After hours of politically charged debate, the New Mexico House of Representatives has passed a budget limiting film tax credit payouts to $45 million and levying across-the-board cuts in other areas.
The budget bill--at this point an amalgam of several different bills, HB 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6--passed the House 35-34 yesterday. It now goes to the Senate Finance Committee for approval.
A motion near the end of debate by state Rep. Andy Nuñez, I-Doña Ana, to consider the question of driver's licenses for undocumented immigrants provided a source of outright conflict after hours of heated debate over amendments.
Nuñez' attempt to "blast" HB 78, a tabled bill that would repeal language allowing "foreign nationals" to apply for driver's licenses in New Mexico without a social security number, was stymied by House Speaker Ben Luján, D-Santa Fe, who allowed a voice vote on a subsequent motion to adjourn by House Majority Leader Ken Martinez, D-Bernalillo.
Gov. Susana Martinez, who on Feb. 19 issued a press release calling for the House to vote directly on the driver license question, issued a scathing press release last night. Luján responded with his own, equally fiery release. Read both releases here. Luján has said he'll reconsider Nuñez' motion this morning.
Politics are politics; more important is the progress made on crafting a budget (which, after last year's 30-day session, took two additional special sessions to resolve).
Here's what's in the budget passed by the House:
