sustained effort to change votes on the powerful committee, even as Dem Chairman John Arthur Smith continues to oppose the proposal,

There is some real suspense here. What kind of cards will be played? And if the amendment does somehow manage to get out of Senate Finance, it will be Katy bar the door for the opponents. There are enough votes on the floor to pass it and send it to the voters. Stay tuned.

SETTLING IN 

The new Congress is settled in so let's take a look at the committee assignments of our two new congressional representatives.

For ABQ Democratic Rep. Deb Haaland it's the House Armed Services Committee and Committee on Natural Resources as her prime spots. She is joined on House Armed Services by newly elected southern Dem Congresswoman Xochtil Torres Small who has has also been appointed to the House Committee on Homeland Security, which deals with border security and immigration, among other matters.

House Armed Services is a traditional slot for New Mexico DC lawmakers. Both Martin Heinrich and Heather Wilson served on the committee when they represented the ABQ House district which is home to Kirtland Air Force Base. Southern NM also has significant military interests, including White Sands Missile Range.

Haaland/Torres Small

Homeland Security is front and center in the controversy over the southern border, an issue that will again be highlighted when Torres Small seeks re-election in 2020. Her vanquished 2018 opponent, Yvette Herrell, is already campaigning for the seat, long held by the GOP until the Torres Small upset.

The Committee on Natural Resources is an old New Mexico favorite, given the wide expanse of public lands that come under federal purview here including the national parks and forests. Haaland will chair a subcommittee dealing with those topics.

Haaland won a three way race last November with 59 percent of the vote. The district has leaned decidedly Democratic in recent years. National R's did not contest the seat last year and are not expected to do so in 2020.

As we blogged earlier this week, President Trump's aggressive nuclear posture has added jobs and money to Sandia and Los Alamos National Labs. And his administration has also been friendly to military bases.

All told there are billions of dollars at stake in federal funding for the military/energy complex in the state. That's why Haaland and Torres Small are headed to Armed Services, even though like Sen. Heinrich who sits on Senate Armed Services, neither have a military record. As they say, that's where the money is.

The congressional delegation is all Democratic and predictably very critical of Trump. However, the immense funding that comes in here each year makes them mindful that whoever is in the White House must be dealt with.

By the way, northern Dem Congressman Ben Ray Lujan, now the fourth ranking Dem in the US House leadership, will address a joint session of the Legislature in Santa Febtoday. As the dean of the NM US House delegation, it's safe to assume that he has been guiding the two new reps with their committee decisions.

LOS ALAMOS BLUE

Not all that long ago Los Alamos County used to be a lonely island of red for Republicans in northern New Mexico. How much has it changed this century? A reader there writes:

Joe, The Los Alamos County Council just appointed a replacement for newly elected Democratic State Representative Christine Chandler. The new appointee is, yes, you guessed right, a Democratic woman. All 7 councilors are Democrats now. One of them was chair of the Los Alamos Republican party 1.5 years ago! Only 15 years ago the council was all Republican. These young people Los Alamos Labs is hiring are making a difference.

The R's used to have a lock on Los Alamos because they were perceived as the party more partial to national security funding. No longer. And the R's conservative social values can't be helping with those young people our correspondent mentioned are now on the LANL payroll.

PEANUT CAPER

In the category of "what will they think of next?" we get this:

People who live near Sandia High School in Albuquerque believe burglars are leaving peanuts on their property. Joe Slanga believes the peanuts are left behind by the burglars, so they can tell if someone stepped on them and left the house. 

The home next to Slanga’s was recently burglarized. Police said the thieves took off with thousands of dollars’ worth of family jewels, leaving behind peanuts. Slanga said he's been writing down when he sees peanuts in the neighborhood. He also installed an alarm system after his neighbor’s house was broken into, hoping it will deter the burglars.

Thousands in family jewels? Hey, that's not peanuts.

This is the home of New Mexico politics.

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(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2019