Welcome to the Governor's Office Blog

On this page, you will find behind-the scenes information on current events, news conferences, the 2008 Legislature and much more.  Bloggers will include Governor Richardson, Cabinet Secretaries and representatives from the Governor’s Office.  Check back regularly for the latest news.

January 2008 Blog Archive

January 31, 2008

Constituent Wants Action

The Governor's Health Solutions plan has a scheduled hearing Friday at 1:30 p.m. before the House Appropriations and Finance Committee.

GA local constituent sent the following letter to Rep. Mimi Stewart, asking her to reconsider her position on the Governor's plan.

Representative Stewart,

Although I am most grateful for the work you do for public education, I am disappointed in the stripping down of this bill. As a member of the general public, I was able to follow the workings of the task force via news media and the legislative website. The bill as originally introduced did not have anything that should be seen as a surprise by the members of the legislator or need even further study or debate. How much money have the citizens of this state paid to address the uninsured issue in the past twenty years? How many times does it have to be debated? I believe the citizens have clearly raised their voices and concerns regarding this issue (just look at the rosters of task force members and testimony by industry and non-industry members), let alone prominent polls that clearly demonstrate this is a key economic issue to New Mexico businesses and families. I have seen the list of endorsements and am unsure as to why legislators feel the need to pull back. I urge you to reconsider your position.

Thank You. Lynn Komer

Why not Title Insurance Reform?

The Albuquerque Journal published the following op-ed piece we submitted about title insurance reform. Interestingly, the executive director of Think New Mexico is now urging legislators – more than half-way through the session -- to request that the issue be placed on the agenda. He went so far as to recommend that legislators recruit their colleagues who are undecided about the Governor's health care plan to "pile on and ask for a message..." for title insurance reform. We're not sure how that will help his cause.

Governor Will Tackle Title Insurance in '09

Given the reaction from Think New Mexico and the Albuquerque Journal, the public might be left with the impression that Gov. Bill Richardson is against the concept of title insurance reform.

The governor has not taken a position on this complex issue, except to propose that we use the summer and fall to carefully study the issue in preparation for the 60-day session in 2009.

Neither Think New Mexico nor the Journal spoke to the governor about the issue. Yet they took statements from an Associated Press article and jumped to the conclusion that the governor was against it.

Not to make light of the issue or its importance, but not a single legislator has called on the governor to put title insurance on the agenda since the session started last week. The call for reform has its supporters, to be sure. But it was not a priority this session, except perhaps for the executive director of Think New Mexico as he ramped up his annual campaign to grab newspaper headlines.

While Think New Mexico has worked with the governor and the Legislature in the past to lay the groundwork for important public policy decisions, like removing the gross-receipts tax on food, this year's political maneuvering took a different path— bypassing any attempt to build a consensus.

The governor's rationale for waiting to tackle this issue is not, as the Journal concludes, because he doesn't think the issue has merit. It does. But there is conflicting information about whether and how the state should pursue any sort of reform. Rather than toss this issue into the legislative mix during a 30-day session, the governor chose to focus, instead, on the issue that he and most legislators agree is the top priority for the state this year— the lack of access to affordable health care.

Unlike Think New Mexico, the governor has built a case for his Health Solutions New Mexico plan for more than a year now. And despite the fact that the governor waged a hard-fought campaign for president during that time, he was engaged in the development of his health care agenda every step of the way, and has worked with legislators and others to improve the plan.

Apparently covering 400,000 uninsured New Mexicans, and making it more affordable to the insured is not "what's best for New Mexico."

Santa Fe Critics

Recently, a couple of Santa Fe County Commissioners criticized a bill in the Legislature that would create a regional transit district to help pay for operations of the Railrunner. Judging from their comments, one might think that the County of Santa Fe was on the hook for all the costs and will receive none of the economic and quality of life benefits from being the next stop for New Mexico's commuter rail.

