SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) - A bill designed to combat racial bias in hiring and promotional decisions at New Mexico state agencies has been vetoed by Gov. Susana Martinez.
Bill sponsor and Democratic Sen. Linda Lopez of Albuquerque said Friday in a statement that the veto means some state residents would continue to feel unwelcome and overlooked in the offices of New Mexico government.
In her veto message, Martinez said the bill would have been costly and unreliable under a personnel system that currently cannot require disclosure of an employee’s racial background.
The bill would have required state agencies and state-funded groups to develop policies to decrease institutionalized racism in personnel decisions that intentionally or unintentionally put certain racial or ethnic groups at a disadvantage. Staff training and progress reports would have been required.
Martinez, a second-term Republican and the nation’s only Latina governor, defended her commitment to providing equal opportunities for minorities and said she was not convinced the bill would help identify and reduce workplace discrimination.
At the same time, Martinez accused Lopez of blocking Hispanics from serving in state government by not holding confirmation hearings this year for university regents.
Lopez is chairwoman of the Senate Rules Committee that vets political appointments. She could not be reached for comment.
Martinez nominated Albuquerque Hispano Chamber of Commerce CEO Alex Romero to the University of New Mexico Board of Regents, but he and another appointee will not join the board because they did not get a hearing during the recently concluded 60-day legislative session.
The governor also vetoed the extension of a tax credit to smaller film production facilities that are currently excluded. Currently the tax incentives go to film and TV productions shooting at a back lot of at least 50 acres. The bill would have reduced the requirement to 45 acres to cover at least one site in the Las Cruces area.
The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Jeff Steinborn, D-Las Cruces, said the 50-acre rule is arbitrary. Martinez wrote that the current requirements are appropriate. The state can give out up to $50 million in tax credits each year.
Martinez signed other legislation Thursday that provides $1.8 million for improvements to drinking water systems across the state and ensures federal matching funds, allows law enforcement to serve municipal warrants outside city limits and in neighboring counties, and establishes new provisions for revoking horse-racing licenses.
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