Governor Susana Martinez vetoes study of federal land transfer

Gov. Susana Martinez signed off on a $6.2 billion state budget Tuesday, but used her line-item veto power to delete salary increases for New Mexico judges, district attorneys and political appointees. In all, the Republican governor axed more than $27 million in spending proposed by the Legislature, but left intact salary increases for rank-and-file state workers and teachers of about 3 percent – their largest since 2008. State Police officers and new starting teachers are among those in line for even larger pay hikes, while higher education workers will get a 1.5 percent salary bump. In its final version, the budget for the coming fiscal year will increase state spending by about $252 million – or 4.3 percent – from this year’s level, with public education spending making up more than half of that amount. Other line-item vetoes included: $250,000 for a study on the feasibility of the state acquiring land under the ownership of the federal Bureau of Land Management...more