For the record, Santa Fe County residents have not been taxed one dime for the $400 million cost of the Railrunner. The state (the Legislature and the Governor) dedicated that money as part of the GRIP project – part of a larger $1.6 billion plan to modernize highways and other transportation projects, such as commuter rail. That $400 million investment paid for the track, locomotives, and to get the service running. In Santa Fe, the construction of railroad crossings and safety improvements, and commuter stations will create jobs and assure the safety of Santa Feans.

After a few years of federal funding to pay for the operation of the Railrunner, taxpayers in the four counties that benefit from the train could be asked to pitch in a minor gross receipts tax to pick up those costs in the future. Santa Fe County would pay only 13% of the cost—or about $3.9 million. It is a fair way to pay for a service that benefits more than a third of the state.

Yet, critics make it sound like the state is out to shift all of the burden to Santa Fe County residents. Never mind that the state has been very generous to Santa Fe County with millions of dollars in capital outlay each year. For example, in 2007 the County of Santa Fe received about $4.5 million dollars in capital outlay. This year some of the county's key capital outlay requests include:

1. $3.6 million for River Restoration
2. $2.5 million for Santa Fe Railyard Park and Plaza
3. $13 million for the Santa Fe Corridor Project
4. $2 million for the Edgewood East Mountain Community Athletic Complex
5. $3.6 million for Santa Fe River Corridor Land Acquisition
6. $43.5 million for Santa Fe County Judicial Complex
7. $2 million for the Santa Fe County Well Program
8. $2 million for the Canoncito/El Dorado Water Project
9. $9 million for the Pojoaque Valley Water/Wastewater System
10. $880,000 for the Santa Fe County Fair Grounds

The Railrunner is regional transit that will benefit the entire Rio Grande corridor from Belen to Santa Fe, as well as the rest of New Mexico. But the last stop for the Railrunner is the Santa Fe Railyard Park and Plaza, which will mean significant new tourism and commuter dollars, and reduced traffic congestion. The Santa Fe Railyard Community Corporation's planned $125 million dollar investment based on the Railrunner's arrival is expected to be an boon for business.

Perhaps that's why more than 70% of Santa Fe County residents, the Santa Fe Chamber of Commerce, the Santa Fe Railyard Community Corporation, Trust for Public Land, the Sierra Club and area businesses and galleries support the Railrunner. They know it will bring tourist dollars the city, will expand access for seniors and citizens with disabilities, and will dramatically reduce vehicle pollution.

This Richardson Administration will continue to communicate with the Santa Fe county commissioners, and encourage them to look at the long-term benefits of the Railrunner for their constituents, and the on-balance state benefits for their county.

Quote of the day:

"I move adoption of the do-nothing committee report."– Rep. Mimi Stewart

Rep. Stewart, like many legislators, appears to be offended by Governor Richardson's comments on Wednesday that were critical of the committee which Stewart chairs, the House Health and Government Affairs Committee. By gutting the Governor's HealthSolutions New Mexico bill, Rep. Stewart's committee showed an unwillingness to actually do something about the 400,000 uninsured New Mexicans.

Frustrated with the pace of the most important issue on the legislative agenda, the Governor said: "I believe that the people of New Mexico won't stand for the Legislature becoming a do-nothing Legislature."

Today, legislators in both chambers have been tossing around "do-nothing" comments in jest. Stewart made her comment about the "do-nothing committee report" as she asked her colleagues to approve her committee's action.

Obviously, Rep. Stewart's committee had a tough job this session as it scrutinized several competing health care plans. But in the end, the committee chose only to endorse yet another study of the problem, rather than doing something about it.

Earlier this week, Stewart had this to say about the demands on her committee: "It's just push, push, push on all of us, without really knowing what we're doing."

January 30, 2008

Oops!

Sen. Leonard Lee Rawson, speaking on the floor of the Senate, just took Governor Richardson to task for not including the Office of the President of the United States on the official Primary Election Proclamation the Governor signed today. He was appalled that the Governor would choose not to put the candidates for President on New Mexico’s ballot.

