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Tuesday, February 23, 2021

State House Budget Makes Modest Attempt At Putting Huge Surplus To Work, Plus: How Fiscal Conservatism Endures In Santa Fe No Matter Who Is Elected, And: Longtime ABQ Councilor Harris To Retire 

A pedestrian FY 2022 state budget that makes a modest attempt at putting to work an immense budget surplus in what will soon be a post-pandemic New Mexico passed the House Appropriations Committee Monday and headed to the full House.  

When all was said and done the budget stood at $7.4 billion, a 4.6 increase over the current one that ends June 30. The reserves, which have skyrocketed to $2.7 billon or over 35 percent of the budget because of a new bull market that has taken the oil price over $60 a barrel, were tapped for $1 billion, leaving $1.7 billion in reserve or just under 25 percent, more than double the traditional reserve of 10 percent.

The budget does contain $400 million in needed pandemic economic relief but contains no sweeping measures. State employees and teachers get a 1.5 percent pay hike that will barely register when their health costs are accounted for, and while the House speaker says the budget "reimagines" the state economy, the major attempt at that seems to be a $300 million one time appropriation for roads. Broadband gets a mere one time pop of $30 million. What if the legislature reversed those numbers? That would be reimagining.

The budget passed the committee, chaired by Rep. Patricia Lundstrom of Gallup, unanimously. Not one dissent to the state's governing document among the 19 members? How's that for the fighting spirt? Then there's that news release from the state GOP actually praising the new budget. 

You did some good work, Patty, but when no one complains and the R's tout a budget, you left too much money on the table. Why? To avoid an argument?  Did the R's seek unanimous budget compromises when they controlled the House for two years starting in 2015? Not a chance. 

With a 45-25 majority, House Dems have more than enough troops to wage battle and recast policy for a rapidly changing economy and a fading New Mexico. But they don't like to fight. They like the status quo and ultimately they lack the will. And that bring us to this. . . 

THE MORE THINGS CHANGE. . . 

How does mostly conservative fiscal policy endure year after year in Santa Fe Fe no matter the economic outlook or the partisan breakdown of the legislature? To find out travel into the legislative weeds with a Roundhouse veteran.  It's a bit lengthy but whether you're a newcomer or an old-timer it is a must read:  

Joe, I was at the legislature as an agency representative for 14 years. In my view, most legislators want to do the right thing. They take their jobs seriously. But they get a whopping 30/60 days to pass all the bills for the year, on top of making sure they bring home the bacon for their districts. They can't possibly have all the necessary information to make sound decisions, so this means they rely heavily on one guy: David Abbey, director of the Legislative Finance Committee.

David Abbey
David and his staff theoretically are supposed to provide complete and, ideally, neutral, information to the members and let them draw conclusions based on facts alone. But in my experience, that's not what happens. Instead, David imposes his will on the members through the analysts, and their Fiscal Impact Reports (FIR). Want a good bill to die quickly? Give it a scary FIR analysis and load it up with millions of dollars of costs that may or may not bear any relationship to reality. Want a terrible bill to pass? Edit out any negative language, lowball the financial impact and you're good to go. 

David and his staff are among the first to meet and "train" every incoming legislator. Why do progressive ideals die as soon as newbies walk through those heavy, brass doors at the Roundhouse? It's not because the legislators magically lose the will--it's because they get the scare treatment and quickly learn to fall in line if they want to accomplish anything. This isn't to say David is a bad guy, he's not at all, he's just fiscally conservative. He has done tremendous work for the state, if you believe that pinching every penny is the right thing to do. 

For decades he successfully executed the will of (former Senate Finance Committee Chairman) John Arthur Smith and other conservatives before him, and, to his credit, he has saved the state from some real financial disasters. But this is to say that you cannot look only at the legislators and wonder why things aren't getting done. There is a huge and powerful organization (the LFC) choreographing both legislative chambers that is unknown to 99% of the voting public, and they are staunchly conservative. If the progressive arm of the legislature has any hope of executing their agenda, they have to replace the leadership at LFC. They have to hire people who will support investment in early childhood education, who will take risks on new and innovative programs to attract good businesses and educated, qualified people to this state. 

We have seen what 20 years of fiscal conservatism has done for New Mexico--it has kept us at the bottom of all the good lists and at the top of all the bad ones. The voters here want change; they've told us this loudly and clearly by eviscerating every politician who trends conservative. So why do we have the most powerful and influential legislative organization still being run by a fiscal conservative? Why do the progressives keep employing someone who works against their interests?  They need to hire someone who will more than reluctantly support their agenda, someone who has serious progressive chops and who will help them push these policies through. 

Now that is excellent analysis, and you ain't going to get it anywhere else, kids. 

Abbey is a highly competent public servant who is in his late 60's and has given signals that he may retire in the not too distant further. When he does the fiscal hawks will move rapidly to clone him. Will the centrists and progressives have the will to break their grip on all that budget power? That's the question. The answer is worth billions.

CITY ELECTION '21

Councilor Harris
Longtime GOP City Councilor Don Harris says he will not seek re-election to his far SE Heights ABQ City Council seat. The decision is a blow to the R's who now face the prospect this November of losing District 9 which has grown more moderate and Democratic during the Harris years. The Council is currently divided 6 to 3 and could go to 7 Dems because of the Harris retirement. 

Harris, an attorney, was first elected in 2005. His departing release says:

"One of his most impactful pieces of legislation was the resolution that devotes 2% of the biannual bond proceeds for Open Space purchases, which has resulted in millions of dollars of Open Space purchases, and will continue for the foreseeable future. . . . He (was among) the deciding votes that stopped a street car from being built along Central Avenue. “I have worked with three excellent Mayors,” Harris said. “There is no ‘aisle’ dividing our dais at City Hall. We all do our best to work together for our great City.” 

Harris, 58, survived a recall election early in his tenure and never looked back, winning re-election with solid margins. And he probably would have an easy run for re-election this year. 

He tended to his district well, but Harris and the "excellent mayors" he served with reigned over a city increasingly besieged by an ongoing crime wave that crippled the economy, put the brakes on population growth and has seen APD become a shell of its former self.  

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(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2021
 
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