By Morgan Lee, Associated Press
Leading New Mexico legislators are proposing a 4% increase in state general fund spending that would devote new resources to health care and public education amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The detailed budget proposal was announced Tuesday by Democratic and Republican members of a lead budget-writing committee.
Legislators are also proposing cost-of-living pay increases for state workers and public school employees and a bailout of the state s indebted unemployment trust fund to avoid future payroll tax increases.
Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is suggesting 3.3% increase in spending without blanket pay raises. Economists are predicting a rebound in state government income on top of multibillion-dollar financial reserves.
By Cedar Attanasio, Associated Press
New Mexico Democrats say they re closer than ever to increasing withdrawals from one of the country s largest endowments to fund education initiatives.
Increasing annual payouts from the $20 billion Land Grant Permanent Fund would require voters to approve a constitutional amendment. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham says a 1% increase in distributions should be set aside to fund early childhood education.
While the withdrawals will decrease future growth of the fund, Democratic legislators argue that the state needs to invest more in education. They say public sentiment is shifting in their favor, and a new crop of progressive legislators can get the needed resolution passed.
Official: Many in New Mexico eligible for COVID-19 vaccine
January 11, 2021 6:12 PM By SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN
Associated Press
Posted:
Updated:
UNM Health
This Dec. 16, 2020 image provided by UNM Health shows a bin of COVID-19 vaccines for the first round of health care workers to be vaccinated at the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center in Albuquerque, N.M.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) A significant number of New Mexico residents are now eligible for COVID-19 vaccinations because they have one or more preexisting medical conditions, the state health secretary said Monday.
The state recently expanded vaccine eligibility to those 75 and older and anyone over 16 who is considered to be at greater risk because they have cancer, kidney disease, heart problems or other chronic illnesses. Front-line essential workers like grocery store employees and educators who can’t work remotely also are on the list.
Trump Asks To Drop Voting Allegations In New Mexico, For Now
- Associated Press
President Donald Trump abruptly asked a court Monday to drop a lawsuit that challenged New Mexico s use of drop boxes for absentee ballots in the 2020 general election as well as vote-counting equipment sold by Dominion Voting Systems.
The request filed Monday with a federal court in Albuquerque would dismiss the lawsuit from Trump but allow the concerns to be revisited.
Similar allegations by the Trump campaign about Dominion vote-counting have been rejected as without evidence by the federal agency overseeing election security.
State election regulators want allegations in the case to be dismissed permanently. Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver had requested that Trump s campaign be sanctioned for pursuing meritless litigation.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) A significant number of New Mexico residents are now eligible for COVID-19 vaccinations because they have one or more preexisting medical conditions, the state health.