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| SPONSOR: | Macko | DATE TYPED: | 02/03/00 | HB | 444 | ||
| SHORT TITLE: | Historical Codes in Classroom | SB | |||||
| ANALYST: | Baca | ||||||
| Recurring
or Non-Rec |
Fund
Affected | ||||
| FY00 | FY01 | FY00 | FY01 | ||
| NFI | |||||
(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)
Duplicates/Conflicts with/Companion to/Relates to
SOURCES OF INFORMATION
LFC files
SUMMARY
Synopsis of Bill
House Bill 444 amends the Historical Codes Act to mandate that, to the extent funds are available, each local school board shall post in a prominent place in a non-discriminatory manner at least one historical code in each regular classroom.
Significant Issues
As used in the Historical Codes Act, "historical codes" means:
A. the Ten Commandments;
B. the code of Hammurabi;
C. any injunctive compendium from the Koran;
D. any compendium of Confucian teachings;
E. Any excerpts from the Bhagavad-Gita;
F. The teachings of Gautama Buddha or his followers; or
G. Any other teachings representing disparate ethno-cultural or religious backgrounds.
Given the religious backgrounds of the vast majority of New Mexico's residents, one may surmise that the intent of the bill is to mandate the posting of the Ten Commandments. If that is the intent, the "mandate' approach may pose some constitutional questions as well as becoming the potential source of controversy in some communities.
POSSIBLE QUESTIONS
Is it the intent of the bill sponsor to "mandate" the posting of the Ten Commandments" or any other one of the items listed in the Historical Codes Act?
LB/sb