What you missed

What’s Wrong With This Picture?

I posted about Capitol Report New Mexico’s return and noted the Legislative Finance Committee’s report on the state of the projected budget.

In covering the story, I went to two meetings in Santa Fe last month, photographing the Dec. 8, LFC meeting and the Dec. 18, pre-session Legislative seminars and new member orientation.

With print medium, space is limited by the dimensions of the pages. There are events that occur which cannot be shown because of editorial considerations. The beauty of this blog; I can go deeper. Here's what you missed.

So what’s wrong with this picture?

There were two sessions on Dec 18: the consensus general fund report, given by Department of Finance and Administration Secretary Katherine Miller, followed by the current fiscal year solvency plan, where Legislative Finance Committee’s Director, David Abbey, joined Miller. Speaker of the House, Representative Ben Lujan, D, Santa Fe County, and Senate President Pro Tempore Timothy Z. Jennings, D, Chaves, Eddy, Lincoln and Otero Counties, sat with Miller and Abbey during their presentations.

The projected numbers seemed staggering and at least two legislators’ jaws dropped.

Newly-elected Sen. Eric Griego, D, Bernalillo County and Rep. Candy Spence Ezzell, R, Chaves County, responded to hearing the numbers during Miller’s briefing.

One can only imagine what great legislative initiative died in these legislators' minds as realization hit the ugly wall of truth; there is no money.