Budget focus of special session

Local legislators don’t expect much of a battle when a special legislative session starts Thursday to deal with coronavirus-related budget woes.

The next few years, however, could be — in the words of “Die Hard” protagonist John McClane — “Double Jeopardy!, where the scores can really change.”

State Sen. Pat Woods, R-Broadview, said he doesn’t expect much acrimony from lawmakers when they meet Thursday at the Roundhouse in Santa Fe to tackle an estimated $2.4 billion loss of revenue over two years caused by plunging oil and gas prices, plus an economic recession, fueled by the coronavirus pandemic.

“I think they’ll hardly touch anything, just move some (budget) items from one to another category,” Woods said during a telephone interview. “The sad part is they’re not going to take any hard look at loss of revenue. We probably can get through 2020 and 2021, but by 2022 there’s going to be such a deficit that the only way to keep spending at that level is to raise taxes.”

Woods, whose 7th District also includes much of Union and Curry counties, said the reluctance by the New Mexico Legislature to make big spending cuts is because it’s an election year.

District 64 Rep. Randy Crowder, R-Clovis, said the Senate Finance Committee has intimated its body would be in session noon Thursday, sign what needed to be signed later that day and be done with their part. Crowder anticipates the House might take longer.

“We were told we would try to be out of there by Saturday night,” Crowder said, “and we could make it a three-day session.”

Senate Minority Leader Stuart Ingle, R-Portales, isn’t so concerned with how quickly the work is done, so long as the Legislature can make sure it doesn’t have another special session later this year.

“It’s hard to know right now. We’re going to start meeting noon Thursday, go into committees and meet again in the evening,” Ingle said. “But every time there’s a new headline, the governor seems to be talking about a new proclamation.”

Crowder is hoping a discussed measure regarding the structure of police unions and qualified immunity for officers is not an item discussed during the special session, as he’s spoken to law enforcement that oppose the move.

One item on the chopping block is a 4% raise to state employees, including schoolteachers. Woods said lawmakers likely would trim that to simply covering a rise in health-insurance premiums, or about 1%.

The Albuquerque Journal reported last week the Legislative Finance Committee is proposing no salary increases or a 1% raise for teachers and state employees. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham proposes a 2% raise. Both sides have proposed state agency spending cuts by somewhat similar amounts.

Woods said Lujan Grisham already has trimmed the budget somewhat by vetoing some capital-outlay projects and a freeze on state payroll.

Crowder said his goal is to save every capital outlay project in his district, and he’s confident that can happen because none of those projects have been targeted by the Legislative Finance Committee.

Looking ahead, District 7 Rep. Jack Chatfield, R-Mosquero, said he thinks “everything’s up for grabs” when budget cuts are discussed in January.

“It’s going to be a tough deal to come out of this coronavirus when we’ve shut down the entire economy,” he said. “People around the nation have quit traveling, so the price of oil and gas has just gone into the pit. It’s a double hit for the state of New Mexico.

“I hate that our source of revenue is only oil and gas, but that’s what it is. Of course, your tax base has dropped off because of all the businesses that were closed. We’re going to have to hustle to get out of this thing, and it’s going to take all of us working together.”

The governor also has said she wants to deal with other issues during the special session, including a $500 million aid package from the state’s Severance Tax Permanent Fund for businesses and grants for local governments and tribes, all of which have been hit hard financially by the pandemic.

The New Mexico Supreme Court was convening Tuesday regarding public access to the session with the COVID-19 pandemic ongoing. Crowder said lawmakers would be restricted to two people per elevator, must wear masks unless they are speaking on the floor and will vote on electronic devices.

Staff writer Ron Warnick contributed to this report.