Thursday, March 11, 2021State Economy Set To Pop As Giant Fed Relief Package Takes Hold Along With Legislative Relief, Plus: New GOP Name Floats For Haaland Seat, And: It Was One Of Those Days Not only will most New Mexicans be getting a $1,400 check courtesy of Scranton Joe and the Congress, there will also be millions flooding into local government coffers now that the $1.9 trillion Covid relief bill has won final approval.
The four Dem members of the state's congressional delegation (minus GOP Rep. Yvette Herrell who voted against the bill) come with the numbers that are glad tidings indeed: New Mexico State and local governments will receive $2.5 billion dollars under the American Rescue Plan. The State will receive $1.6 billion dollars. Metro areas will receive $177 million dollars, New Mexico’s counties will receive $407 million dollars, and local communities will also receive direct funding totaling $119 million dollars across the state. Senator Lujan’s office says ABQ City Hall will get $113.52 million. BernCo goes even bigger with $131 million. The city of Santa Fe will see $15 million and Las Cruces nearly $24 million. There’s more blast-off fuel--$200 million in small business grants the NM legislature and the Guv have approved along with $460 million in small biz loans and $600 in tax credits for workers slammed by the pandemic. And there's this: The (federal Covid) bill increases the federal tax break to $3,000 for every child age 6 to 17 ($250 per month) and $3,600 for every child under the age of 6 ($300 per month.) Families would get the full credit regardless of how little they make in a year. The money is also fully refundable, meaning families without income will also receive it. With New Mexico ranking worst or near worst in the nation in child poverty, that child credit money is going to be one big booster shot. Then there's the reopening of the state which is now moving right along with more restrictions being eased as the virus recedes. Consumers are ready to party and soon will have the places to do it. It all adds up to a big ol' bull market for the state economy. Don't ask how long it lasts, just enjoy it while it does. ANOTHER CONTENDER? We asked ABQ GOP State Senator Mark Moores about the buzz that he might be a late entry into the race to replace Dem Rep. Deb Haaland whose seat will become vacant when she is confirmed as Sec. of Interior by the US Senate. He didn't respond. After last year's election rout of the R's, Moores is the last Republican state Senator serving Bernalillo County. A run for Congress would be an uphill battle, but low risk since he wouldn't have to give up his senate seat. A campaign could also heighten his profile with the 2022 gubernatorial race not far away. A small group of GOP Central Committee members from the ABQ congressional district will pick the R nominee when the seat is vacant. Same for the D's. The special election is expected in June. BY THE NUMBERS  As of March 7, the House of Representatives has worked on 312 bills introduced this session. About 289 have had a hearing in committee where 129 made it through then passed the full House and are now in the Senate. In weeks 5 and 6, over 3,000 New Mexicans participated in the committee process. A map of where participants called from is here. Prior to the session, the House set a guideline for 5 bills per member in anticipation of a process impacted by virtual participation and remote voting. ONE OF THOSE DAYS
First, we had a computer glitch and the Wednesday blog was not posted at the usual time. If you missed it, just scroll down. Then we fielded a bunch of email and texts over the controversial column that was posted and that analyzed who was up and who was down in the Dem race to replace Rep. Deb Haaland. (Selinda Guerrero fans were out in force asserting she was short-changed in the analysis and is a real sleeper candidate). Then we erred by saying that Rep. Haaland was serving her first term when, of course, she is serving her second. Finally, word came of the death of an old friend, newsman Tom Trowbridge, a longtime New Mexico radio presence and unapologetic political junkie. The Brooklyn, NY native's last stint was at Santa Fe's KSFR-FM. Our last exchange was last month when Tom emailed about his departure from KSFR and also promised to pay off a dinner bet we had made on whether Trump would finish his term. We'll miss having that dinner and his presence on the airwaves. La Politica’s Steve Terrell said Tom apparently passed in his sleep. He was 62. All was not lost for the day. We discovered some long forgotten tamales from El Modelo in the freezer. We steamed one up and mulled over life’s passing parade and the error of our ways even as we looked forward to a decidedly apolitical weekend. Thanks for the company, New Mexico. This is the home of New Mexico politics. Interested in reaching New Mexico's most informed audience? Advertise here.   (c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2021 |
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