Having run for President himself, you would think Governor Richardson would know better. Well, he did. Sen. Rawson did not.

Had Sen. Rawson bothered to read the entire proclamation, checked past proclamations or checked state election law, he would realize that the presidential primary election is handled differently than all other offices in the state. The details of the presidential primary are outlined on pages 8 and 9 of the proclamation.

So fear not, there is no conspiracy to keep New Mexicans for voting for Democratic or Republican candidates for President.

Governor Richardson's Remarks at Mid-Legislative Session News Conference:

I said before the session started that the focus would be on health care, health care, health care.

Up until today, we saw very little action on an issue that New Mexicans want resolved.

And now, after months and months of work and compromise, a single committee in the House unraveled our best chance at a comprehensive health care plan for all New Mexicans. The misguided amendments adopted by the House Health and Governmental Affairs Committee effectively kill the concept of universal health care. And if the members of that committee think this is over, they are sorely mistaken.

I now call on the Appropriations Committee to restore the bill to its original form, and send it to the full House for an up-or-down vote.

Do you think the 400-thousand uninsured New Mexicans care that legislators think this issue is too difficult to handle in a short, 30-day session? No, they don't.

Do you think New Mexicans care about the political makeup of the authority that oversees this new system? No they don't.

Do you think New Mexicans care if their legislators have an election this year and would rather not make any big decisions? No, they don't.

They care - and I care - that they don't have access to affordable health care, period. That's what this debate is about. Frankly, that's what this session is about. Or it should be.

After carefully studying different options for universal health care, we crafted a fiscally responsible and comprehensive plan during the past year that removes barriers against those with pre-existing conditions and provides for participation by all New Mexicans.

We worked with everyone involved during that time to improve the bill and be ready for a robust debate during the legislative session. We also made the first move toward reaching a compromise last week - in an effort to get the bill moving.

The people of New Mexico won't stand for us to complete this session without passing comprehensive health care coverage bill. They don't want excuses. And they don't want more studies. We need to act.

Unfunded Healthcare initiatives:

Another critical concern we have heard from providers and others is the lack of appropriate funding to attract physicians, especially to rural areas of the state.

Yet, the Appropriations Committee failed to fund several important programs that help us recruit and retain physicians, as well as cover more people, including children, under Medicaid.

The Appropriations Committee failed to fund:

• $10.7 million dollars for the base Medicaid budget
• $8.8 million dollars to enroll additional children in Medicaid
• $3.5 million dollars for the healthcare workforce
• $220-thousand dollars for Telehealth
• $830-thousand dollars for PTSD funding for our veterans returning from war
• $750-thousand dollars for Native American healthcare services
• $1.3 million dollars for the Health Care Authority

We have two short weeks to get this right. I am not giving up on this issue. In fact, I am ready to turn up the heat on those legislators who think they can get away with doing nothing for the people who elected them.

January 29, 2008

Health Care Progress?

Despite Governor Richardson’s willingness to compromise with legislators on health care legislation, the Governor’s bill is still parked in its first committee.

Human Services Secretary Pam Hyde worked through the weekend with legislators and advocates – as a show of good faith -- to make more than a dozen changes to the Governor’s HealthSolutions New Mexico bill. The changes, coming after months of meetings and tweaking and compromise, reflect the Governor’s desire to move the issue along as the legislative clock ticks away.

But one has to wonder: At what point will legislators and advocates of competing bills going to compromise? The Governor has stated clearly that he will oppose a plan that places health care under government control. And he will not agree to yet another study of the issue. It has been studied to death.

But the Governor is willing to compromise on an issue that affects more than 400,000 New Mexicans who need access to quality health care. The Governor’s bottom line is this: Pass a comprehensive plan that removes barriers against those with pre-existing conditions and provides for participation by all New Mexicans.

