I am writing today to announce the closure of the New Mexico Independent. After three and a half years of operation in New Mexico, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news…
While environmental activists played their part yesterday during demonstrations at the capitol building, going so far as to dress up as solar panels and to sing the tune of “You Are My Sunshine,” their counterparts, the anti-cap-and-trade contingency who has…
Roughly one quarter of University of New Mexico students are unimpressed with the state’s flagship public school, according to a survey that questioned college students about their higher education experiences.
Illustration by Keith Lewis
SANTA FE — A potential showdown is emerging between state lawmakers and Washington-bound Gov. Bill Richardson over where to look for cost savings.
State lawmakers, grappling with a projected half-a-billion-dollar budget shortfall, were told Tuesday they could limit the pain by retrieving nearly $200 million in unspent money locked up in 7,800 state-funded but unfinished brick-and-mortar projects around the state.
But whose projects would the money come from — the governor’s, state agencies’ or from lawmakers’ projects?
Richardson’s views still matter. Even though President-elect Barack Obama nominated the governor as U.S. commerce secretary on Wednesday, Richardson will retain his position in New Mexico for a portion of the 2009 legislative session. The governor said in a press release Wednesday that he isn’t resigning as the state’s chief executive until he’s confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
New Mexico finances brick-and-mortar projects through a process called capital outlay in which the Legislature and the governor divvy up the money. In recent years, the money earmarked each year for brick-and-mortar projects –- also called “pork” by critics -– often eclipsed $500 million.
Legislative staff said 130 projects deserved scrutiny, most of them sponsored by Richardson and state agencies. Tapping those projects alone could produce more than $170 million for the state’s general fund, which funds day-to-day operations, said David Abbey, the director of the Legislature’s budget arm –- the Legislative Finance Committee.
But among the potential targets is a multimillion-dollar equestrian facility proposed for the state fairgrounds in Albuquerque — a project Richardson supports, even putting $25 million of capital funds toward the project.
His spokesman and budget director have both publicly stated the governor thinks placing it there makes sense because the fairgrounds can accommodate such a project, they say. It is unclear how the governor might react to the project winding up as a potential target for cutting.
But one thing is clear. Even as legislative staff crafts a list of potential targets, the governor’s staff is busy putting together its own list of possible cuts. Rick Martinez, deputy secretary at the state Department of Finance and Administration, told state lawmakers Tuesday that the agency would like to present its list when it is complete.
An updated revenue forecast is due next week and that will give lawmakers and Richardson new estimates of how much money the state should expect in the current fiscal year and in the 2010 budget year, which starts in July.
Meanwhile, oil and natural gas prices, a major barometer for state revenues, remain volatile after falling in recent months, leading some to predict much lower revenues from broad-based taxes — gross receipts and income taxes.
In October, Richardson ordered executive branch agencies to trim spending and impose a freeze on hiring. The governor also said he would ask the Legislature to eliminate some previously approved capital improvement projects to save money.
Universities and other institutions of higher learning have already frozen wages and cut back on travel and other expenses. Senate President Pro Tem Tim Jennings, D-Roswell, meanwhile, has told school districts in a letter to prepare for spending cuts and possible layoffs to cope with the state budget gap — a move Richardson criticized as “irresponsible and premature.”
That state lawmakers pulled out the budgetary pruning shears on Tuesday, a month and a half before the Capitol’s quiet, art-lined hallways transform into bustling avenues teeming with lobbyists and spectators, spoke of how serious the situation is. The session starts Jan. 20.
“There’s obviously a lot of sensitivity about whose ox will be gored in this effort,” Abbey told lawmakers Tuesday.
It was apparent not everyone was entirely comfortable with taking money out of unfinished projects.
“What if people lose their jobs because we are moving that money?” asked Rep. Edward Sandoval, D-Albuquerque.
Sen. Diane Snyder, R-Albuquerque, added that people in small communities around the state “are hysterical” because they are worried they will lose state money for authorized projects.
“There is a big rush to get their RFPs and contracts ready so the money is encumbered,” Snyder said.
