SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) - The Latest on efforts by New Mexico lawmakers to resolve a state budget crisis (all times local):
9:30 p.m.
The New Mexico Legislature has sent a bill to the governor that would tap severance tax bonds to fill a budget shortfall for the coming fiscal year.
The state House of Representatives voted unanimously Wednesday to suspend infrastructure projects and bolster the state general fund by $100 million in the coming fiscal year.
Of those funds, $19 million are one-time transfers of money from dozens of state government accounts.
Many lawmakers voted in favor of the legislation with reluctance, saying it set a bad precedent to borrow money to pay for current operations.
The Legislature began a special session Wednesday as it grapples with ways to balance a budget for the coming fiscal year. The governor recently vetoed tax increases and all funding for state universities.
Legislators also are considering new legislation to raise taxes on nonprofit hospitals, internet sales, vehicle sales and gasoline.
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8:20 p.m.
A bill that reinstates funding for New Mexico’s universities and colleges as well as the Legislature is headed to the governor’s desk for consideration.
With a final 37-4 vote of the Senate on Wednesday, the Legislature agreed to restore $765 million in funding that was vetoed by Republican Gov. Susana Martinez earlier this year. For the spending measures to take effect, lawmakers still must approve revenue increases that the governor may be willing to sign.
Martinez last month rejected a variety of tax hikes and later called lawmakers back to the Capitol to renegotiate a balanced budget.
General fund dollars for the Legislature as well as state colleges, universities and specialty schools are scheduled to run out July 1. Lawmakers began a special session Wednesday and are grappling over how to end a budget crisis linked to a downtown in oil prices and a weak local economy.
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6:10 p.m.
A bill aimed at increasing New Mexico state tax income from online sales and nonprofit hospitals has been approved by the House of Representatives.
The House voted 37-29 Wednesday on the budget-balancing measures. The bill also would create a new state rainy day fund from future oil and natural gas proceeds for use during future fiscal emergencies.
Without revenue increases, New Mexico won’t have enough money to restore higher education funding that was vetoed by Gov. Susana Martinez last month. General fund dollars for the Legislature as well as state colleges, universities and specialty schools are scheduled to run out July 1.
Lawmakers began a special session Wednesday. They are grappling with a downturn in tax revenue linked to energy prices and a weak economy.
The Senate on Wednesday approved tax and fee increases on gasoline, vehicle sales and trucking permits that are likely to be vetoed by the governor.
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5:30 p.m.
Legislation that reinstates funding for New Mexico’s universities and colleges as well as the Legislature itself has been approved by the House of Representatives.
The Democratic-led House voted 46-20 Wednesday to restore some $765 million in general fund spending that was previously vetoed by New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez.
Restoration of the funding for the upcoming fiscal year is likely to depend on support for companion revenue increases from internet sales, taxes on nonprofit hospitals and suspended infrastructure projects. Martinez vetoed $350 million in tax and fee increases in April.
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3:30 p.m.
Legislation that reinstates funding for New Mexico’s universities and colleges as well as the Legislature itself has cleared its first hurdle.
Members of the House Appropriations Committee voted mostly along party lines in favor of restoring some $765 million in funding that was vetoed by Gov. Susana Martinez as part of a budget dispute following the regular legislative session earlier this year.
Restoration of the funding for the upcoming fiscal year is partly dependent on approval of a separate measure that aims to raise revenues by closing tax loopholes and instating new taxes for online purchases.
Another House committee endorsed that bill on Wednesday as lawmakers kicked off a special session focused on resolving a state budget crisis.
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3:20 p.m.
A New Mexico House legislative committee has approved a measure aimed at closing tax loopholes and introducing new taxes on online sales and nonprofit hospitals.
The Democratic-controlled House Taxation and Revenue Committee voted 9-7 on Wednesday along party lines to approve a proposal aimed at raising more revenue.
Without the revenue increases, state lawmakers don’t have resources to restore higher education funding that Republican Gov. Susana Martinez vetoed earlier this year.
General fund dollars for the Legislature as well as state colleges, universities and specialty schools are scheduled to run out July 1.
Lawmakers began a special session Wednesday and are grappling over how to end a budget crisis thanks to a downtown in oil prices.
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3:10 p.m.
Several tax and fee increases have been approved by a New Mexico Senate panel despite opposition to tax hikes by Republican Gov. Susana Martinez.
The Senate Finance Committee endorsed on Wednesday a gasoline and diesel tax increase of 5 cents per gallon and a $55 registration fee on interstate freight trucks.
The bill also would implement taxes on online sales by out-of-state retailers and delay reductions to corporate income tax rates that are being phased in gradually by the state. Proceeds would help rebuild general fund reserves and pay for road maintenance and construction.
