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.
Gov. Bill Richardson picked sides Monday, saying he preferred the House state budget to the one passed by the Senate Saturday.
“New Mexico taxpayers expect serious solutions to the budget impasse, rather than taxing tortillas as the Senate proposes,” Richardson said in a statement issued Monday afternoon. He was referring to the Senate’s decision to rely on a measure that would tax many foods for the first time in years.
“I continue to prefer the more balanced approach to the budget that was passed by the House, which better provides for public education and critical services,” Richardson said in his statement. “There is no reason for a costly special session on the taxpayers’ dime. I have been meeting with legislators, and I remain available to meet with the leadership to try and narrow the budget gap before the session ends.”
The House and Senate budget plans differ in big ways, especially in the tax measures they rely on to help close a projected budget shortfall for next year estimated at several hundred million dollars.
The House relies on a proposed half-penny hike to the state’s gross receipts tax, a 1.5 percent surtax on the income wealthiest New Mexicans earn and a measure that would net taxes from out-of-state owners of business partnerships on income earned here.
The Senate, on the other hand, would tax food for the first time in years and add $1 to the state cigarette tax. It also relies on the withholding tax on out-of-state business partnerships.
Overall, the Senate plan raises nearly half the revenue as the House bill, generating $180 million through tax increases vs. $340 million in the House bill.
The Senate bill meanwhile cuts deeper, calling for $120 million in cuts vs. about $70 million proposed by the House.
The House and Senate must agree on a spending plan and send it to Gov. Bill Richardson for his signature. But lawmakers are running out of time, with only three days left to produce a state budget.