January 25, 2008

The Tacos Return

This week I join my fellow New Mexicans in welcoming home some of our finest citizens from their tours of duty in Southwest Asia.

Earlier this week I had Airmen return from the United Arab Emirates and from Iraq. Yesterday, the largest group of these returning Airmen, 56 members of the 150th Fighter Wing returned home. There were over 400 friends and family ready to welcome them home at the Albuquerque International Sunport. These pictures are from that welcome home.

These Airmen did an outstanding job during their deployment. They are true professionals. I visited them with my Command Sergeant Major, Kevin Myers, just before Christmas. Specifics on their missions are classified, however, I can tell you that they were 100 percent in everything that they did. The Senior Officers I spoke with in Iraq confirmed for me that we have some of the best National Guardsmen and Guardswomen in the entire country.

Welcoming our deployed Soldiers and Airmen home is one of the best things I do as Adjutant General. I make it a point to tell each and every one of them that I sincerely appreciate all of the sacrifices that they and their families make for our State and Nation.

The remaining New Mexico National Guard Airmen from the 150th Fighter Wing are currently scheduled to return early next week. Once they return, the NMNG will have 17 Soldiers deployed in Afghanistan and around 70 assigned to the Joint Task Force in Guantanamo. I look forward to the day when I can have all of my Soldiers and Airmen back home with their families!

-Kenny C. Montoya, The Adjutant General

January 24, 2008

Health Care Progress

Governor Richardson has always worked in a bipartisan way to address the complex issues facing New Mexicans. Health care reform is no different.

As the Legislature begins to consider all health care bills, Governor Richardson has reached out to legislators in an effort to move the health care debate along.

The Governor is willing to compromise on the makeup of the Health Coverage Authority so long as the Legislature passes a comprehensive plan, consistent with the Governor’s, that reforms insurance, removes barriers against those with pre-existing conditions and provides for participation by all New Mexicans.

Domestic Partnership Passed the House

House Bill 9 just passed the house with a vote of 33 to 31.

This is a significant step towards providing legal protections to committed partners in New Mexico.

The Senate is expected to take up HB 9 some time next week.

Big MO

Momentum continues to build for the Governor’s Universal Health Plan as more community groups, pueblos and newspapers add their support to HB 62, the HealthSOLUTIONS New Mexico Act.

In yesterday’s House Health and Government Affairs Committee, the United Way of Santa Fe, the All Indian Pueblo Council--representing 19 New Mexico pueblos, Presbyterian Medical Services joined the dozen other groups already supporting the Governor’s health coverage plan.

This morning the Albuquerque Tribune editorialized in favor of Governor Richardson’s health plan.  Today’s editorial recognizes the importance of tackling the health care crisis, since the federal government has failed to act for decades. 

The editorial also advises against deferring current action “ While there are some signs that a national strategy could emerge during the next administration, particularly if a Democrat wins the White House, it remains very uncertain. While all Democratic presidential candidates support some form of universal health care, even a Democratic sweep of the Oval Office, the House and the Senate won't guarantee one.”

“Legislators should vigorously proceed during the current 30-day session to enact and implement Richardson’s proposal, which appears to be the best of several floating around the Roundhouse,” said the Tribune Editorial.

To read the entire Tribune editorial, please visit: ttp://www.abqtrib.com/news/2008/jan/24/editorial-guvs-health-care-plan-deserves-wide-supp/. 

Climate Change

By Bill Richardson

Beside Lobos basketball, so much of what is in the papers lately is depressing. The War in Iraq and the economy top the list but it saddened me greatly to open my New York Times Wednesday morning and see the United States’ environmental performance ranked at the bottom of the list of the Group of 8 industrialized nations and 39th among the 149 countries on the list.

The article also points out that this country’s excessive greenhouse gas emissions and lack of action to curb them contribute to those low marks.

