{"id":2949,"date":"2008-03-05T18:53:00","date_gmt":"2008-03-06T00:53:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/2008\/03\/guv-criticized-for-vetoing-veterans-museum-bill\/"},"modified":"2008-03-05T18:53:00","modified_gmt":"2008-03-06T00:53:00","slug":"guv-criticized-for-vetoing-veterans-museum-bill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2008\/03\/guv-criticized-for-vetoing-veterans-museum-bill\/","title":{"rendered":"Guv criticized for vetoing veterans museum bill"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Gov. Bill Richardson<\/a> drew criticism today when he vetoed a bill that would have created a state veterans museum in Do\u00f1a<\/st1:placename> Ana<\/st1:placename> County<\/st1:placename><\/st1:place>. <\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

In vetoing Senate Bill 349<\/a>, Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> said he will convene a task force to \u201cfully consider the most appropriate location for a state veterans museum.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cI strongly support building a museum to honor New Mexico<\/st1:state>\u2019s veterans and rich military history,\u201d Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> said. \u201cUnfortunately, this isn\u2019t the bill to do it, because it discounts the input of our veterans statewide by designating a specific county as the location for the museum.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

The two lawmakers who most actively pushed the bill \u2013 Rep. Jeff Steinborn<\/a>, D-Las Cruces, and Sen. Leonard Lee Rawson<\/a>, R-Las Cruces \u2013 have said Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> promised to sign the bill. In addition, two of his cabinet secretaries testified in support of the bill during the session.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

So the veto prompted harsh criticism from Rawson, who sponsored SB349.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\u201cGovernor Richardson\u2019s word is meaningless. He made a commitment to me on behalf of the residents of Do\u00f1a<\/st1:placename> Ana<\/st1:placename> County<\/st1:placename> that he supported the veterans museum in Do\u00f1a<\/st1:placename> Ana<\/st1:placename> County<\/st1:placename><\/st1:place>,\u201d Rawson said. \u201cI commend members of the public who contacted the governor\u2019s office about wanting the museum in Las Cruces<\/st1:place><\/st1:city>. I also appreciate the work of the entire Do\u00f1a Ana delegation, especially Representatives Steinborn and (Nate) Cote<\/a>, who worked alongside of me in passing this legislation.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Richardson<\/st1:city> spokesman Gilbert Gallegos said in response that the governor \u201cwas very clear with Senator Rawson when he told him he should consult with other veterans groups and communities like Rio Rancho and Santa Fe<\/st1:place><\/st1:city>. But Senator Rawson rammed this bill through without any consultation.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Steinborn, who sponsored a mirror version of SB349 that passed the House but not the Senate, said lawmakers have been working on this project for seven years. That included a 2003 resolution approved by the House and Senate stating that the museum should be in Do\u00f1a<\/st1:placename> Ana<\/st1:placename> County<\/st1:placename><\/st1:place>. He said his predecessor, former Rep. Ed Boykin, funded a feasibility study with his capital-outlay money, and local lawmakers have put well over $1 million into the project.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Rawson\u2019s bill passed the Senate on a vote of 39-0 and the House on a vote of 63-3, with Steinborn carrying it for Rawson in that chamber.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cI feel clearly that the governor should have signed this bill,\u201d Steinborn said. \u201c\u2026 It\u2019s the governor\u2019s constitutional right to veto legislation, and amidst my disappointment and surprise, it\u2019s my new mission to make sure Do\u00f1a Ana County puts its best foot forward in making a case for the museum.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Veterans\u2019 Services Secretary John Garcia has heard from veterans across New Mexico<\/st1:state> that the bill was drafted without input from the state\u2019s veteran community, Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city>\u2019s news release stated. Cultural Affairs Secretary Stuart Ashman said in the release that it is highly unusual for legislation to dictate the location of a state museum.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cBoth secretaries agree that the museum location requires further review,\u201d Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> said. \u201cBut I want to assure the veterans of Do\u00f1a<\/st1:placename> Ana<\/st1:placename> County<\/st1:placename><\/st1:place> that the task force will strongly consider it as a location for the museum.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

The task force will be comprised of Garcia and Ashman and veterans from around the state, including Do\u00f1a<\/st1:placename> Ana<\/st1:placename> County<\/st1:placename><\/st1:place>.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Guv vetoes Rawson\u2019s capital-outlay projects<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Rawson said the veto, after Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> pledged to sign the bill, is one example of the governor\u2019s \u201clack of honor,\u201d and said that is what has caused \u201ca breach in the relationship between the Senate and governor.\u201d Rawson said in a second release that Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> vetoed $583,000 in capital-outlay money today that he requested and the Legislature approved for projects in his district. <\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Rawson has been Richardson<\/st1:city>\u2019s most vocal critic this year, and Richardson<\/st1:city><\/st1:place> has a reputation for retaliating with the veto pen against those who speak against him. Projects Richardson<\/st1:city> axed for Rawson\u2019s district included $50,000 for video cameras and radar speed detectors for the Do\u00f1a Ana County Sheriff\u2019s Department, $150,000 for drainage and road-improvement projects on the East Mesa and $75,000 for a new storage facility for a children\u2019s homeless shelter in Las Cruces<\/st1:place><\/st1:city>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Gov. Bill Richardson drew criticism today when he vetoed a bill that would have created a state veterans museum in Do\u00f1a Ana County. In vetoing Senate Bill 349, Richardson said he will convene a task force to \u201cfully consider the most appropriate location for a state veterans museum.\u201d \u201cI strongly support building a museum to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2949","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2949","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2949"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2949\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2949"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2949"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2949"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}