NM senators expressing frustration in Santa Fe

Four Democrat senators, in Santa Fe on Tuesday, expressed frustration over the limitations imposed on their deliberations by the Governor Bill Richardson's proclamation convening the special session.

It spells out the matters the legislature can consider during a special session to fix the state budget deficit, reads very narrowly.

It specifically stated that the matters to be considered “shall not include measures reducing salaries or raising tax rates, reducing or eliminating tax credits, rebates, exemptions or deductions, or imposing new taxes.”

Political analyst, blogger and Albuquerque photographer Mark Bralley said lawmakers should have adjourned immediately after reading the governor's proclamation on Saturday.

"They should have returned the proclamation back to the governor and waited until he sent them a document that didn't strip them of their constitutional prerogatives," Bralley said.

“We were not given the opportunity to vote on important options for balancing the budget. While I would not personally support some of the tax options that were introduced and found not germane under the Proclamation, we should at least have had the opportunity to debate those measures and vote on them,” said Senator Carlos R. Cisneros (D-Los Alamos, Rio Arriba, Santa Fe and Taos), Vice-Chair of the Senate Finance Committee.

Republicans came up with a list of 48 actions they believe Richardson should have taken before calling them back to Santa Fe. Surprisingly, the list included releasing non-violent offenders from corrections three months early. Not as surprising, they also said the governor should have sold the plane. They also want the state tourism department to cancel its contract to participate with a float in the 2010 Rose Bowl Parade.

Echoing the sentiments of Cisceros, Senator Richard C. Martinez (D-Los Alamos, Rio Arriba & Santa Fe), Vice-Chair of the Judiciary Committee said, “regardless of the merits of the individual revenue measures that were not found germane, we never had an opportunity to weigh their merits or the merits of any other options.”

“We needed to have both expenditures and revenues on the table to find a combination would get us to a balanced budget as required by the Constitution,” said Senator Peter Wirth (D-Santa Fe-25), Vice-Chair of the Senate Rules Committee.

Several other senators echoed Wirth's remarks. They noted that because of the proclamation, they were compelled to vote “no” to considering the taxation measures when the Committees’ Committee reported they were not germane because of the language in the Proclamation.

“As legislators, our responsibility is to craft a balanced budget. To do that we need to consider all options; we cannot balance the Fiscal Year 2010 budget without somehow generating revenues. That’s why I voted for finding some of the tax measures germane in spite of the Proclamation’s language – something I see as restricting our constitutional duties,” said Senator Bernadette Sanchez (D-Bernalillo-26), Chair of the Senate Conservation Committee.

Sen. Keller urges fiscal responsibility in special session

Freshman New Mexico Senator Tim Keller introduced three bills during the opening of the special session. He said they're all aimed at making the state's finances more fiscally responsible.

“The Governor has called us all up here and we are costing the state money each day we are in session," Keller said. "The least we can do is work on these issues; there is lots of dead time as we wait for all the various sides to negotiation the budget. This is a matter of principle, these bills should be germane in that they directly impact to our state budget solvency."

While the legislature ruminates over the specifics of the budget solvency package there is an opportunity for lawmakers to work on related legislation to improve our state’s fiscal situation,” Senator Keller stated.

The specific pieces of legislation will now go to Committee’s Committee to determine if they are germane for the special session.

Senator Keller’s proposals that include a tax expenditure bill that mirrors a 2007 bill which would require the state to track all tax expenditures and incentives, such as the ones currently being offered to the film industry, and their associated benefits.

“We are going to need this going forward to deal with structural problems in our government financing," Keller said. "This bill is long overdue, all interim we have been debating what works and what don’t in terms of incentives and tax subsidies. We are one of only 9 states that doesn’t track return on investment on these. It’s time we start making good analytical decisions based on data rather than economic guesstimates.”

Keller also introduced a bill for forecasting that has a circuit breaker provision in it.

Currently the state bases the budget on forecasts made by key individuals at different times in the year. Keller's bill would adjust on a proportional basis any cuts that are made in the special session to compensate for any increase in revenue estimates.

“A circuit breaker provision is really just about sounds financial planning; historically we have been up to 12% wrong in our forecasts as a state," Keller said. "This bill would give us an automatic adjustment to restore funding that was cut based on incorrect estimates."

He also introduced a federal match funding exclusion bill designed to protect the budget from negative multiplier effects, which would result in cutting state funds that are matched by federal funds.

“It's convenient for politicians to do across the board cuts, but when we cut Medicaid at the state level until we realize that for every 1 dollar we cut, we lose 4 dollars in federal funds," Keller said. "Cutting this type of matching fund is like throwing free money way."

Both the house and the senate are expected to reconvene the special session just after 1pm today.

