Capital outlay bill on governor’s desk

SANTA FE – A $274 million public works package that New Mexico lawmakers sent to Gov. Susana Martinez’s desk for final approval includes money for senior centers, state building repairs and football equipment for an Albuquerque high school.

The so-called capital outlay bill, or jobs bill, approved this week, would provide funding for infrastructure projects in each of New Mexico’s 33 counties, according to a Journal review.

The state’s most populous county, Bernalillo County, would receive the largest share – at least $47 million in earmarked funding.

Money for the projects would come from state severance tax bonds, which could be issued immediately if the bill is signed into law by Martinez.

Here is a look at some of the projects included in the $274 million package:

⋄  $28.5 million for public school projects, including computer equipment, building repairs, playground fencing and more. That includes $30,000 for new Valley High School football equipment.

⋄  $13 million for new school buses around the state.

⋄  $10.1 million for building improvements, new lighting and other projects at the University of New Mexico.

⋄  $3 million to build a new access road to the Spaceport America facility near Truth or Consequences.

⋄  $6 million for new ballot-counting machines to be used statewide.

⋄  $1.8 million for improvements to an aging dam in San Miguel County.

⋄  $90,000 for revitalization of the Dixon apple orchard, which suffered severe wildfire and flood damage in 2011.

⋄  $25,000 for a Vietnam War memorial in Las Cruces.

Last year, Gov. Martinez used her line-item veto authority to nix nearly 200 projects worth $23 million out of a $146 million package that lawmakers had approved, describing the vetoed projects as “wasteful pork.”

After modifying their approach to this year’s public works package, top-ranking Democratic lawmakers said Thursday that they hope to avoid similar vetoes this time around.

“I would hope the governor would keep her vetoes to a minimum, because we’ve already vetted the projects,” said House Speaker Ken Martinez, D-Grants. “The more money we can keep in that bill to be distributed throughout New Mexico to take care of crumbling infrastructure, the more jobs we can create.”
— This article appeared on page A6 of the Albuquerque Journal