And Then There Was One

Budget 

By adding a few million dollars more to road construction and maintenance and once more taking a few million dollars more from school districts, the Legislature crafted a budget it could live with. It appears the governor is largely on board, too, after blasting an earlier draft as "soft on crime." Expect line item vetoes, as is Gov. Martinez' custom and right, but any drastic action, such as her surprise veto of all higher education funding last year, isn't expected.

Stripped-down spaceport secrecy 

The House passed a measure to keep secret some of the information in contracts customers have with the taxpayer-funded Spaceport America facility in Southern New Mexico. But the measure is a far cry from the Senate version, thanks to some last-minute surgery by House Minority Leader Nate Gentry, R-Albuquerque, who toned down the bill's language considerably, adding requirements that secrecy had to be based on specific proof of "substantial competitive harm" to a company. The Senate would have to agree to the changes if the measure is to make it to the governor.

Bill would preserve tax on LANL contract

A measure The Word knows Los Alamos County Councilors and other local governments were watching closely is on its way to the governor. With the national lab's contract up for bid and a number of nonprofit cooperatives hoping to land the multi-billion-dollar deal, the state and local governments would lose the ability to tax that transaction ($) to the the tune of about $30 million for the state and $50 million for local governments. The bill would preserve the right to tax the new management, regardless of its federal status.

Resign, ye regents

Upset with moves made by the New Mexico State University Board of Regents that limit the chancellor's power to hire and fire administrators, State Senate President Pro Tem Mary Kay Papen, D-Las Cruces, drafted a letter calling on the entire board to resign ($). She and several others plan to sign it and send it to the board. The issue unexpectedly took the Senate into a debate over the influence the governor has over regent appointees at the state's universities. Lawmakers earlier in the session had stalled a measure that would have changed the process. As the debate continued, word broke that UNM Regent Alex Romero had resigned, citing a lack of communication on the board for the state's largest university. Gov. Martinez appointed Romero less than a year ago.

 Give it away, now

A series of emails requested by the Albuquerque Journal show city officials were keen to tap the state's permanent funds for $124 million to use on infrastructure for Amazon's HQ2 headquarters project. The proposal from the online sales giant had cities across the country scrambling to craft incentives to lure the $5 billion project and the potential for 50,000 jobs. Albuquerque also considered lending the convention center as a temporary office facility while the new building was being constructed. The city was not selected as a finalist.

Noble apologizes

Santa Fe mayoral candidate Kate Noble is apologizing for comments ($) that some likened to "nails on a chalkboard." Noble was apparently trying to talk about the need to understand different cultures when she contrasted herself, her Ivy League education and her choice to have a son later in life to a "very bright Hispanic woman" Noble worked with who had seven children and stayed in Santa Fe.

Safe haven

New Mexico lawmakers gave the okay to a study that will examine the possibility of creating clinics where people can inject drugs while a medical professional looks on. They would also be able to get information on addiction. Such places have been popular overseas, and US cities have also adopted plans to open clinics as a way to combat opioid overdose deaths.

We’ll take it 

Snow, rain, whatever. The Pacific storm that limped into New Mexico has delivered way more than expected, as Santa Fe's official weather station atop the Sangre de Cristos has tallied more than a foot of snow. It's expected to warm into the 50s later today in Santa Fe, with warmer temps toward Albuquerque, which was reportedly still taking rain this morning.

Thanks for reading! The Word loves these kinds of days.

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