Heath Haussamen / NMPolitics.net
Gov. Bill Richardson (Photo by Heath Haussamen)
Richardson smacks down Legislature’s plan for 7.6 percent cuts to agencies under his control, announces his own measures
Gov. Bill Richardson today smacked down an attempt by lawmakers to force 7.6-percent cuts on state agencies under his control and cut the salaries and benefits of some of his political appointees.
In doing so, he announced his own plans to cut at least 84 of his political appointees, recommend the elimination of 1,000 other state jobs that are currently vacant, order every employee under his control to take five furlough days and trim agency budgets under his control by an average of 7 percent.
The 7.6 percent cuts approved by lawmakers were too drastic, Richardson said in announcing a line-item veto to erase those cuts from House Bill 17, which was approved during the recent special session.
“For whatever reason, the Legislature made a hasty decision during the special session,” Richardson said at a news conference in Santa Fe. “… Unfortunately, the Legislature did not take into account the impact these cuts would have on critical services.”
He specifically mentioned the Corrections Department, saying a 7.6 percent cut would have forced the closure of two prisons and the early release of 600 inmates, “something I, as governor, am not willing to do.”
Richardson also complained about the bill’s provision that would have forced him to cut the salaries and benefits of 102 of his political appointees.
“I strongly object to the political attacks by some who want to target my exempt employees,” Richardson said in announcing his veto of that provision.
Though he vetoed that provision, Richardson said his voluntary elimination of at least 84 of his political appointee positions will save $6 million a year.
The governor also announced that he will recommend a reduction in the number of classified state employees by at least 1,000 by eliminating some of the 2,900 jobs that are currently vacant. That’s a proposal that will be made to lawmakers.
Richardson also announced that every state employee working in an agency under his control will be required to take five furlough days. Though he won’t also take five days off, Richardson said he will donate five days of his pay to the state’s general fund.
In announcing an executive order to cut agencies under his control by an average of 7 percent, Richardson did not immediately provide specifics in his speech, but he said Medicaid would be cut by 1 percent, agencies including the Children, Youth and Families Division and corrections will face “moderate cuts” and that the governor’s office, Taxation and Revenue Department and General Services Department would face cuts of “5 percent or more.”
He said his action would ensure that rural clinics will stay open, children’s health care and veterans’ programs would not be cut and state parks would not be closed.
“I won’t pretend that these actions will solve all of our budget problems, but it’s a start,” Richardson said.
Update, 1:20 p.m.
You can read Richardson’s executive order by clicking here, his line-item veto message on House Bill 17 here and his line-item veto message on Senate Bill 29 here.