The Roundhouse in Santa Fe (Photo by cjc4454/flickr.com)
Lawmakers negotiating a budget fix with Gov. Bill Richardson said today that cuts greater than the 3 percent he has proposed may be necessary, and they also want to consider cutting funding for education.
The lawmakers who are involved in the budget talks also said in a news release that they disagree with the governor’s proposal to use severance tax bonds to fund operational expenses next year.
“It is ill-advised to borrow money to pay your utility bill at home, and the state shouldn’t be borrowing money to fund operational expenses,” Sen. John Sapien, D-Corrales, said in the release.
Among the proposals Richardson has floated to help meet a projected shortfall of almost $450 million are the 3 percent cuts, which would exclude education; the diverting of $135 million from the bonds; and the spending of $91 million in federal stimulus money on education.
The lawmakers also took issue with the idea of propping up education funding with stimulus money.
“Education took a hit of about $165 million this last session. The proposed use of federal funds for this fiscal year would have a significant impact on public schools in the next fiscal year,” said Rep. Rick Miera, D-Albuquerque and chair of the House Education Committee. “… Education is taking a hit again, regardless.”
Lawmakers also said they’re opposed to further delays in funding the state’s educational retirement program.
The legislators said they think $500 million to $550 million might have to be cut from the budget. In the release, they said they are “looking at finding more money in the numerous funds within the state treasury than the amount the governor proposed” to help make that happen.
From the release:
“Both the executive group and the legislators emphasized their collective desire to avoid furloughs and layoffs. For that reason, the legislative members felt it would be necessary to be more aggressive in cutting the budget now to avoid furloughs and layoffs later. If the economy improves, as everyone hopes, it would be easier to restore those cuts rather than cut a little now and even more later.”
The legislators’ comments come following a closed-door meeting earlier today between the legislative group and members of the executive branch.