SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) - New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham endorsed election reforms Wednesday that would ship absentee ballots to most registered voters without a request in November and also called for greater public disclosure of police disciplinary records.
On the eve of a special legislative session, the first-term Democratic governor outlined a handful of urgent initiatives that she will consider as the lawmakers focus foremost on rewriting the state budget to fill a yawning financial deficit.
“We must begin to address both the financial and human rights emergencies of this moment, and put ourselves in a position to evaluate and enact broader structural reform in the next regular session of the Legislature,” the governor said in a statement.
The governor previously called for legislation to ban police chokeholds and require body cameras.
On election procedures, the proposed changes would only apply to emergency situations such as a pandemic. Currently, election regulators provide absentee ballots by request only for any reason.
The majority of New Mexico voters in the June 2 primary switched to absentee balloting amid record-breaking participation and extended delays in vote tallying in two counties.
At the state Capitol, legislators searched for solutions Wednesday to a $1.7 billion budget deficit for the coming fiscal year. The collapse of tourism and faltering oil prices are hitting public finances especially hard in a state that leaned on the petroleum sector for more than one-third of its general fund income in recent years.
The lead House and Senate budget writing committees met Tuesday with state economists and top financial officials to review financial forecasts that show a likely 25% plunge in general fund revenue for the fiscal year starting July 1.
New solvency proposals would downsize pay raises at schools and state agencies to less than 1% on average, while maintaining a small share of spending to provide free tuition to two-year college students.
Funding to most state agencies would be scaled back by 4% to conserve spending - while preserving larger spending increases on public education, Medicaid and at the Department of Health that is leading the state’s pandemic response. Agency reductions of 6% would be triggered if the stat’s financial standing slides unexpectedly.
Democratic state Rep. Patricia Lundstrom of Gallup said she is still wary of a second wave of virus infections that might further undermine the economy and state finances.
“I come from a county that has almost 3,000 positive cases, in McKinley County, and I can tell you, that has devastated our community,” Lundstrom said. “It does concern me when we talk about a second wave” of infections.
Republican Rep. Randal Crowder of Clovis warned that ongoing restriction on businesses under the state’s public health order are having a harsh effect and will delay economic recovery.
“All of our (rodeo) roping events and all of our horse sales have moved from New Mexico to Texas,” said Crowder, ticking off the names of local businesses that closed permanently, including a motorcycle dealership, hotel and department store. “I’m living in a county that has become financially devastated by the closures.”
A rough draft of the Legislature’s solvency plan would rely on an infusion of $750 million of federal recovery act funds, draw down state government reserves and borrow money to sustain infrastructure projects that are seen as crucial to economic recovery. State finances will benefit from other emergency federal allocations, including a recent boost in federal subsidies to Medicaid health care for people living in poverty or on the cusp.
In February, the Democrat-led Legislature approved a nearly 8% general fund spending increase - signed by Lujan Grisham at the outset of the coronavirus pandemic.
New Mexico is in the process of gradually reopening its economy, with no mass gatherings or festivals and limitations still in place for capacity at restaurants, retailers and gyms.
House Republican leaders including minority leader James Townsend are warning that sustained spending increases in nonessential areas may force the state to consider tax increases when it meets again in January to craft the next budget. State economists are forecasting a $1.4 billion shortfall in state government income for the budget year beginning in July 2021.
New Mexico’s Republican Party is challenging the governor’s authority to level major fines against businesses that disobey state emergency health orders.
On Wednesday, Lujan Grisham announced her support for using the state’s multibillion-dollar Severance Tax Permanent Fund to provide low-interest loans to municipalities and small businesses to overcome financial difficulties linked to the coronavirus.
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