The Santa Fe New Mexican:
Competing budget recommendations: Members of Senate Finance Committee received a crash course in billions of dollars of proposed special, supplemental and deficiency appropriations, as well as recommendations for the Government Results and Opportunity Fund.
The report included the governor’s budget recommendations and those from the Legislative Finance Committee.
“There’s a lot of different moving pieces between the two recommendations,” Legislative Finance Committee analyst Joseph Simon told lawmakers. He presented the report alongside Meribeth Densmore, deputy director of the state Budget Division of the Department of Finance and Administration, told lawmakers.
“There’s some places where the executive maybe recommended something as a special appropriation, [and] LFC looked at it as something that could be either a fund transfer or something that’s in the Government Results and Opportunity Fund,” he said.
Simon and Densmore went through the 31-page report in rapid-fire fashion.
Sen. Linda Trujillo, D-Santa Fe, said she felt like she was a in “drive-thru lane for budget.”
Others noted the large amount of money available for such appropriations.
“Wow,” Sen. Michael Padilla, D-Albuquerque, said at the end of the presentation. “There’s a lot of pennies there.”
Christmas in August: Red and green chile is a year-round tradition in New Mexico.
But August would be declared “New Mexico Red and Green Chile Month” under a bill that sailed through the House Rural Development, Land Grants And Cultural Affairs Committee.
“Any comment against this bill — or anyone from Colorado?” Rep. Linda Serrato, D-Santa Fe, the committee chair, asked jokingly before the unanimous vote in support of House Bill 172.
New Mexico, which is home to the Green Chile Capital of the World in Hatch, leads the nation in chile production, though the vast majority of the chile harvested in the state is green.
The bill covers both “red and green chile, so everyone can celebrate,” said Rep. Rebecca Dow, R-Truth or Consequences. “We didn’t leave out jalapeños. We didn’t leave out habaneros. We’re going to celebrate it all.”
The bill comes two years after the Legislature passed a measure to make the smell of roasting green chile the official aroma of New Mexico, which Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed into law.
“Is there a tagline like, ‘We’re the best, Colorado sucks,’ ” teased Rep. Stefani Lord, R-Sandia Park, noting the neighboring state likes to claim it produces better chile than New Mexico.
Celebrating Asian, Pacific Islander and Hawaiian heritage: A pair of rambunctious lions ran through the House chamber Tuesday afternoon.
Or at least, a team of dancers portraying lions did.
Lawmakers and guests observed the Legislature’s second annual Asian American, Pacific Islander and Native Hawaiian Day, a celebration that included recognition of prominent Asian American New Mexicans, speeches themed around belonging in New Mexico and a visit from the Van Hanh Lion Dance troupe, which performed a traditional Chinese dance common during Lunar New Year festivities in which dancers dress and move to mimic a lion.
Census data shows Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders and Native Hawaiians make up about 2.2% of New Mexico’s population — or more than 45,000 people.
House Majority Leader Rep. Reena Szczepanski, D-Santa Fe — who helped organize Tuesday’s event alongside the New Mexico Asian Family Center, Asian American Association, Asian Business Collaborative, Chinese American Citizens Alliance, and Democratic Albuquerque Reps. Cristina Parajón and Janelle Anyanonu — is the first Asian American woman to hold a leadership position in the state Legislature.
“In New Mexico, we are one people from many origins,” Szczepanski said.
Lands commissioner receives award: Conservation Voters New Mexico presented State Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard with its Luminaria Award during a legislative reception at the Drury Plaza Hotel.
“The annual award recognizes pro-conservation champions in New Mexico who lead the way to a better New Mexico for our air, land, water, wildlife and communities,” the group wrote in a news release.
Garcia Richard said in a statement her focus since she was elected to the position has been on earning as much money as possible for New Mexico’s schoolkids, “but never at the cost of our natural resources or our rich and diverse history.”
The State Land Office has generated record revenues “while holding oil and gas companies accountable and implementing a rule to protect cultural resources,” she said, adding the office has seen a sixfold increase in the amount of renewable energy under lease on state lands during her tenure.
4-H Day turns Capitol green: There was a lot of green at the Capitol on Tuesday, and we’re not talking about the state’s revenue bonanza.
Youth involved in 4-H, which calls itself America’s largest youth development organization, were recognized in both legislative chambers.
“This organization … is instrumental in the development of young leaders across New Mexico,” said Sen. Jim Townsend, R-Artesia. “They continually are working to better themselves and their communities that they represent.”
The Senate proclaimed Tuesday 4-Day in the chamber.
“What a beautiful group of young people that we’ve got up here — the future leaders of not only our state but also of our country and our world,” Sen. Candy Spence Ezzell, R-Roswell said.
Quote of the day: “I had 18 chickens of mine that were killed by my neighbor’s dog … a couple days ago. So when I get home, I’m going to [put] my shooting sporting to good use.” —Rep. Mark Duncan, R-Kirtland, while honoring 4-H, which organizes shooting sports clubs. Duncan is not the first Republican to reference killing a dog after it attacked chickens; former South Dakota Gov. and current U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem discussed killing her 14-month-old puppy in her 2024 memoir, after it behaved similarly.
