On this week’s episode of The Reporter’s Notebook Podcast, we’re talking to New Mexico Senator Bill Soules, a Democrat from Las Cruces. We’ll be talking about how he has approached this year’s 60-day session of the New Mexico Legislature. We’ll take a look at many of the big-ticket items lawmakers are discussing as lawmakers set about crafting an historically large budget.
We’ll talk to Sen. Soules about many of the state’s most pressing issues — education, public safety, early childhood development, bail reform, water conservation and energy, just to name a few.
Soules, who has served in the Senate since 2013, is a retired educator and currently serves as chair of the Senate Education Committee and is a member of the Senate Conservation Committee.
We also talk about Soules’ bill to make the smell of “green chile roasting in the fall” the official state aroma — a bill Soules sponsored, with expert testimony from some Las Cruces elementary students. Senate Bill 188 passed the Senate on a 31-4 vote on Saturday, Feb. 25. It now must make it through a couple of committees in the House and a full House vote in order to reach the governor’s desk. If passed, New Mexico would become the first state in the nation to have an official state aroma.
This week, we're grateful to have Senator Soules joining us.