I am proud of what we have accomplished in New Mexico. I’ve pushed this state to historic efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The nation can learn a lot from New Mexico and I am optimistic that the next president will take serious action to combat climate change.  We should be at the head of the climate class.

My executive order in 2005 established tough state greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets of 2000 levels by the year 2012, 10 percent below 2000 levels by 2020 and 75 percent below 2000 levels by 2050. And we are on track to meet these goals.

I also created a Climate Change Advisory Group, which in 2006 gave me 69 recommendations for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in New Mexico. The group passed 67 of the recommendations unanimously.

The recommendations included all sectors of the economy — electricity, oil and gas, transportation, agriculture and forestry. If we implement all the recommendations, we predict that we will exceed the targets set for 2020.

My Climate Change Advisory Group released a greenhouse gas emissions inventory for the state for the period from 1990 to 2020 (see http://www.nmenv.state.nm.us.) The Environment Department will update the inventory every four years, beginning this year, to see how we are doing.

Some of efforts we put into effect from the advisory group’s recommendations include the Renewable Portfolio Standard, improvements in energy efficiency and building codes, joining the Western Climate Initiative and implementing the Clean Car Program. The EIB adopted the program in December and made New Mexico the first Intermountain state to adopt it.

Most recently I signed a letter yesterday, along with 13 other governors, questioning U.S. EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson’s denial of the waiver to California that would have allowed the program to be adopted by other states.  It is unconscionable that EPA would deny the states the ability to utilize this tool to combat climate change when transportation is such a major source of greenhouse gas emissions in New Mexico and the rest of the nation.  In addition to signing letters, we partnering with other clean car states and taking EPA to court to overturn their decision.

I am proud of what we have accomplished and proud that New Mexico is a model for what the nation can do to tackle the climate change issue. With hard work and hard data the nation can move up the international climate change list (and maybe the Lobos can break into the Top 25).

January 23, 2008

Health Care: Right debate; Wrong focus

 Standing room only this morning at the House Health and Government Affairs committee meeting on the Governor’s HealthSolutions New Mexico bill. The meeting lasted for three hours.

The focus of the ongoing debate is, and should be, about insuring the 400,000 New Mexicans who currently do not have access to affordable health care.

Unfortunately, policy differences often take a back seat to political posturing during a high profile debate like this. One of the most prevalent questions that has arisen during the debate is the political makeup of the Health Coverage Authority that would oversee this massive new effort to insure all New Mexicans. The Governor’s bill calls for 11 members: 4 members appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate; 4 members recommended by the Legislature and appointed by the Legislature; 2 Cabinet members, confirmed by the Senate; and the chairman of the Public Regulation Commission, voted into office by the public.

The idea behind this structure is simple. The Governor and Legislature would have input into who serves on this Authority. But, clearly, the Governor would have more say than the Legislature because the Governor is ultimately accountable to voters for managing state government, including policy developed by the Legislature.

Listening to the debate in the media and during today’s committee meeting, you’d think the whole issue boils down to who controls this Authority and health care in general – the Governor or the Legislature. It’s a classic turf battle, which is unfortunate, because it takes away from the real issue of insuring all New Mexicans.

Slow Commute

For the 3,000 daily commuters trying to get from Albuquerque to Santa Fe today, the need for the Railrunner was painfully obvious as a couple of traffic accidents reduced traffic to a crawl near La Bajada.

Luckily, traffic never completely stopped. But the frustratingly slow pace (it took our carpool 1 hour and 20 minutes to get from Paseo del Norte on the North side of Albuquerque to the Roundhouse) and the impatient drivers on I-25 made for a bad start to the day.

Those of us in the carpool joked about the today’s slower-than-usual commute being comparable to a typical daily commute in a larger city like Los Angeles or Seattle. But that’s the point of commuter rail service along the Rio Grande corridor – no matter how often certain legislators complain about the cost of spending money on a train rather than continuing to invest in more asphalt around the state. The Railrunner not only provides a more reliable, and peaceful alternative to commuters who would rather skip the 2-hour round trip every day. It also helps take those additional vehicles off of I-25, and help minimize the congestion.

