LAS CRUCES - The seventh time proved to be the charm Tuesday, March 16, as legislation to increase funding for early childhood education by taking more each year from the Land Grant Permanent Fund passed the New Mexico Senate Finance Committee for the first time.
Similar legislation has been passed by the House of Representatives in each of the past six sessions, but has died without a vote each year in the Senate Finance Committee under former Chair John Arthur Smith of Deming. Smith lost in the Democratic primary election last year, elevating Sen. George Muñoz, D-Gallup, to chair.
Muñoz joined with other Democrats on the committee in approving House Joint Resolution 1 on a 7-4 party-line vote, but he still clearly carries the scars from past battles.