Administrative Office of the Courts

Committee discusses how to spend some of the $1.1 billion in federal aid

By |

The House Appropriations and Finance Committee held a three-hour hearing on allocating some of the $1.1 billion in federal pandemic relief aid but will wait until Wednesday to vote on the bill. HB 2, a general appropriations bill, will enable the legislature to begin spending some of the federal American Rescue Plan Act money. The 2021 Legislature already allocated the federal relief funds, but Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham line item vetoed that portion of the spending bill last spring. A group of state senators from both parties sued Lujan Grisham arguing that she did not have the authority to spend the money without the Legislature’s input and won their case in state Supreme Court this past fall. Related: NM high court: Legislature, not governor, has authority over federal COVID-19 funds

Once it passes and is signed by the governor, the federal money will transfer to a contingency fund within the general fund.

Congress & Federal Issues

Rules frozen by Trump could melt away without a trace

By |

Ridding day care centers of fluorescent lightbulbs with toxic PCBs. Requiring a backup engineer on freight trains to avoid crashes. Restricting drones from flying over people. Federal agencies were preparing these rules and dozens more when Donald Trump was elected. In one of his first acts, the president quietly froze them.

American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees Local 624

Gov. orders agencies to consolidate human resources

By |

In a shake-up of state government, Gov. Susana Martinez has ordered agencies throughout New Mexico’s bureaucracy to eliminate human resources divisions and shift responsibility for personnel matters to a single office. Martinez had telegraphed the move for months because of a budget crisis that has prompted cuts across New Mexico government. Her order follows through on a recommendation floated many times during the last several decades as a means of streamlining state bureaucracy and cutting costs. But Martinez’s executive decision also puts the jobs of hundreds of government employees in peril at a time when New Mexico’s unemployment rate is among the nation’s highest. A spokesman for the State Personnel Office said it is still assessing how many employees will be affected but added that the move is expected to save millions of dollars each year.

News

Better vehicle mileage crimps New Mexico’s road fund

By |

New Mexico’s Road Fund was once considered a pot of money that would keep growing as more people in the state bought higher-priced cars and trucks, then drove extensively for business and recreation. Part of that has come to pass. With three interstate highways crossing New Mexico, increased trucking activity and record tourism, drivers are logging more miles. But they also are buying less gasoline, and the fund for road improvements and maintenance has stagnated. “We’ve seen an increase in traffic in New Mexico,” said state Rep. Larry Larrañaga, R-Albuquerque, a member of the House Transportation Committee.