Contrary to the criticism of the Railrunner, the state is not prioritizing the Railrunner over highway funding. The fact is that Governor Richardson led the charge in 2003 to create the $1.6 billion GRIP package that is responsible for new highway construction in every corner of the state. To the Governor’s credit, he made alternative transportation – the Railrunner – an important part of GRIP.

January 22, 2008

More popular than Obama?

That’s what USTREAM.TV is saying about Governor Richardson’s 2008 State of the State address. In just one week more than 140,000 people have gone online and watched the Governor’s speech at www.ustream.tv. That’s double the number of people who have tuned in to video of Oprah Winfrey endorsing Barack Obama.

It is also the 4 th MOST VIEWED video clip on USTREAM.TV – out of more than 60,000 recorded videos.

To watch Governor Richardson’s 2008 State of the State address, go to: http://ustream.tv/.

And the nominees are…

While the nominations for 2008 Academy Awards were announced just this morning, a clear winner has already emerged--The State of New Mexico.

The Coen Brothers drama “No Country for Old Men” is adapted fromSanta Fe author Cormac McCarthy’s novel of the same name and was filmed almost entirely in New Mexico in locations such as Las Vegas and Santa Fe.

The production was drawn to New Mexico by the state’s film incentives, skilled crew base and incredibly varied locations, as were three other nominated films: “Transformers,” “3:10 to Yuma,” and “In the Valley of Elah.” Not only did these projects pump millions of dollars into local economies and employ hundreds of New Mexicans, now they're shining the international spotlight onNew Mexico, showcasing our state around the world as a filmmaking and tourism destination.

Here are the New Mexico nominees:

Best Picture- “No Country for Old Men”
Best Actor- Tommy Lee Jones for “In the Valley of Elah”
Best Supporting Actor- Javier Bardem for “No Country for Old Men”
Best Director- “No Country for Old Men”
Adapted Screenplay- “No Country for Old Men”
Cinematography- “No Country for Old Men”
Editing- “No Country for Old Men”
Score- “3:10 to Yuma”
Sound Editing-“No Country for Old Men,” “Transformers”
Sound Mixing-“No Country for Old Men,” “3:10 to Yuma,” “Transformers”
Visual Effects-“Transformers”

January 21, 2008

Red Light Cameras

The surprise issue during last year’s legislative session was the City of Albuquerque’s controversial red light camera system. Legislators from across the state criticized the idea and passed legislation that would: 1) warn drivers of the cameras, and 2) divert funding from the fines generated from the cameras to the Administrative Office of the Courts.

Governor Richardson signed the bill that required warning devices before approaching intersections with red-light cameras. The Governor vetoed the bill that would have diverted funding from the fines. The Governor agreed to veto that bill in return for the City of Albuquerque lowering the fines to a more reasonable amount. Some fines were subsequently reduced, but a recent task force recommended even lower fines.

Since then, many questions have been raised about the revenue from the fines and claims that the system has improved public safety.

After discussing the issue and at the request of several legislators, Governor Richardson has agreed to put the red-light camera issue on the agenda for the ongoing session. The Governor believes it is reasonable for the Legislature to revisit the issue.

January 18, 2008

Governor Richardson to Hold News Conference to Promote Stem Cell Legislation

 SANTA FE, NM – Governor Bill Richardson will hold a news conference with Senator John Ryan and Cody Unser to promote stem cell legislation on Monday, January 21, 2008 at 10:00am in the Cabinet Room at the Governor's Office in Santa Fe.

Renewable Energy Transmission Authority

Today New Mexico celebrates progress in positioning our state to become a powerhouse in the rapidly evolving clean energy economy of the 21^st century.  Our state is working on competitively developing its vast renewable energy resources such as solar and wind energy to meet our in-state needs, and for exporting clean energy to other states. 

