Susana Martinez

Report: Governor left without paying at Santa Fe restaurant

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A report says that Gov. Susana Martinez left without paying the bill at a local Santa Fe restaurant Wednesday. That came from the Santa Fe Reporter, which spoke to the general manager of Five Star Burgers in Santa Fe. Martinez ordered a to-go order of a bison burger and fried green beans. When given the bill, the general manager—Robert Gonzales—said she crumpled up the ticket and threw it in the trash. “I thought to myself ‘She is not going to pay for this.

Andrew Perez

Report looking at possible ‘pay-to-play’ on investments stirs up a hornet’s nest

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A report examining possible “pay-to-play” over state pension investments is drawing sharp reactions and a call for an investigation into whether donations by investment firms broke state laws. The International Business Times and the money-in-politics watchdog nonprofit Maplight released an investigative report earlier this week on donations given directly to Susana Martinez’s campaign and to organizations that backed Martinez and later received state investment money from a public pension fund. A spokesman for Martinez essentially called the report clickbait and said “these accusations are shameless and dishonest” in a statement to NM Political Report. The spokesman, Joseph Cueto, continued, “It’s a shame that the dark-money liberal political group behind this is getting their way with clicks and smear headlines without a shred of evidence. The Governor remains open to further strengthening of our disclosure laws – despite Democrats’ previously killing her proposals to do just that.”

IBT is a for-profit online news organization based in New York City.

Affordable Care Act

Martinez not on board with latest ACA repeal attempt

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Gov. Susana Martinez believes the health care overhaul bill that Senate Republicans are currently working on would hurt New Mexico and says they should instead work on a bipartisan effort. After NM Political Report and other outlets asked Martinez her stance on the Graham-Cassidy healthcare bill, Martinez’s office released a statement. Spokesman Joseph Cueto said it is “perfectly clear…that Obamacare is a complete disaster.”

“While it’s encouraging that Congress is working on a healthcare solution, the governor is concerned this bill could hurt New Mexico and still needs some work,” he said. “She believes we need a bipartisan approach that focuses on the insurance market to make health care affordable.”

Senators are expected to vote on the Graham-Cassidy bill, which is supported by President Donald Trump, next week. Efforts at a bipartisan health care effort ended this week as the possibility of the new bill’s passage became more likely.

Easter Seals El Mirador

NM settles $2.8M Medicaid overpayment claim for $485

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As Gilda Radner’s Emily Litella might have said, “Nevermind!”

More than four years after accusing Southwest Counseling Center of overbilling the state by $2.8 million in Medicaid reimbursements, the Human Services Department has settled with the former Las Cruces behavioral health provider for $484.87. SWCC was one of 15 health organizations accused of overbilling and potential fraud by Gov. Susana Martinez’s administration in 2013. The state suspended Medicaid payments to the organizations pending an investigation, and outsourced behavioral health contracts to five Arizona companies, which effectively crippled the network of New Mexico behavioral health providers. All the while, the state kept an audit they used to justify the move secret, making it impossible for each organization to know what they were being accused of specifically. See a timeline and read of coverage of the Medicaid freeze here.

tax reform

Legislative analysis shows ‘technical error’ in tax overhaul could have cost state big

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If it had passed in its original form, the tax overhaul supported by the governor and legislative Republicans during the recent special session would have hurt the state. That’s the news from the finalized fiscal impact analysis done by staffers with the Legislative Finance Committee, first flagged by the Albuquerque Journal. According to the analysis, a technical error on the part of the bill’s drafters threw off revenue estimates by more than $100 million. The error had to do with the repeal of a nonprofit receipts exemption that applies to nonprofit organizations, including hospitals. The bill itself was finalized shortly before the special session began and was introduced hours after the special session came to order.

2017 Legislative Session

Furloughs put unions, Martinez administration at odds

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The state and labor unions representing workers in agencies possibly facing furloughs are clashing over the process of the potential forced days off. State Personnel Director Justin Najaka sent a letter Monday to Connie Derr, executive director of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Council 18 asking her to meet with him “to discuss the proposed statewide furlough plan.”

AFSCME represents employees at the Motor Vehicle Division, which Gov. Susana Gov. Susana Martinez has said could face the unpaid days off along with museums and state parks. Najaka cites state administrative code stating that the plan “identifying organizational units to be affected by the furlough may be presented to the State Personnel Board for approval or may otherwise be implemented.”

Najaka then listed this Wednesday, Thursday and Friday as dates he could meet with Derr. He ended the letter by stating that if he didn’t hear from Derr soon, “the State will proceed with the implementation of the proposed statewide furlough plan.”

But in a letter sent to Najaka today in response, Derr said the meeting would be an empty gesture without adequate information showing a need for furloughs. “Without such data and narrative, we have reason to believe this will be merely a pro forma and substance free meeting,” Derr wrote, citing provisions in the union’s collective bargaining agreement with the state.