Budget goes to governor

The New Mexico House of Representatives descended into dysfunction as it tried to approve a budget early Thursday morning, finally sending the legislation to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s desk with just hours to spare in the session. The House ultimately voted to accept the Senate’s amendments to House Bill 2 in the wee hours of […]

Budget goes to governor

The New Mexico House of Representatives descended into dysfunction as it tried to approve a budget early Thursday morning, finally sending the legislation to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s desk with just hours to spare in the session.

The House ultimately voted to accept the Senate’s amendments to House Bill 2 in the wee hours of the morning after the upper chamber had passed an amended version of the legislation in much more civil fashion Wednesday afternoon. 

“We have a budget,” House Speaker Brian Egolf said.

But that didn’t happen until after a bizarre and tumultuous false start. Around midnight, the House voted to concur with the Senate’s budget changes after a very brief debate. But Republican leadership soon came charging onto the floor, lambasting Egolf for calling a vote while knowing “damn well” that they were in the other room.

“The entire session you have done this. You can’t keep your word for five minutes,” Minority Whip Rod Montoya shouted at Egolf from the floor, apparently referencing an unspecified agreement the two parties made. “We were talking about working this out. Instead this is the route you decide to go.”

Moments later, Minority Leader Jim Townsend walked onto the floor, apparently unaware that the budget had already been voted on. Other Republican members also complained that they had asked to participate in the debate but were denied.

“This was handed to us 10 minutes ago and you did not expect to have debate on it?” Rep. Rebecca Dow, R-Truth or Consequences, asked Egolf, referring to the Senate’s budget amendments. 

After a pause, Egolf agreed to hold a new debate and vote on the budget bill so that those Republicans could participate. That was held more than an hour later, after the body took up other bills, and the House ended up passing the bill for a second time around 1:15 a.m. after only several minutes of debate. 

That wasn’t the only caustic disagreement on the House floor in the waning moments of the session. A couple hours earlier while another bill was being debated, Townsend and Rep. Daymon Ely got into an argument over whether parliamentary procedure was properly followed. 

Shortly after the budget debacle, senators meeting on the other side of the Roundhouse commented on the “dysfunction” in the House, as Sen. John Sapien put it. 

“From time to time, I’ll go over there and just watch the circus,” Sen. Cliff Pirtle said, joking about watching the House when he needs entertainment. 

Ironically, the tension around the budget had been more between Senate and House Democrats than between members of opposing parties. 

In recent days, Sen. John Arthur Smith, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, had repeatedly criticized the lower house’s budget bill, while Egolf retorted on Tuesday that Smith’s panel had worked in “complete and total secrecy.” 

On the Senate floor Wednesday, Smith again criticized the original House version of the legislation, which his committee amended significantly to lower spending — such as cutting a proposed 5 percent raise for teachers to 4 percent.

“It’s not a question of whether we would like to do it, it’s a question of having a balanced budget,” said Smith, D-Deming.

The state Senate passed the bill by a vote of 35-7 after a two-hour debate in which Republicans warned of the dangers of New Mexico’s dependence on oil and gas, while a couple of progressive Democrats argued for spending more.

That bill was amended Tuesday by the Senate Finance Committee, which cut one-time appropriations from the House bill by a total of $142.5 million. That included reducing roadwork spending to $180 million from $255 million.

Republican senators voiced concern during the floor debate about the state’s dependence on the volatile oil and gas industry and the possibility that revenue could fall amid a downturn in energy markets.

“We’ve got to continue to be very careful,” said Sen. Ron Griggs, R-Alamogordo. “We don’t have a whole lot of wiggle room on this stuff.”

Pirtle, R-Roswell, proposed an amendment that would have inserted language into the New Mexico Opportunity Scholarship, embedded in the budget bill, to help high-school dropouts with GED certificates get a college education.

Pirtle lamented that the chamber didn’t get a chance to debate Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s college tuition proposal because a separate bill focusing on that initiative hasn’t moved forward. Money for the program instead was included in HB 2. 

Senators initially voted in favor of Pirtle’s amendment. But in a strange move some 20 minutes later, a motion was made to reconsider it; on the second take, it was struck down.

Smith argued that Pirtle’s change was not necessary because the budget bill gives the Higher Education Department the flexibility to target different segments of the student population.

The Senate decided to fund Lujan Grisham’s proposal at $17 million, with only $12 million in recurring spending. The allocation was a big drop from the $35 million the governor originally had requested, though a step up from the House’s decision not to fund the scholarship program at all.

Sen. Linda Lopez, D-Albuquerque, then proposed a second amendment that would have allocated an extra $23 million to pay raises so no state employee or public school worker would make less than $15 an hour. The amendment failed; senators said it would throw the budget out of balance and could force a special session.

Sen. Gerald Ortiz y Pino, D-Albuquerque, took issue with the budget crafting process in general and questioned why it was necessary to leave 25 percent in reserves after the House had approved the legislation with 23 percent in reserves.

“I think we have a situation where we’re planning the budget backwards,” Ortiz y Pino said. “Instead of starting with what we need, we started with what we want to save.”

The Albuquerque Democrat also charged that he and other senators who aren’t members of the Senate Finance Committee weren’t able to give input before the budget was drafted.

“This is more of an informational session than an action session,” he said.

Moderate Democrats countered that it wasn’t possible to satisfy all budget requests, even if they came from state agencies or the governor. 

“Not everyone gets what they want — it’s that way in the world,” said Sen. George Muñoz, a Gallup Democrat. “You’re not always going to get what you want in life.”

Staff writer Michael Gerstein contributed to this report.

We're ad free

That means that we rely on support from readers like you. Help us keep reporting on the most important New Mexico Stories by donating today.

Related

Lujan Grisham pocket vetoes two bills

Lujan Grisham pocket vetoes two bills

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham pocket vetoed two bills the legislature passed this legislative session: one changing the Cybersecurity Act and the other concerning law…
Gov signs bills with some vetoes 

Gov signs bills with some vetoes 

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed 69 bills that the legislature passed during the 2024 legislative session. These included the General Appropriations Act which contains…
Guv signs state budget

Guv signs state budget

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed the budget bill for Fiscal Year 2025 and the Capital Outlay spending bill. The FY25 state budget bill passed…
Advocates travel to D.C. to push for additional protections for the Gila River

Advocates travel to D.C. to push for additional protections for the Gila River

New Mexico advocates seeking to have the Gila River designated as a Wild and Scenic River will travel to Washington D.C. this week to…

NM Supreme Court annuls $10,000 penalty in PNM/Avangrid merger case

The New Mexico Supreme Court ruled on Monday that a penalty the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission levied against the state’s largest utility was…
State fines oil company more than $2 million after spill

State fines oil company more than $2 million after spill

The Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department fined an oil and gas company operating in the Permian Basin more than $2 million over produced…
Amid new graduation requirements, what do high schoolers want to learn?

Amid new graduation requirements, what do high schoolers want to learn?

By Margaret O’Hara, The Santa Fe New Mexican The main things that bring Brayan Chavez to school every day: Seeing, talking to and engaging with…
Special ed teachers hope lawmakers OK pay raises, admin changes

Special ed teachers hope lawmakers OK pay raises, admin changes

By Margaret O’Hara, The Santa Fe New Mexican Brittany Behenna Griffith has a laundry list of adjectives to describe the ideal special education teacher:…
Lawmakers must find consensus on competing education spending plans

Lawmakers must find consensus on competing education spending plans

By Margaret O’Hara, The Santa Fe New Mexican A challenging task awaits New Mexico lawmakers in the next 30 days: Reconciling three very different…
Lujan Grisham, Biden admin announce $10 million in federal funds for tribes, pueblos

Lujan Grisham, Biden admin announce $10 million in federal funds for tribes, pueblos

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced Friday $10 million in funding from the federal American Rescue Plan Act was awarded to six tribal nations and…
Proposal to curb executive powers moves to House Judiciary

Proposal to curb executive powers moves to House Judiciary

The House Government, Elections and Indian Affairs Committee discussed a potential constitutional amendment that seeks to limit the governor’s executive powers. The committee approved…
Supreme Court censures attorney over conduct in anti-COVID policy suits

Supreme Court censures attorney over conduct in anti-COVID policy suits

The New Mexico State Supreme Court censured a New Mexico attorney because of her “misconduct” in two unsuccessful cases pushing back on COVID-19 regulations…
Supreme Court to hear two abortion cases this spring

Supreme Court to hear two abortion cases this spring

Later this month, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on the case against the abortion medication mifepristone. It will hear a second…
How Biden, others highlighted reproductive rights at the State of the Union

How Biden, others highlighted reproductive rights at the State of the Union

President Joe Biden highlighted reproductive rights issues as part of his State of the Union speech Thursday. Biden delivered his 2024 State of the…
Stansbury invites OB-GYN doctor as her state of the union guest 

Stansbury invites OB-GYN doctor as her state of the union guest 

U.S. House of Rep. Melanie Stansbury has invited an OB-GYN doctor from Roswell as her guest for President Joe Biden’s State of the Union…
Supreme Court to hear two abortion cases this spring

Supreme Court to hear two abortion cases this spring

Later this month, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on the case against the abortion medication mifepristone. It will hear a second…
How Biden, others highlighted reproductive rights at the State of the Union

How Biden, others highlighted reproductive rights at the State of the Union

President Joe Biden highlighted reproductive rights issues as part of his State of the Union speech Thursday. Biden delivered his 2024 State of the…
Stansbury invites OB-GYN doctor as her state of the union guest 

Stansbury invites OB-GYN doctor as her state of the union guest 

U.S. House of Rep. Melanie Stansbury has invited an OB-GYN doctor from Roswell as her guest for President Joe Biden’s State of the Union…
See who’s going to be on your primary ballot in June

See who’s going to be on your primary ballot in June

Tuesday marked the official beginning of the 2024 New Mexico primary season for the legislature, with candidates officially filing for candidacy. This is the…

Bill to require disclosure of use of AI in campaign materials goes to governor

The Senate approved a bill aiming to require the disclosure of the use of artificial intelligence or other changes made by computers to campaign…
House amends, passes bill banning firearms near polling places

House amends, passes bill banning firearms near polling places

The House narrowly approved a bill that would ban firearms near polling places. The House voted 35-34 to pass the bill following an extensive…
Advocates travel to D.C. to push for additional protections for the Gila River

Advocates travel to D.C. to push for additional protections for the Gila River

New Mexico advocates seeking to have the Gila River designated as a Wild and Scenic River will travel to Washington D.C. this week to…
U.S. Supreme Court lets ban on Couy Griffin from holding office stand

U.S. Supreme Court lets ban on Couy Griffin from holding office stand

The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal of a Republican official who was barred from holding office after being convicted for a…
Politics Newsletter: legislative leaders not running for reelection

Politics Newsletter: legislative leaders not running for reelection

Hello fellow political junkies! Candidate filing day has come and gone, and members of House and Senate leadership opted to either not seek reelection…

GET INVOLVED

© 2023 New Mexico Political Report