As for the Republicans, there are more than a handful of House and Senate members who have introduced social legislation that has virtually no chance of passage. While these bills demonstrate a commitment to a certain philosophy, we can’t help but think that particularly during a period when basic corruption and fiscal strains plague the state, introducing a wide range of bills assured of failure violates the overall philosophy of not wasting time. Not wasting time is the part of fiscal responsibility that has been most lacking in Santa Fe for decades.
With half the session passed into history, the House finally released its own version of the budget.
No doubt in the second half of the session, now that Democrats have made sure New Mexico will continue to be a state that actually provides an assist to voter fraud as well as sanctuary to federal law violators, the budget will take the spotlight. It will be interesting to see if protecting the taxpayers will require the veto pen of Susana Martinez. Based on the governor’s apparent abundance of intestinal fortitude and the actions and inactions on bills so far, I am betting that the pen will have to be mightier than the horde.
