Democrats eye tax reforms to balance 2018 budget
A framed newspaper clipping adorns the wall outside the office of New Mexico Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth.
The piece, dated May 25, 2002, serves as a reminder of the time when Republican Gov. Gary Johnson, who had vetoed 700 bills in six years, finally overplayed his hand. One of those vetoes was the $3.9 billion spending plan for the coming fiscal year, a 1.1 percent increase over the previous year.
Johnson, a fiscal hawk, said the plan didn’t go far enough to control the growth of Medicaid. With just a few weeks left in the fiscal year, the Democratic Party-controlled House and Senate called themselves back to Santa Fe for a special session to override the veto and keep the government operating.
“We finally taught Gary Johnson that there are three branches of government,” one Democratic leader was quoted in a separate New Mexican article after both chambers voted overwhelmingly to override the veto. A Republican leader said he was told by a constituent business owner, “Don’t come home without a budget.”
Read more: http://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/legislature/dems-eye-tax-reforms-to-balance-budget/article_33a3653a-e627-5144-8167-e5519de36018.html