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.
The New Mexico Independent has obtained a draft copy of the proclamation which will call lawmakers into a special session at 1 o’clock Monday afternoon. The copy obtained is headlined with large handwritten letters: ‘Draft: Work in Progress.’
The proclamation outlines the issues lawmakers will be tackling this special session, and according to the copy obtained by the Independent the special session will be limited to budget matters only and includes few surprise. One surprise, however, is the idea of a temporary tax amnesty program.
The following are excerpts from the draft proclamation sent from the govenror about what lawmakers can consider for the special session and nothing else:
- The State of New Mexico’s 2011 General Appropriation Act for the continued operation of state government for fiscal year 2011;
- An act authorizing the State Board of Finance to issue capital projects general obligation bonds for purposes of providing funds for capital expenditures for senior citizen facility improvements and acquisitions, for library acquisitions, for public school capital improvements and for state institutions of higher education and state special schools capital improvements, providing for a tax levy for the payment of the principal, interest, and costs related to the issuance of the general obligation bonds and requiring approval of the registered voters at the 2010 general election of the state;
- An act authorizing appropriations from severance tax bond capacity, or from other state funds, for various capital outlay projects statewide and reauthorizing and reappropriating balances of certain appropriations to expand or change purposes, extend expenditure periods and/or change agencies;
- An act authorizing the State Board of Finance to issue, in fiscal year 2011, short-term supplemental severance tax bonds and short-term severance tax bonds upon certification by the secretary of the department of finance and administration that certain conditions exist;
- An act providing for a temporary tax amnesty program;
- An act increasing the cigarette tax, providing for a tribal tax credit stamp for tribes that impose a tribal cigarette tax, adjusting the distributions of the cigarette tax and discounts for tax stamps, amending exemptions from the cigarette tax, and distributing additional revenue to the general fund;
- An act increasing the low income comprehensive tax rebate;
- An act repealing the gross receipts deduction for receipts from certain sales, providing a credit against the state share of gross receipts tax on receipts from certain sales, altering certain distributions to municipalities and counties, increasing the gross receipts and compensating taxes and distributing additional revenue to the general fund; and
- An act appropriating legislative cash balances for the purpose of paying the expenses of the special session called pursuant to this Proclamation.
NMI’s Matt Reichbach contributed to this post.
