Richardson Signs Capital Outlay Bill
By Kate Nash, The Santa Fe New Mexican
Mar. 5–Gov. Bill Richardson has signed a $341 million capital outlay bill for projects across the state.
Richardson this morning also vetoed $7 million of projects in the measure, Senate Bill 471.
“Our continued efforts to reform the capital outlay process is paying huge dividends, enabling us to invest in top priorities for the state including job creation, education and energy efficiency,” Richardson said in a statement.
Legislators this session had passed a plan worth $348 million. The signed version includes $45 million for efforts to create jobs in the state, including incentives for the Tesla Motors plant, a Fidelity Investments operation center and a new solar plant.
“Regretfully, I believe it is necessary and fiscally prudent to veto some projects that might otherwise have merit,” the governor said. “For these and other reasons, I have vetoed $7 million — less than 1 percent of the 2008 total capital outlay funding.”
A list of vetoed projects was not immediately available. Richardson’s office said most of the vetoed were of projects without proper planning or that were not ready to be started.
Richardson’s office said he rejected a measure to build a state veteran’s museum in Las Cruces.
“”I strongly support building a museum to honor New Mexico’s veterans and rich military history,” Richardson said in a statement. “Unfortunately, this isn’t the bill to do it, because it discounts the input of our veterans statewide by designating a specific county as the location for the museum.”
Richardson plans to set up a task force to study the issue.
The Governor’s Office this morning released a breakdown of how the capital outlay money will be spent.
The bill includes:
— $20 million for higher education institutions
— $3.5 million for energy innovation projects
— $3 million for energy efficiency and green building projects
— $16.5 million for health facilities
— $28 million for public safety projects
— $45 million for economic development projects
Richardson had until today to sign or veto bills passed in this year’s legislative session.
Contact Kate Nash at 986-3036 or knash@sfnewmexican.com. Read her blog, Green Chile Chatter, at www.sfnewmexican.com.
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