Filmmaker Michael Moore invited to Education Rally

The American Federation of Teachers' union (AFT), concerned about proposed cutbacks in the state's education budget, has published an open letter inviting documentary filmmaker Michael Moore to their October 9th Demonstration for Education Rally in New Mexico.

The rally is scheduled ahead of a special session, which is aimed at stopping lawmakers from making additional cuts to the state's education budget.

Their invite to Moore follows Albuquerque Teacher's Union President Ellen Bernstein, who published an Op-Ed in Sunday's Albuquerque Journal.

Lawmakers, who are expected to be called back to Santa Fe this month to re-balance the budget, are currently negotiating with Governor Bill Richardson. He has said he wants school budgets exempted for across the board budget trimming measures.

But in recent weeks, some lawmakers like Sen. John Arthur Smith, have said even educations budgets will have to be cut to balance the state's estimated $433 budget deficit.

In her Journal op-ed, Bernstein wrote that that lawmakers already cut the dollar value of schoolchildren during the last session.

Now, we're angry because they are planning to do it again! We're asking them to make the right choices during tough times.

Bernstein also argued:

Lawmakers cut student funding last January in order to balance a $500 million deficit. Ironically, that made the problem worse. When they cut spending, they also reduced the amount of tax revenues flowing into the public treasury. Now, our state budget has another deficit of $433 million. What's the definition of insanity? Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

OPEN LETTER TO MICHAEL MOORE

Michael:

Last week, Dr. Ellen Bernstein, an elementary school teacher and president of the ABQ Teachers Federation, emailed you an invitation to come to New Mexico on Oct. 9 and speak to the largest demonstration of support for public schools in New Mexico's brief history (became a state in 1912).

Purpose of rally, march and demonstration - persuade state lawmakers to:

• Roll back tax cuts for the wealthiest New Mexicans (passed in 2003 for those earning $295K or more);
• Close tax loopholes for big, out-of-state corporations (examples: Wal Mart, Target, Starbucks allowed to report profits earned in NM in other states and dodge paying their fair share of NM taxes on profits);
• Use revenues to restore cuts made by our lawmakers to the value of school children (lawmakers cut student value by $60 each last January to cover $500 million deficit), higher education students and public services; and,
• Prevent more cuts (lawmakers have another state budget deficit, this time $433 million, and they want to cut student value and public services AGAIN).

We haven't heard from you, yet. Hopefully, that's a sign you're trying to work Oct 9, Santa Fe, into your busy schedule.

New Mexicans love you, Michael !

You were in ABQ at the UNM Pit during 2000 presidential election between Gore and Bush. Thanks to your rally at the UNM Pit, New Mexico was the only state in Southwest to go for Gore. You did that !

We need your help again: Help educators, parents and students stop a second round of proposed cuts to the value of school children, university students and public services.

Please say YES. Please attend, speak-out at Oct. 9 Rally, March and Demonstration, Santa Fe, beginning at noon and going until 3:45 pm.

We'll meet-up at Santa Fe Rail Runner Depot, march 5 blocks to our state capitol, "The Roundhouse", then have speakers andsymbolic activities.

We're thinking of doing what you did in "Capitalism, A Love Story": wrapping the Roundhouse with yellow, crime-scene tape, and making a citizen's arrest, because the NM State Constitution says our lawmakers are required to fund public schools 'sufficiently'. By law, they are not allow to cut the value of school children, college and university student and public services.

Please respond either way. Thank you.

Sincerely,
John Ingram
AFT New Mexico

NM Voices For Children Wants Balanced Approach to State's Budget Woes During Special Session

Balanced approach to budget shortfall would do more economic good

From a news release

ALBUQUERQUE—In reaction to Governor Bill Richardson's press release on the special session, child advocacy organization New Mexico Voices for Children released this response:

A more balanced approach to the state's budget shortfall should include raising new revenue to avert deeper cuts. Closing tax loopholes that benefit only profitable out-of-state corporations and rolling back some of the personal income tax cuts for the highest wage earners would have little effect on average New Mexicans. The state and federal income and capital gains tax cuts of 2003, which went disproportionately to the very wealthy, did little to help the economy.

Prominent economists, including Nobel-prize winner Joseph Stiglitz, say that the worst thing to do in a recession is to cut spending. The way out of a recession is to sustain current levels of funding because that money goes directly into the local economy. Budget cuts also mean fewer services for struggling families at a time when those services are most needed. Additional cuts to New Mexico's education, health care, and public safety services will mean more sacrifice for children and working families.

The group said:

Without the option of raising revenue, lawmakers will most certainly have to make deep budget cuts. Unless the Governor and Legislature take a more balanced approach to the budget gap and consider raising revenue along with cutting spending, they will likely do more harm than good in both the short and long term.

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