Hello fellow political junkies!

Today, the Legislative Finance Committee is scheduled to discuss general fund revenue projections which will be used as guidance during the 2024 New Mexico Legislative session fiscal year 2025 budget negotiations.

On Dec. 5, the Interim Legislative Revenue Stabilization and Tax Policy Committee heard a presentation on revenue tracking in New Mexico.

“So looking back a year ago, in December 2022, the CREG economists came out with a massive revenue forecast, the largest we’ve ever done in the state, and that led to the largest budget that the state has ever seen for FY 24,” LFC Economist Jennifer Faubion said. 

Related: Legislative Finance Committee releases projected revenue estimate for FY24

The General Fund Revenue Tracking Report was released Nov. 29 and was discussed in more detail at the Interim Legislative Revenue Stabilization and Tax Policy Committee meeting.

It was also discussed in last week’s newsletter which can be found here.

Meanwhile on the Hill

During her biweekly press call Dec. 4, Representative Melanie Stansbury, a Democrat from New Mexico, discussed the importance of preventing the United States from succumbing to authoritarianism.

“I think there is increasing alarm that if President (Donald) Trump were to be reelected in 2024, that we would see a level of authoritarianism that we have probably never seen in American history since this nation has been a great democracy,” Stansbury said. “Rising to the alarm levels necessary to make sure that the American people understand what is going on. It’s very important that folks understand that what is happening right now is not normal.”

This comes following the election of self-proclaimed anarcho-capitalist Argentine President-Elect Javier Milei on Nov. 29. Milei, who is frequently referred to as “Argentina’s Trump,” has said that he plans to privatize everything in Argentina that can be privatized from media outlets to energy firms, according to Newsday.

“We’re seeing the rise of authoritarianism all across the globe. We’ve seen it in recent elections that have been held in the last year. We’re seeing it with the rise of authoritarian activity under (Russian Federation President Vladimir) Putin, obviously in Russia and the current Chinese government, and what we have to do is preserve our democracy and preserve our basic rights,” Stansbury said. 

One of the efforts that can be done to prevent an erosion of rights, is to expand voting rights and secure our nation’s voting systems, Stansbury said.

“What we’re seeing all across the United States is a constriction on voting rights, particularly in the South,” Stansbury said. “So we’ve been working on federal legislation to protect voting rights, but we can’t get it passed unless we have a majority in the House, in the Senate who want to protect voting rights and so that’s why getting engaged in the 2024 election is so essential.”

Other news from the Hill:

• Vice President Kamala Harris cast her record-setting 32nd tie-breaking vote. The previous record was set by John C. Calhoun with 31 during his tenure as vice president in 1825-1832. More on this from The Washington Post here.
• Sen. Tommy Tuberville, a Republican from Alabama, announced Tuesday that he would lift the blanket hold on senior military promotions.The hold was put in place in February and was done so as a protest to President Joe Biden’s abortion policies regarding the military. The hold is still in effect for four-star generals and flag officers. More on this from CBS News here.
• Rep. Patrick McHenry, a Republican from North Carolina, announced he will not seek re-election in 2024. McHenry presided over the U.S. House of Representatives during the house speaker stalemate in which the House lacked a speaker for three weeks following then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a Republican from California, was removed from the speakership in October.
• McCarthy announced Wednesday that he will not seek re-election and will retire Dec. 31.
• Former congresswoman and Jan. 6, 2021 Commission Chairwoman Liz Cheney said she was thinking about running for president on a third-party conservative ticket, citing former President Donald Trump as a “threat to democracy.” More on this from Reuters here.
• Rep. Jamaal Bowman, a Democrat from New York, was censured Thursday for allegedly pulling a fire alarm in the Cannon House Office Building during a government funding vote. He was previously charged with a misdemeanor for the incident. Bowman was the 27th congressman, and the third this year, to be censured.

This week’s Interim Legislative meetings

• Interim Legislative Finance Committee will meet Dec. 11-15 in Room 322 at the State Capitol.
• Interim Legislative Courts, Corrections And Justice Committee will meet Dec. 12 in Room 317 at the State Capitol.
• Interim Legislative Education Study Committee will meet Dec .13-15 in Room 307 at the State Capitol.

Upcoming interim legislative meetings

There were no meetings listed for the week of Dec. 18.

For more information about interim legislative committees visit nmlegis.gov.

There are 35 days until the New Mexico Legislature Opening Day.

Other local and county meeting schedules

• Albuquerque City Council meets at 5 p.m. on the first and third Monday of each month.
• Bernalillo County Commission meets at 5 p.m. on  the second and fourth Tuesday of each month.
• Doña Ana County Commission meets at 9 a.m. on the second and fourth Tuesday of the month.
• Las Cruces City Council meets at 1 p.m. on the first and third Monday of each month.
• Rio Rancho City Council meets at 6 p.m. on the second and fourth Thursday of each month.
• Sandoval County Commission meets at 6 p.m. on the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month.
• Santa Fe City Council meets at 5 p.m. on the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month.
• Santa Fe County Commission meets at 2 p.m. on the second and last Tuesday of each month.

Contact your local county or municipality to make sure the meetings are going ahead as scheduled since meetings are sometimes changed due to the holidays.

2024 New Mexico Primary Elections

The 2024 election cycle has been underway for months with debates, ads and campaign events across the state and country.

The New Mexico Primary is set for June 4. Candidate filing day is in February.

The 2024 General Election day is Nov. 5.

For more information about elections contact your local county clerk’s office which can also help you check on or update your voter registration, a process that can also be done online at NMVote.org.

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