Rick Homans

The Farmington Daily-Times reported on the latest meeting of the Budget Balancing Task Force put together by Bill Richardson. The meeting, the first to be webcast by the task force, was held in Farmington yesterday afternoon.

New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Secretary Rick Homans announced today that the final two Budget Balancing Task Force meetings will be webcast live.

Governor Bill Richardson announced a budget balancing task force as promised at yesterday’s press conference announcing his budget decisions. The task force will be chaired by Rick Homans, Secretary of the Taxation and Revenue Department.

Gov. Bill Richardson demanded Monday that state agencies identify an additional 3 percent of current year operating budgets for potential reduction in the special session tentatively scheduled for October.
The request comes on top of the cuts approved in this year’s budget.

Gov. Bill Richardson reiterated Tuesday that he isn’t interested in scaling back his 2003 state income tax cuts or the state tax incentive program for films that his administration vigorously defended over the years.
But the state’s looming budget gap has the state’s chief executive indicating that he’s open to looking at closing some tax credits [...]

There was a somewhat contentious exchange in the Senate Rules Committee today when Senate President Pro Tem Tim Jennings demanded that a cabinet secretary promise to always tell the Legislature the truth even if it would cost him his job.