The Senate is taking up New Mexico's proposed spending plan. Committee Chairman Sen. George Munoz, D-Gallup, says, "I believe that you will agree with me, this year's budget was done right."
"I just want to highlight a couple of things," says Sen. Bill Sharer, R-Farmington. "First of all, it started out as a $9.4 billion budget, which was 12% higher than last year's, but then we turned it into a $9.56 billion budget, which is now 14%, increase." #nmleg
Sharer said the Legislative Finance Committee assembled a "sound budget" that left New Mexico with the highest permanent fund balances ever in state history. "It put us in the best shape ever to deal with what we know is the coming oil and gas revenue collapse," he said.
"And then right here at the end, last week or so, things really started to spin out of control because various people put pressure and more pressure and harder pressure and uglier pressure that we wre forced to do things ... that were not well vetted," Sharer said.
"We put a lot of money in here for things that we don't know what they are and we have no measure controls to know if we're going to get a return on. They came in at the end," he said. "They weren't part of the requests at the beginning of this. They came in at the end."
.@SenatorSoules is questioning how research dollars to the state's universities were doled out. He said New Mexico State and New Mexico Tech believe they've been "underfunded and shorted" compared to UNM.
.@SenatorSoules said he went through the entire budget this morning and had "pages and pages of questions, multiple places where there is clearly policy being made through the budgeting process. I think that's very problematic." #nmleg
"The LFC is an unelected body that is making decisions about our budget and making policy decisions about the budget without input from legislators, who are the ones that are supposed to be making those decisions," @SenatorSoules said. #nmleg
"We need to seriously ask who crafts the budget and for whom. Are we making New Mexico better for our children? I think this budget is mixed. We've done some good things, but we could've done so much more. I'm disappointed that we didn't do more," @SenatorSoules said. #nmleg
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Sen. @Craig4NM shed some light on what happened this morning in the Senate Tax, Business and Transportation Committee with the doctors. #nmleg
"Apparently there's some rumors going around about that ... so I think it's time to nip some of these rumors in the bud," he said.
After the committee got through its first bill, @Craig4NM said he asked for a moment of personal privilege. "I made a statement introducing our doctors and thanking them and talking about" medical malpractice.
Back to business — and what may turn into a big debate. The Senate is considering another abortion and gender-affirming health care bill. #nmleg
“Under this bill, if you seek or provide reproductive or gender-affirming care in New Mexico, regardless of where you come from, New Mexico will do everything in its power to protect you and protect your information from the reach of other states,” said @Sen_MimiStewart. #nmleg
A FIR says SB 13 "would protect providers of reproductive care or gender-affirming care from civil or criminal liability and discrimination by the licensing boards of their specialties and by other states where activities protected in NM are not protected." #nmleg
I should be working on my weekend story, but I got wrapped up with a phone call from a man who was very upset about Sunday's homily at St. Anne Parish in Santa Fe.
"I went to Mass at 11 o’clock," explained the parishioner, who asked not to be identified.
"People go for a lot of different reasons," he said. "Well, I go there, you know, to be uplifted spiritually and I go have this private conversation with God and I ask for the courage and the strength to be a better person and to be good to my neighbors."