b"2021 State ReportNew Mexico Notes NM income people of color BOOM! The Bull Is Back;Get Your Wish List Out who are continually left behind. The Governor and OIL AND NATURAL GAS PRICES legislature have been slow-Trending Ahead of Forecast walking the enactment of Oil Prices are on track to average Yazzie standards clearly laid out by the court. They An off the charts increasein state revenueno longer have money as growth is now forecast, thanks to a consumerGet your wish list out. their excuse. revival and the back to business boom in the oilThe bull market is back with fierce force. Items that suddenly look fields of SE New Mexico. less daunting include HUGE STATE REVENUE SURGE FORECAST; reducing the regressive state gross receipts tax; eliminating tax Records Fall as Billions Pour In pyramiding; hiring an additional 1,000 state police officers; sal-ary increases for critical positions such as CYFD caseworkers Astounding sumsare accumulating, and if the states leader- and drug rehab specialists. ship can lay down some markers, we could finally see progressBOOM POLITICS in the social conditions categories where we have languished forFed Aid Adds to Treasure Trovegenerations. Or we could put the money under the mattresses and miss the opportunity of the century, even with surpluses alreadyThe Governor and Democratic majoritiesin the House at historic levels. and Senate earned a B grade their first three years. But now A General fund receipts are forecast to hit a record-setting $8.8is the standard by virtue of this financial fortune. New and old billion, making for a surplus of $1.4 billion over the currentprograms that require money annually now have it.budget of $7.4 billion. Then there's that $1.75 billion in federalAt least $1.5 billion is forecast to flow into an already robust pandemic money that MLG and the legislature are arguingRainy Day Fund that can be tapped in the event of a decline in about, but which will eventually be spent. Add in a $335 millionfuture state revenues. Another excuse knocked down. windfall for the new early childhood trust fund. Effective management is, however, essential. The administra-The largesse is so overwhelming that you wonder how the tion needs to bring onboard heavy hitters with experience, and Governor can hold back a progressive agenda that now has thestop the cabinets musical chairs. And beef up the Fourth Floor money and only lacks leadership to see it through. The Governorsstaff with some names that signal gravitas. And the LFC needs to agenda for the next legislative session could easily include: dilute its stingy DNA and emphasize responsible plans for spend- Finally financing a complete investment in detox facilities foring, not hoarding. opioids, alcohol and meth. Beds everywhere needed and inFinally, about that second gubernatorial term.the number they're needed. Thats a direct hit on the statesWhat exactly is the plan?soaring rate of drug deaths and addiction (2020 saw another all-time high in overdoses) as well as on the drug-inducedMANNYS Money crime epidemic haunting the state. A call to arms onSheriff Mannygot a reprieve but detox, rehab and early intervention would extinguishhis Waterloo still lurks. Thats the once and for all the plaintive cries that we lack re- takeaway from the decision of District sources to fight this plague. Court Judge Bryan Biedscheid FridayBroadband now. The last legislative session sawas he kicked the ball out of his court $133 million go to broadband expansion. Now thatand back to the ABQ city clerk over amount can easily be doubledor more. The problem? whether Gonzales will qualify for a Leadership. The state still lacks agency and privatecrucial $600,000 of public financing for sector coordination as well as a timeline for progress.his mayoral campaign coffers. Only a Governor can supply that leadership, and the silenceBiedscheid ruled that Manny did not get due process from remains deafening. If she cant get it going then legislatorsthe city clerk when he was denied public financing after his should move to have the state start building broadband on itscampaign was found to have submitted fraudulent donations to own as has been done elsewhere.qualify for that financing. The Department of Yazzie. Well, it might not be called that The judge ordered Clerk Ethan Watson to redo the process or re-but MLG and lawmakers could develop an entirely separatelease the financing. Watson has until Friday to complete that redo, budget to comply with the landmark Yazzie lawsuit. That suitif he opts to do it. City Hall insiders think the clerk has the weight found New Mexico violating the constitutional requirementof the evidence on his side and that in a redo Gonzales still stands that it provide a solid education to everyone, including low 20 www.wpma.com / Winter 2021"