New Mexico’s lawmakers are pushing back on the Governor’s decision to veto the use of federal aid  intended to replenish the unemployment insurance (UI) fund. Before approving the state budget for 2022 last month, Governor Lujan Grisham used her line item veto authority to remove just over 1 billion in federal aid funding. $600 million of that amount was slated to refill NM’s depleted UI fund, and without it businesses will be saddled with the duty of refilling the fund in the form of increased tax rates. The Governor contends that her veto was necessary because it is the legal authority of the executive branch to handle federal funding, and because the state cannot appropriate money it still has not received. 

State Legislators disagree. Rep. Patricia Lundstrom, a Gallup Democrat and chairwoman of the House Appropriations and Finance Committee, said she intends to object if state agencies under Lujan Grisham try to spend the disputed funding without legislative approval. “It’s clearly our role when it comes to appropriating and budgeting,” Lundstrom said, “and we’re going to protect that.” Legislators haven’t ruled out legal action, but both sides in the disagreement are citing precedent that grants budgetary authority over the funds in question. Click HERE to read more.