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Saturday, August 23, 2008
Lawmakers Doled Out Cash Responsibly
By Senate President Timothy Z. Jennings
Roswell Democrat
As the state Senate ends deliberations, we felt it necessary to give voters information on our progress. We have approached health reform, tax- and disaster-relief and other issues on Gov. Bill Richardson's call with the knowledge that monies derived from the oil and natural gas booms cannot be viewed as never ending, and in fact will decline in volume and in price over the coming years.
While we have experienced a windfall in revenues from these sources, we have also experienced flat to declining revenues from other sources such as personal and corporate income tax receipts.
This fact has allowed a certain level of revenue that will be appropriated as a tax rebate for our citizens, but we are cautious about overspending these revenues, and we will not sacrifice today's windfall for tomorrow's economic security. We simply cannot allow expenditures to threaten the absolute necessity of preserving reserves for the future. We will not forsake our responsibility to our children and future taxpayers of New Mexico.
The development of a comprehensive Health Care System that addresses the needs of all New Mexicans and that is affordable and fair to both employees and employers is a significant challenge that cannot be addressed in a short period of time. We are committed to taking meaningful steps to achieve this goal, but we are also aware of the growing energy to make health care for all U.S. citizens a national priority.
We want to become a part of this national initiative if it comes to fruition, but in the meantime we will endeavor to devote significant energy during the coming general session to make strides for New Mexico and our citizens. We have taken significant steps during the special session to expand health care by providing monies to increase the number of children on Medicaid.
We have passed legislation that increases monies for the Child Care Assistance Program. This will enable the Department to enroll more children and to raise the income eligibility from 165 percent of poverty to 200 percent. The total appropriation for this item is $7.2 million.
We have approved the Working Families Tax Credit that will allow more working families an increased credit and will lessen their tax burden on their state return. The cost of this was $7.6 million.
We have provided monies for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program and for the secretary of state to run the November election.
We have appropriated monies for disaster relief in Ruidoso and surrounding areas at $5 million, which will be further expanded as match for Federal Emergency Management Administration grants. We have approved $4 million for distribution to school districts to help them with increased gasoline and diesel fuel costs.
Finally, we want to assure all New Mexicans that we have tried to do our best for the interest of all. We will continue to protect our fiscal future, and we will continue to ensure that monies we appropriate are used for the purpose they were intended, and that all monies are accounted for.
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