ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham got candid during a Q&A with reporters after a bill signing, talking about everything from what all goes into signing bills into law to reservations she has about the nearly 70-page tax package.
It’s crunch time for the governor. “We work, my team, until two or three or four in the morning. and starting today, they’re nearly 24-hour reviews’ til noon on Friday,” she said on Wednesday. Friday is the deadline for bills from this last session to be signed into law.
She shared there are still at least 100 bills to go through and it’s not as simple as just signing her name. “I have to look if a mistake was made, or if I have a constitutional challenge, or if the bills are in direct conflict of each other,” she said.
The governor said even punctuation is meticulously looked over. “Commas matter, they can save your life,” she said. “‘Let’s eat grandma’ thing that we teach kids in grade school…don’t put that comma in the wrong place.”
She said she will try and sign a ‘vast majority’ of the bills. But, the governor said she sometimes will have to ‘reluctantly’ veto a bill simply because of funding or because she can’t get something done in the way the legislature thinks she can.
Governor Lujan Grisham said she plans to sign the bill helping smaller healthcare providers get legal protections and is reviewing the school security bill, saying she wants to do more for safe campuses. The governor said she’s already committed to pushing for a ban on assault weapons in the next 30-day session.
The governor also shared some reservations about the nearly 70-page tax bill. “A lot of members who voted on it, because it was at the end, had no idea it was that big. Again, they love the values in the statement, but they didn’t know it was going to be that big,” said Governor Lujan Grisham.
The governor originally wanted higher tax rebates and expressed concern on Wednesday about all the cuts. According to Governor Lujan Grisham, the tax package as is leads to $1.2 billion in revenue loss.
“I’m really, very mindful that we probably should be a little more prudent. That will be by far the biggest tax package without any recurring revenues coming in by far in the history of the state. And I don’t know if it’s sustainable. I just don’t,” she said. “I’d like us to do prudent work. I am committed however to tax reform and continuing at a pace that’s sustainable…continuing to reduce tax liabilities that are sustainable.”
