Governor sets legislative session start date

SANTA FE — Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Wednesday set the start date of a legislative special session, as her administration tries to juggle the pandemic’s financial impact with efforts to suppress the spread of the COVID-19 outbreak.

The Democratic governor said that approved spending increases will have to be slowed due to a drop of up to $2.4 billion in estimated revenue levels but that federal stimulus funds and state cash reserves could help the state avoid layoffs and furloughs of state workers and teachers.

“We’re in a pretty good position where I don’t anticipate we’ll have to make deep cuts,” Lujan Grisham said during a Wednesday news conference that was broadcast online.

The budget-balancing special session will begin June 18, the governor said, and could be concluded in a matter of days. The agenda is expected to include a virus relief package of some kind.

But it’s unclear whether the public will be allowed to attend due to social distancing guidelines and a ban on large public gatherings.

The state’s budget faces pressure because of economic disruptions related to the pandemic and a collapse in oil prices.

Lujan Grisham’s administration last week issued a revised public health order that allows retailers and houses of worship in most parts of New Mexico to reopen at limited capacity.

Dine-in restaurants, gyms, salons and movie theaters remain closed for now, as the Lujan Grisham administration has said it’s not safe yet for them to reopen.

But the governor said Wednesday that those establishments could be allowed to reopen in limited capacity on June 1, with coronavirus case counts in much of the state either declining or showing signs of plateauing — including in New Mexico’s hard-hit northwest corner.

“We’re on track,” Lujan Grisham said.

But she urged people to continue staying home, wearing masks and taking steps to slow the spread of the disease.

Republican lawmakers, business groups and some local officials in recent days have increasingly called for Lujan Grisham to ease restrictions, citing low infection rates in some parts of New Mexico.

State GOP Chairman Steve Pearce kept up the drumbeat of criticism, accusing the Lujan Grisham administration of having a “piecemeal” approach to business restrictions.

“The continued shutdown is killing livelihoods while other businesses are partially opened and national chains take in New Mexico dollars,” Pearce said in a statement. “This is unjust and unfair.”

In response, the governor and some Democratic lawmakers have accused Republicans of putting economic concerns above public safety.

Lujan Grisham and top Cabinet secretaries in her administration also say their decisions are being guided by science, even as scientific consensus shifts in some cases.

The governor also told Senate Republicans who had urged her last week to fully reopen the state’s economy that New Mexico is in a position to start gradually reopening only because of the aggressive, early actions taken by her administration.

But she has also acknowledged the damage done to businesses during the pandemic and suggested that things won’t return to normal anytime soon.

“This is going to be a long summer,” Lujan Grisham said.