Martinez vetoed similar tax proposals in April and has vowed to do it again. She has denouncing gasoline taxes in particular as a burden on working families. All Republicans on the Senate committee voted against the tax increases.
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1:30 p.m.
Democratic state lawmakers in New Mexico are proposing to increase per-student funding to public schools by $15 in the fall.
Sen. Mimi Stewart of Albuquerque announced the plan Wednesday to increase spending on public schools across the state by $10 million. She said the spending will be offset by a variety of state revenue increases without offering more specifics.
National teachers union officials joined a rally and news conference Wednesday at the New Mexico state Capitol in a show of force as lawmakers convened to resolve a state budget crisis.
A $6.1 billion spending bill approved by the Legislature in March would slightly increase state funding to public schools in the coming fiscal year after a series of spending cuts and withdrawals from district cash reserves. Spending on education could be revised as lawmakers rewrite taxation and spending bills in an effort to balance the state budget.
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1:10 p.m.
The New Mexico Legislature has failed to override a veto by Republican Gov. Susana Martinez of funding for all state colleges and universities.
The House voted 39-29 Wednesday, falling short of a two-thirds majority need to restore funding to institutions of higher education that include public hospitals and research facilities. A Senate override vote also fell short of a two-thirds majority.
Most Republicans opposed the override on the first day of a special session. GOP Sen. Craig Brandt said lawmakers cannot restore spending until they approve new sources of revenue.
The failed vote could pave the way for the Supreme Court to intervene in state financial decisions if the Legislature fails to craft a balanced budget for the fiscal year starting July 1.
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12:45 p.m.
The New Mexico Democratic-controlled Senate has failed to override Republican Gov. Susana Martinez’s veto of funding for all colleges and universities.
The Senate voted 26-15 Wednesday on the first day of a special session to overturn the governor’s veto of funding colleges and universities as well as hospitals and other programs under their umbrella. But the vote fail short of the votes needed.
Sen. John Arthur Smith, a Deming Democrat, says the governor’s veto of higher education funding has had a devastating effect on the state.
But some Republican senators said overriding the veto still didn’t solve the state’s revenue problem thanks to a drop in oil prices. Democrats are pushing for tax increases while the GOP wants overall tax reforms.
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12:40 p.m.
Democrats in the New Mexico Legislature are calling for a vote to override vetoes by Gov. Susana Martinez that defund the Legislature and all state colleges and universities in the coming fiscal year.
Sen. John Arthur Smith and Rep. Daymon Ely on Wednesday introduced a motion to override vetoes by the Republican governor.
A two-thirds majority is required to override a veto.
Martinez last month rejected a variety of tax increases, while vetoing $765 million in state spending. The state Supreme Court has declined requests from lawmakers to rescind those spending cuts.
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12:20 p.m.
The New Mexico Legislature has convened in a special session to resolve a state budget crisis linked to faltering tax revenues and a weak state economy.
The state Senate and House of Representatives gathered Wednesday at the state Capitol to consider legislation designed to restore vetoed spending cuts and shore up depleted state reserves.
The state’s Republican governor and Democratic-led Legislature have outlined competing proposals to restore vetoed funding for the Legislature and all state universities for the fiscal year starting July 1.
Martinez last month rejected a variety of tax increases, while vetoing $765 million in state spending. The state Supreme Court has declined requests from lawmakers to rescind those vetoes.
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11:00 a.m.
A public employees union in New Mexico is pushing back against a Republican plan to shore up state finances by withdrawing pension money earmarked for lawmakers.
Carter Bundy of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees said Wednesday that the proposed withdrawals would affect retirement savings of most state workers and not just legislators.
He also warned that the plan to claw back $12.5 million in retirement contributions would threaten the tax-exempt status of the New Mexico Public Employees Retirement Association.
Republican Gov. Susana Martinez and GOP lawmakers say that a legislative retirement plan is overfunded, too generous and should be used to plug a budget deficit for the coming fiscal year. State pension managers say that would be illegal.
The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees represents about 10,000 state workers in New Mexico.
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3:00 a.m.
New Mexico lawmakers are converging on the state Capitol for a special session in hopes of resolving a budget crisis.
The session begins at noon Wednesday with a focus on restoring vetoed funding to all state colleges and universities.
Republican Gov. Susana Martinez and the Democratic-led Legislature have been feuding for months over how to fill a shortfall for the upcoming fiscal year.
Martinez in April vetoed tax and fee increases that most lawmakers say are needed to bolster funding for public schools, courts and critical government services after repeated rounds of cuts to state agencies.
The governor favors further government belt tightening, along with legislation to wipe away tax breaks.
Lawmakers are contemplating quick ways to boost finances by taxing more online sales, imposing taxes on nonprofit hospitals and suspending infrastructure projects.
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