Heath Haussamen / NMPolitics.net
Gov. Bill Richardson (Photo by Heath Haussamen)
Gov. Bill Richardson signed today legislation that cuts $110 million from various state funds to help plug this year’s budget shortfall, but he vetoed a provision that would have taken additional money from the state auditor.
“Without the money, the auditor would not have been able to conduct effective audits,” a news release from the governor’s office states in announcing that Richardson vetoed the provision in House Bill 3 that would have taken $500,000 from the audit fund.
Last week, I reported that the Office of the State Auditor said it would face a “budget crisis” if cuts lawmakers approved in the recent special session were signed by the governor.
State Auditor Hector Balderas’ office had the amount of money it receives from the state’s general fund cut by 14 percent in the regular legislative session earlier this year. That forced the office to become more reliant on the audit fund, which comes from fees and costs collected from agencies audited by the office.
Then, in the special session, lawmakers voted to strip $500,000 from that fund, which currently has about $617,000 in it, and cut the auditor’s budget by an additional 4 percent. Balderas’ office said that would threaten the office’s ability to do its job.
Richardson has yet to act on House Bill 17, the bill that would make the 4 percent cut to the auditor’s office and cuts to other state agencies and education. He has until Thursday.
In signing HB3 today, Richardson “reluctantly” agreed to cut $68 million from a college scholarship fund he created to help provide need-based scholarships to New Mexicans, the release states.
“It pains me to pull this money from a program that has successfully increased opportunities for many New Mexicans to attend college,” Richardson said. “Unfortunately, we all have to make sacrifices in order to balance the budget.”
“We’re going to have to continue to make these kinds of sacrifices, especially when it comes to cutting capital outlay projects, when the Legislature meets again in January,” he said.
In signing the bill, Richardson also line-item vetoed provisions that would have cut $500,000 for domestic violence programs, $3 million for a 911 enhancement fund, $800,000 for the Trail Safety fund and $1.7 million for pre-kindergarten programs.
Update, 8:10 p.m.
Balderas said this in a news release:
“I want to commend Governor Richardson’s veto of the $500,000 transfer from the Audit Fund. In these tough economic times, it’s critical that every effort is made to protect New Mexico taxpayer dollars from financial fraud, waste and abuse. This past March, the Legislature cut my agency’s general fund appropriation by 14 percent, more than most agencies. This substantial budget decrease, combined with the Audit Fund transfer and additional 4 percent cut made to my office during the special session, would severely impact our ability to protect New Mexicans. I appreciate Governor Richardson’s recognition that the Audit Fund transfer would put my agency at risk to regulate government agencies.
“We all must make sacrifices to help balance the budget, but it must be done in a fair and judicious manner with the best interest of the taxpayer in mind. I will continue to aggressively fight to not only protect my agency from further cuts, but to also ensure that every measure and agency resource is used to make governmental agencies accountable.”