Gov. vetoes independent Public Education Commission, other bills

Gov. Susana Martinez has vetoed a number of bills passed during the recent 60-day session.

Among the vetoes was a measure to make the Public Education Commission independent and give it the final say over charter school applications, taking the public education secretary out of that process.

She also vetoed a bill to allow some criminal arrests  to be wiped off public records, and another to change the way motorists deal with traffic citations by having the courts handle all of them.

And she axed a bill for a pilot project to create so-called community engagement teams to reach out to the mentally ill and offer services.

Martinez also vetoed a bill that was intended to bring New Mexico’s public financing system for judicial candidates and Public Regulation Commission members in line with a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on matching funds.

The vetoes were announced today, which was the governor’s deadline for acting on bills from the recent legislative session. Overall, she vetoed 70 measures, or 23 percent of the bills that lawmakers  passed in the session that ended March 16.