The Renewable Energy Transmission Authority meets today in Santa Fe at the Wendell Chino Building, in Porter Hall, located at 1220 S. St. Francis Drive beginning at 1:00 p.m.  The Authority focuses on developing new transmission projects to promote renewable energy. It is the first of its kind in the nation, and is expected to stimulate clean energy production and create high paying jobs, capital investment and greater economic development in rural areas of New Mexico. 

Today they will introduce the new Executive Director, Lisa Szot, who came on board January 7, 2008.  Ms. Szot, an electrical engineer, brings more than 25 years of experience in transmission design, planning and implementation.  On the agenda today are a presentation on wind development in New Mexico and updates on regional transmission.  Under Governor Richardson’s leadership New Mexico remains an example for the country in taking action toward renewable and clean energy, which is the key to ultimately eliminating the need for imported oil. 

Cabinet Secretary Joanna Prukop
Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources

See press release on RETA Director, Lisa Szot.

Rail Runner Progress

With the 2008 Legislative Session underway, the number of people commuting to Santa Fe has increased.  The lanes of I-25 from Albuquerque to Santa Fe are packed with commuters.  Which means - more people are seeing the progress the Rail Runner is making.   Track is being laid and we are one step closer to New Mexico’s first commuter rail system.  Hopefully, legislators, lobbyists – and most importantly, the public – will be using the Rail Runner for the 2009 session to see their state government in action.

Here are some recent construction photos:

Credit: Jake Schoellkopf

Here are some facts that you may not know about the Rail Runner:

Vehicle Miles Traveled Reduction:

• Since Rail Runner service began, it has reduced traffic congestion by 15.8 million vehicle miles of travel

Carbon Dioxide Reduction:

• All Rail Runner locomotives use Bio-Diesel fuel (B20 which is 20% vegetable oil and 80% petroleum based)
• Use of Bio-Diesel reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 20%
• Eliminated 5,578 tons of carbon dioxide emissions since service started in July 2006.

 Gallons of Gasoline Saved:

• Rail Runner is twice as energy efficient as a car
• Reduced energy consumption by 575,000 gallons of gasoline since service started in July 2006.

January 17, 2008

HealthSolutions New Mexico

The big news as the legislative session begins is Governor Richardson’s HealthSolutions New Mexico plan – the ambitious effort to make quality health care available to all New Mexicans.

As expected, many legislators are concerned about the cost of such an ambitious plan, despite repeated assurances that this plan is the most fiscally responsible approach to insuring all New Mexicans.

While it is fair to scrutinize the cost of any public policy, some of the criticism sounds familiar. In 2003, during Governor Richardson’s first session, veteran legislators warned of the potential devastating effects to the budget if the Governor’s equally ambitious tax-cut package was passed. They also cast doubt on the Governor’s promise that the tax cuts would stimulate the economy and create jobs. They predicted the state would face a major deficit by 2007.

The reality is different. Since 2003, New Mexico has been a leader in job growth. Just this week, the Governor finalized deals for two new companies to potentially bring as many as 2,750 jobs to New Mexico. And the deficit? New Mexico has actually had some of the largest surpluses in state history.

Also in 2003, the Governor led a campaign to convince New Mexico voters to pass two education amendments that would create more accountability for public schools and take a portion of earnings from the Permanent Fund to invest directly in the classroom. Critics accused the Governor of “raiding the permanent fund” and predicted that we would have to raise taxes in the future as a result. What happened since then? We invested record amounts into classrooms, helping to move average teacher salaries from 46 th to a projected 29 th in the nation. And the state’s permanent funds grew, thanks to strong financial management, from about $9 billion to nearly $16 billion. And no new taxes as a result.

The Governor’s tax cuts and his education reform efforts were bold and risky. But they continue to pay off, because they were well thought-out with an eye toward fiscal responsibility. Governor Richardson has taken the same approach with his HealthSolutions New Mexico plan.