Rep. Henry Kiki Saavedra

In a straight party-line vote, the New Mexico House passed a $5.6 billion budget Friday evening. Both sides of the aisle dug deep over a budget that neither is happy with. For Democrats, it was tough decisions over where to cut; for Republicans, the argument was to cut more.

New Mexico Secretary of State Mary Herrera is calling on the Legislature to pony up more money to pay for a first-rate campaign finance reporting system.
In a letter sent July 27 to a prominent state lawmaker, Herrera says the $176,500 the Legislature has appropriated to her office in the past for a new campaign finance reporting [...]

Here comes the judge. More accurately, here comes a judge.
The courts on Monday were asked to settle a question raised about one of the budget fixes the Legislature passed during this year’s 60-day legislative session.

The budget bill scrapped $94 million for projects like domestic violence shelters and pre-K classes, but largely spared an equestrian center backed by Gov. Richardson. The vote led one Senator to declare, “Much of what we do in the Senate is indefensible.”