Inside UNM

It’s all over but the sighing. The New Mexico Legislature adjourned sine die at noon today, leaving the state with a budget package that ensures the really hard work is yet to come and will occur in the trenches. The mandatory bills for the 30-day...

As the end draws near, the action heats up. With Driver’s License/REAL ID legislation on its way to the governor, lawmakers must focus on the budget and on capital outlay during the waning hours of the legislative session. These are the must-pass...

One of the few lottery bills that actually had legs this legislative session had them cut out from under them this afternoon.  House Ways and Means rejected SB 180/a, the bill that sought to remove a mandate that sent 30 percent of lottery revenue to...

The final four days loom large in the roundhouse as capital outlay bills are centered in the house while the senate gets to deal with the budget. Over the weekend, the Senate Finance Committee, as promised, further cut FY 17 budget expectations to more...

All through this legislative session, much has been heard about the increasingly bad news regarding decreasing revenues and how difficult this makes crafting a state budget. There have been many calls for revenue enhancement (read tax increase), even...

Each day for the past several days, Senate Finance Chair John Arthur Smith (D-Deming) has reminded his colleagues about just how dire the state’s financial situation has become. Here is his daily dose of woe for Wednesday: The House built a FY 17 state...

UNM Regents Marron Lee and Ryan Berryman sailed through senate confirmations today, in a process that turned out to be not quite smooth. More than a dozen people, from UNM President Bob Frank to student leaders to marketing professors and trial lawyers...

“Maybe next year” is the new mantra of the 2016 legislative session. “Maybe next year there will be money for compensation increases.” “Maybe next year there will be more money for behavioral health, or early childhood education, or higher...

Last week, when deflated revenue projections were announced, the prevailing opinion was that leaving Santa Fe with the same amount of money you came in with would be considered a victory. For higher education, 2016 will not be a winning season. House...

At the Roundhouse today, Senate Education unanimously gave a Do Pass to Sen. Michael Sanchez’ bill to divert all unclaimed lottery prize money to the lottery scholarship fund that badly needs the infusion.  Sen. Sanchez figures this could add up to a...