{"id":9313,"date":"2009-11-12T22:50:31","date_gmt":"2009-11-13T05:50:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/?p=9313"},"modified":"2009-11-13T11:06:50","modified_gmt":"2009-11-13T18:06:50","slug":"lawmakers-react-to-richardson%e2%80%99s-action-on-budget","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2009\/11\/lawmakers-react-to-richardson%e2%80%99s-action-on-budget\/","title":{"rendered":"Lawmakers react to guv\u2019s action on budget"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"The

The Roundhouse in Santa Fe (Photo by Peter St. Cyr)<\/p><\/div>\n

Gov. Bill Richardson\u2019s<\/a> action on the budget drew mixed reviews from lawmakers on Thursday. One of the more notable quotes came from Sen. John Arthur Smith<\/a>, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, who has warned for years that hard times were coming.<\/p>\n

Often, Smith\u2019s warnings were met with skepticism or even a rebuke. But Smith\u2019s words have become reality, and he said Richardson\u2019s Thursday action<\/a> to cut jobs, force agencies under his control to cut their budgets and require that employees take furloughs prove that the governor now realizes that.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s been in denial, and is no longer in denial. He\u2019s realizing what\u2019s happening now,\u201d Smith said in an interview. \u201cThe bottom line is hopefully it\u2019s striking home that we are in a serious, serious financial situation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Here are reactions from several lawmakers, including Smith, to Richardson\u2019s action:<\/p>\n

\"John

John Arthur Smith<\/p><\/div>\n

Smith, D-Deming<\/h3>\n

Regardless of what Richardson did on Thursday, Smith said he \u201cwouldn\u2019t be surprised\u201d if the state has to take additional action in January to balance this year\u2019s budget. In addition, he said the state could face a shortfall of as much as another $600 million in next year\u2019s budget, which lawmakers will also be discussing in the 30-day session.<\/p>\n

Many lawmakers are pushing for revenue-raising measures including tax increases to help address the crisis, and the governor has said he will consider such proposals. Smith didn\u2019t close the door on tax increases, but he also wasn\u2019t excited about the idea.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m really going to have to look at them,\u201d he said. \u201c\u2026I\u2019m very reluctant to support any revenue enhancements.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smith also expressed concern about the attempts by the governor and others to keep cuts to education as small as possible, saying that is leading to much more painful cuts to other agencies. Richardson originally wanted no cuts to education.<\/p>\n

\u201cI will not support another reduction that doesn\u2019t treat all New Mexicans equally,\u201d Smith said. \u201cI don\u2019t want to support holding one group harmless over another.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Nate

Nate Cote<\/p><\/div>\n

Rep. Nate Cote, D-Las Cruces<\/h3>\n

In response to the governor\u2019s announcement that he will cut \u201cat least\u201d 84 political appointee jobs, Rep. Nate Cote<\/a>, D-Las Cruces, said more than 60 of those jobs are already vacant.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo really, he\u2019s getting rid of very few,\u201d said Cote, who was one of the first to propose cuts to the governor\u2019s political appointees during the special session. \u201cPersonally, I don\u2019t think it\u2019s enough. \u2026 He probably has 20 people that are occupying those positions that are leaving anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think he\u2019s sacrificing much by doing this,\u201d Cote said. \u201cMeanwhile, I think he\u2019s sacrificing some of the hard-working state employees with furloughs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, Cote said he is OK with the governor making cuts by executive order.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt does allow him that flexibility as a manager, and personally I can\u2019t disagree with that,\u201d Cote said. \u201cMe, as a manager, I would certainly want that type of flexibility.\u201d<\/p>\n

One area the Legislature and governor have yet to tackle in looking for ways to cut the budget is state boards and commissions. Cote said he plans to take a look in January at cutting some of the expenses of those organizations.<\/p>\n

\"Dennis

Dennis Kintigh<\/p><\/div>\n

Rep. Dennis Kintigh, R-Roswell<\/h3>\n

Rep. Dennis Kintigh<\/a>, D-Roswell, said he was glad to learn that the governor had found a way to avoid closing prisons and releasing inmates early. Richardson had warned that, if he OK\u2019d the cuts approved by the Legislature, two state prisons would close and 600 inmates would be released early.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was a huge concern of mine, so that, to me, is good news,\u201d Kintigh said.<\/p>\n

