Tuesday, November 24, 2020Special Session Today To Get Fed Pandemic Money Out Of Reserves And Out The Door, Plus: Update On Biden And Possible NM Cabinet Picks Dems and R's were on the same page—but no longer—in the effort to roll out hundreds of millions in federal coronavirus aid that has been unspent and kept to bolster state reserves. The Dem majority is such that Republican votes will not be needed. Those reserves are now better than expected but the challenge is rapidly pushing money out the door as a December 30 deadline looms. There's some finger-pointing over earlier money being stalled. Take a look: Lujan Grisham’s administration allocated $178 million to city, county and tribal governments and related small-business grants. Local governments are racing against a Dec. 30 deadline to get the money into their communities. “Unless local governments are more effective in using these funds before the deadline, the state will have to revert the unused money back to the federal government,” said a spokesman for the Finance and Administration Department. “The federal government can then redistribute New Mexico’s funds to other states, and many New Mexico communities, businesses and individuals will miss out on much-needed aid. . ." Sorry, DFA bean counters, but you can't off load the responsibility of getting businesses and workers badly needed funds to combat the impact of the virus. It's the state that shut the economy down and it's the state that has 20,000 employees and a battalion of PR people who can aid cities and towns in getting word out to those eligible and to provide assistance with paperwork that often intimidates small business owners. It would be a sin to return money to the Feds that could mean the difference of a business and its employees surviving or going under. The state has done pandemic contact tracing pretty well. Now it's time for government entities to work together to contact businesses to let them know time is running out--not point fingers. SPECIAL DETAILS Here's the breakdown of the major items the Governor is asking for at today's special: --Appropriate $194 million for one-time unemployment compensation to bolster unemployment checks by $300 a week for four weeks. --$100 million for a small business grant fund allowing up to $50,000 per business, with a prioritization of the hospitality and restaurant industry. --$15 million would provide emergency housing assistance, while another $5 million will go to shoring up the state's many food banks with emergency funds. MIA MONEY One item missing and that we've blogged about is the troubled $400 million Small Business Recovery Loan Fund. By the end of August only about $20 million had been loaned because of restrictive rules. The Governor did not put a fix for that on today's special agenda, as some expected, but finance officials in Santa Fe say it will be tackled at the regular session starting in January. CABINET WATCH
The chances of ABQ Dem Rep. Deb Haaland to secure Interior took a hit when the NYT came with this:
. . . Her lack of policy experience worries some Biden advisers, who have suggested another Native American candidate: Michael L. Connor, a deputy Interior secretary in the Obama administration, whose experience is unquestioned, even if he lacks the star power of Ms. Haaland. Rep. Raul Grijalva, chair of the House Resources Committee and who is backing Haaland, retorted: She’s not window dressing. She’s competent. She’s a pro, both politically and in terms of policy. . . Connor is a member of Taos Pueblo and today works in a DC law firm. He was born in Las Cruces. His grandfather on his mother's side was a Taos Pueblo leader. Outgoing Sen. Tom Udall is the main non Native American in the running and he's running hard to get it. As for HHS, MLG continues to be cited as a possible Biden pick: Possible nominees. . . are Gov. Lujan Grisham, a Latina former member of Congress who also served as the state's secretary of health; Rep. Raul Ruiz of California, a Latino physician and former emergency room doctor; and Rep. Karen Bass of California, a Black former physician assistant, according to four people familiar with the discussions. . .Another top contender is Dr. Vivek Murthy, a former surgeon general, whose family immigrated from India and who has been a top Biden adviser. . . This is the home of New Mexico politics. E-mail your news and comments. (newsguy@yahoo.com)
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