Senators Adair and Ryan to Appear on TV this Week


Senators on Issues and Answers on KCHF-TV
Tonight, Wed. Feb 3 at 11:30 p.m.
Sat, Feb 6 at 10:30 p.m.
Sun, Feb 7 at 6:30 p.m.
Next Friday, Feb 12 at 10:30 p.m.


Santa Fe--State Senators Rod Adair and John Ryan will appear on KCHF TV Channel 11’s Issues and Answers this week, beginning tonight at 11:30 p.m.

Senator Adair discusses his Senate Bill 173- Help DD, Prohibit Attorney Payments. Senator Adair says money that could have been going to the state’s most vulnerable population has instead been going to trial lawyers and expert witnesses in a 22 year old lawsuit. “Enough is enough,” said State Senator Rod Adair, “We have paid nearly $75 million just to plaintiffs’ attorneys—and that money should be going to the developmentally disabled instead. Every year we do this we are effectively cheating our most vulnerable citizens out of $20 million.”

Unknown to taxpayers, the State of New Mexico has been shoveling almost $5 million a year to a small clique of lawyers and their hand-picked associates who have been serving as “expert witnesses” and “consultants” in a lawsuit that has been kept alive for 22 years.

Senator Ryan discusses his desire to stop the state from having to pay to defend state employees who are being sued for fraud or other government wrongdoing on the job when it is the state that is also involved in pressing the charges.

Senator Ryan has legislation in reaction to the high-profile whistleblower case of Foy v. Vanderbilt lawsuit. In that case, the state’s risk management division is paying to defend state employees the state itself has an interest in suing for alleged fraud.

Both Senator discuss the state budget and that taxes should not be raised to balance it.