Asked about Smith\u2019s statement that the governor is finally realizing the severity of the situation, here\u2019s what Kintigh had to say:<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s taken longer for some parts of the Legislature and executive branch to want to get their arms around this whole issue. We\u2019re moving in the right direction,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m not happy with how far we\u2019ve gotten but I\u2019m happy that we\u2019re moving in the right direction.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kintigh sounded even more reluctant than Smith to vote for any tax increases.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have a real concern that tax increases stifle economic activity, and what we\u2019re trying to do here is we\u2019re trying to create wealth,\u201d he said. \u201c\u2026 If we do things that stifle wealth creation, or commerce, or business activity, then it hurts. I have yet to see a scenario I would be supportive of.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, Kintigh said he wants to hear the revenue-raising proposals. One other proposal he doesn\u2019t want to be open for discussion is the raiding of the Land Grant Permanent Fund.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m going to fight that tooth and nail,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019d be fools to tamper with that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Jose

Joe Campos<\/p><\/div>\n

Rep. Joe Campos, D-Santa Rosa<\/h3>\n

Rep. Joe Campos<\/a>, D-Santa Rosa, said he\u2019s concerned about the 1 percent cut to Medicaid that Richardson ordered on Thursday.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne issue that we had is we didn\u2019t want to have any cuts in Medicaid. We knew that. They were already being underfunded as it is,\u201d he said in an interview. \u201cTaking out another 1 percent is just going to be creating more harm than good.\u201d<\/p>\n

Campos added that the state will lose three federal dollars for every $1 in state money it cuts from Medicaid.<\/p>\n

\"Keller,

Tim Keller<\/p><\/div>\n

Sen. Tim Keller, D-Albuquerque<\/h3>\n

Sen. Tim Keller<\/a>, D-Albuquerque, noted that the Legislature \u201cpassed a bipartisan bill with broad support\u201d during the special session, even though it was \u201crestricted by the governor\u2019s narrow call\u201d for the session.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt specified that the executive should cut 7.6 percent of the budget overall. Where and how has always been solely up to (Richardson\u2019s) leadership and discretion,\u201d Keller said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have structural budget challenges, so regardless of today\u2019s action, I hope the governor and Legislature can make the tough decisions on revenue and spending in (January) and avoid another round of \u2018kick the can,\u2019\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe guv basically did his own solvency with veto\/exec order,\u201d Keller said. \u201cWas it really necessary to go into a special session to do\u00a0\u2018the first draft?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Eric

Eric Griego<\/p><\/div>\n

Sen. Eric Griego, D-Albuquerque<\/h3>\n

Sen. Eric Griego<\/a>, D-Albuquerque, said it was unfortunate \u201cthat the Legislature and governor could not take a more balanced approach to solving this fiscal crisis by raising some revenues to minimize the amount of cuts to critical public services.\u201d<\/p>\n

Griego was one of the most vocal advocates of tax increases during the special session.<\/p>\n

\u201cHopefully, rolling back\u00a0tax cuts\u00a0for the highest-income New Mexicans and eliminating\u00a0corporate tax loopholes will be on the table in the January session,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"Dede

Dede Feldman<\/p><\/div>\n

Sen. Dede Feldman, D-Albuquerque<\/h3>\n

Sen. Dede Feldman<\/a>, D-Albuquerque, said she had no problem with the governor issuing an executive order to make cuts instead of accepting cuts approved by the Legislature.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that\u2019s fine. He is in a position to be more strategic when it comes to the exact cuts that are being made,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Gov. Bill Richardson\u2019s action on the budget drew mixed reviews from lawmakers on Thursday. One of the more notable quotes came from Sen. John Arthur Smith, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, who has warned for years that hard times were coming.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,1],"tags":[118,107],"class_list":["post-9313","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news-and-analysis","category-uncategorized","tag-economy","tag-roundhouse"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9313","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=9313"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9313\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9313"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9313"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9313"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}