SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico’s governor is rebooting her annual State of the State speech about accomplishments, economic challenges and her legislative agenda after a weeklong delay.
Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is expected to deliver the speech on Tuesday remotely via Facebook amid safety precautions against the pandemic.
Ordinarily Lujan Grisham would address a joint session of the Legislature with her Cabinet and the state Supreme Court in attendance.
Lujan Grisham is calling for legislation aimed at reviving a battered state economy during aggressive restrictions on business activity and school attendance. She is also pushing for increased spending on early childhood education and authorization of sales and taxes on recreational marijuana.
On Monday she promoted a bill that would increase state health care subsidies for families and individuals of moderate incomes earning too much to qualify for Medicaid.
Highlighting fiscal challenges, the Legislature’s budget and accountability office said Monday that state government income decreased by $53 million, or 8.3%, to a total of $576 million in September 2020 versus the previous September.
The governor has outlined a $7.3 billion general fund spending plan for the fiscal year starting on July 1, 2021 — an increase of 3.3% that emphasizes economic relief, public education and mental health services.
Outlining legislative priorities, Lujan Grisham has vowed to sign a proposed repeal of the state’s dormant ban on most abortion procedures. A Senate committee advanced the bill after lengthy, divided public comments on Monday.
New Mexico can draw on $2.5 billion in financial reserves as it seeks to sustain vital public services in the midst of severe economic distress brought on by the coronavirus and companion public health orders.
Republicans say the Legislature deserves a say in public health orders and are backing legislation that gives school districts greater autonomy to restart in-person learning.
Regulators authorized AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine for use in adults throughout the European Union on Friday, amid criticism the bloc is not moving fast enough to vaccinate its population.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A former FBI lawyer was sentenced to probation for altering an email that the Justice Department relied on during its surveillance of an aide to President Donald Trump during the Russia investigation.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Democratic Gov. Tony Evers lashed out Friday at rival Republicans who tried to repeal his statewide mask mandate, saying killing the order would be a ridiculous move comparable to abolishing speed limits.
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — As some conservatives in South Carolina celebrated getting a bill that would ban almost all abortions in the state past a legislative barrier and likely becoming law, they said they are not finished trying to end all abortions.
A Moscow court on Friday put the brother and several allies of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny under house arrest for two months as authorities sought to stymie more protests over the jailing of the top Kremlin foe.