NMPolitics.net (https://nmpolitics.net/index/tag/roundhouse/page/195/)
House Bill 17 would implement some $220 million in cuts to most state agencies, public education and Medicaid, but it wouldn’t require the governor to trim his staff of hundreds of exempt employees. Instead, it states that he is “encouraged” to do it. Continue Reading
The State Investment Council has learned that Gary Bland, who resigned Wednesday, pressured investment firms to hire certain placement agents, Land Commissioner Pat Lyons says. Continue Reading
The primary bill aimed at addressing the state’s massive budget shortfall – legislation that includes cuts to education and Medicaid – was unveiled late Wednesday and passed the House Appropriations and Finance Committee on a vote of 11-6. Continue Reading
“This is a meal prepared by legislators and the governor for the past seven years — now they’ve got to eat it,” former Gov. Gary Johnson says about the budget shortfall in an interview with NMPolitics.net. “… I hope the fallout is that nobody gets re-elected.” Continue Reading
The state’s top investment officer, Gary Bland, resigned Wednesday in a letter to Gov. Bill Richardson. His resignation comes in the middle of a pay-to-play scandal involving state investments that’s the subject of federal and state criminal investigations. Continue Reading
UPDATED: During a discussion today about whether lawmakers should voluntarily reduce their per diem, Sen. Richard Martinez accused some of abusing the system. He didn’t name names but did give a few hints about who he might be referring to. Continue Reading
Lt. Gov. Diane Denish plans to meet with school superintendents on Thursday to urge them to cut energy use in their districts. Continue Reading
Some legislators have rightly suggested that budget cuts that will force state police to park their cars and reduce patrols are an unacceptable option under any circumstance, and I wholeheartedly agree. The same standard should be applied to prosecutors as well. Continue Reading
A group of Republican legislators released a list of 48 budget-cutting items they say Richardson can enact without legislative action, including releasing non-violent criminals early, selling the state’s jet and skipping the 2010 Rose Bowl Parade. Continue Reading
I believe the current budget deficit can be solved through increased operational efficiencies that every state agency is more than capable of identifying, auditing the current budget for unspent reverted funds, delaying some discretionary capital outlay projects and decreasing the rainy day fund by 1 to 2.5 percent. Continue Reading
“Few here are willing to discuss, much less confront, the fact that we now have recurring expenditures which are exceeding recurring revenues by about $1 billion,” says state Rep. Joseph Cervantes, D-Las Cruces. Continue Reading
I neglected to write about this last week, but here’s a bit of good news for New Mexico in the midst of all the not-so-good news. New Mexico is now officially not one of the 10 states with the highest rates of drunken driving fatalities, Gov. Bill Richardson announced Friday. Continue Reading
There’s disagreement about how many exempt employees the governor has, but there appears to be some level of agreement – at least in the Senate – that the number should be cut to help plug the state’s budget shortfall. Continue Reading
I would suggest that instead of concentrating on cutting salaries, which are critical to bringing and retaining quality educators into the state, we should look at programs and unfunded mandates first. Continue Reading
Sens. Cisco McSorely and Tim Keller and Rep. Mimi Stewart, all Albuquerque Democrats, say it’s time to raise taxes to curb the state’s widening budget shortfall. And all three are trying to prevent cuts to education in the current special session. Continue Reading