Governor assails cop-out budget proposal
With a 60-day session just days away, Gov. Susana Martinez on Thursday sounded a combative tone, referring to a legislative budget proposal released earlier this week as a “cop-out” and calling on lawmakers to show more political courage to fix an ongoing revenue downturn.
In a speech to Albuquerque business leaders, the second-term Republican governor also said she will urge legislators to relax construction industry regulations and expand the archiving of legislative webcasting during the session, which starts Tuesday.
“I have two more years, and I will fight to the end for our kids, our public safety and for those who have invested their own money (in businesses),” said Martinez, whose term as governor ends in 2018.
Top-ranking Democratic lawmakers have been critical of the governor’s plan to fix a projected $69 million deficit for the current budget year and carry the state through the coming fiscal year. Among other things, the plan calls for trimming take-home pay for state workers and teachers and halting a “hold-harmless” state subsidy for cities and counties that enacted the maximum-allowed tax increase under the terms of a 2013 tax package.
Read more: https://www.abqjournal.com/927028/governor-assails-legislative-panels-budget-plan.html