Session has much to tackle - maybe too much, one legislator says

By Shea Andersen
Tribune Reporter

It's not so much the budget. It's what it does to the people and programs it pays for.

And doesn't pay for.

The New Mexico Legislature starts a 30-day regular session Tuesday, with one main job for lawmakers and Gov. Bill Richardson: Cover state government's bills.

It will be Richardson's first budget rewrite session in this, his second year in office.

To renovate the existing $4.1 billion spending plan, he and lawmakers must answer brittle questions.

What happens to the $408 million Medicaid program, expected to grow by another $110 million this year?

How do you pay for schools and reforms already promised to taxpayers there?

And how do you hand out money for roads, sewers and senior centers around the state?

All of these things are wrapped into New Mexico's budget, which Richardson said he's committed to streamlining - while also expanding another $192 million, to bring it to $4.3 billion.

"I will veto any measure that does not balance the budget," he said at a speech this week. "We're not going to allow any program to bust the New Mexico budget."

But some lawmakers worry that Richardson has packed so much onto the agenda for the upcoming session they'll go bust trying to cover it all.

"He is absolutely trying to do too much," said House Minority Leader Ted Hobbs, an Albuquerque Republican.

Hobbs even suggests that Democrat Richardson call another special session after this one to focus solely on an issue as complex as health care.

"My bottom line on this one is he's got too many items on the agenda," Hobbs said. "The way the governor's setting up the agenda, we could end up being there 90 days."

If Richardson hears those complaints, they're not putting a hitch in his stride. He joked recently that someone suggested a New Year's resolution for him could be to slow down.

"That's one resolution I won't be keeping," Richardson said.

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