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Possible budget deal cuts $54 million from K-12 education

A possible deal to close this year’s huge budgetary shortfall emerged from a powerful House committee late Wednesday night.

The bill that would trim $220 million in expenses, including $54 million in cuts from K-12 education, cleared the House Appropriations and Finance Committee on a 11 to 6 vote.

It still needs to pass the full House, but moments after the vote, Sen. Majority Leader Michael Sanchez, D-Belen, said the Senate would take up the budget bill if the House sent it to them.

There were plans for the Senate to author its own budget plan, but it appeared Wednesday night that the chamber would take up the House legislation instead.

The House bill, sponsored by Rep. Luciano “Lucky” Varela, D-Santa Fe, isn’t guaranteed easy sledding in the House. Several progressive Democratic lawmakers said they objected to the cuts to education; House Republican lawmakers have signaled that they think the legislation doesn’t cut deeply enough to help solve this year’s $650 million budgetary shortfall.

Five of the state lawmakers opposing the legislation in committee Wednesday night were Republicans. A single Democrat, Rep. Brian Egolf, D-Santa Fe, voted against it.

Currently, the Legislature is considering several other bills to solve this year’s shortfall. Those other bills involve “sweeping,” or transferring dollars from other funds into the state’s main account —the general fund — to shore up New Mexico’s finances.

The sweeps and transfers would make up about $400 million, meaning that once it’s used it’s gone. Varela’s bill also makes use of roughly $79 million in federal stimulus dollars to help close the shortfall, meaning the majority of this year’s budget fix would come in the form of one-time revenue.

Varela’s bill, all told, would achieve the $220 million in cuts by trimming K-12 education by $54 million, higher education by $35.7 million and by taking $11 million from the Legislature, courts, district attorneys and elected officials. Medicaid, the government’s low-income health insurance program, also would come in for cuts. All other agencies would cut expenses by $102 million.

“I had a tough time voting for this because it is cutting a lot of my constituents,” Rep. Joni Gutierrez, D-Las Cruces, said. “But it’s a step in the right direction.”

Rep. Donald Bratton, R-Hobbs, had the exact opposite reaction.

“We’re using $400 million in one-time money,” he said.

When state lawmakers return in January for the 2010 regular legislative session, he said, the state budget will still be in trouble because of the use of one-time revenue. State lawmakers will have to find money to replace the one-time revenue.

“January’s going to be fun,” he said.

Article Source: http://youridahorealestate.com

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