By Rob Nikolewski │ New Mexico Watchdog
SANTA FE  – It’s not $265,000 but it’s still a nice severance package.
New Mexico Lottery officials say they’ve reached a separation agreement with Tom Romero, who was fired Nov. 13 in a 7-0 vote by the New Mexico Lottery Authority Board of Directors.
According to lottery board chairman Dan Salzwedel, Romero has signed a [...]

By Rob Nikolewski │ New Mexico Watchdog
SANTA FE – Tom Romero may have been the chief executive officer of the New Mexico Lottery for nearly eight years. He may have been paid $155,000 a year.
But last Wednesday, he was fired from his job without any explanation by the New Mexico Lottery Authority Board of Directors, [...]

By Rob Nikolewski │ New Mexico Watchdog
SANTA FE — Too many of New Mexico’s child care centers are rife with sloppy and lax record-keeping, potentially costing taxpayers millions of dollars. On at least three occasions, registered sex offenders were living at the same address as child care locations, a state government report found.
In a 75-page [...]

While members of the Legislative Finance Committee discussed public education Thursday morning (July 18), more than a dozen demonstrators interrupted the hearing and approached state Sen. John Arthur Smith, D-Deming, criticizing him for not holding a hearing during the past legislative session on a bill that would have dipped into the state’s Land Grant Permanent Fund to [...]

Lonesome Dave sure had a lot of friends.
A full house packed the rotunda of the Roundhouse on Thursday afternoon (July 11) to remember Gov. Dave Cargo, who died on July 5 following complications from a stroke at the age of 84.
Legislators, friends and members of the Cargo family paid their respects to the man who [...]

The executive order by Republican Gov. Susana Martinez was clear: If you’re haven’t turned in your audits and can’t show you’re in decent financial shape, you don’t get any capital outlay money.
But now that some communities and entities slated for state dollars are seeing delays, a number of Democrats say the order is too restrictive and Senate Majority [...]

In what doctors say appears to be a reaction to blood pressure and allergy medication, longtime Roundhouse state rep Luciano “Lucky” Varela was rushed to a hospital Friday morning (March 15) after he fell unconscious for about 20 seconds.
House Speaker W. Ken Martinez ordered the hallways of the third floor cleared so Rep. Varela could [...]

Despite a threat of a veto from Republican Gov. Susana Martinez, the New Mexico House of Representatives passed along a $5.9 billion budget package that it received from the Senate on Wednesday (March 13).
“I fear this bill will not get signed and we’ll have to start over,” Rep. Dennis Roch, R-Texico said on the House floor but Democrats pushed [...]

A plan to try to patch up the financial problems in one of New Mexico’s two big pension plans passed through the Legislature on Wednesday (March 13).
Senate Bill 27 – dealing with the estimated $6.2 billion hole in the Public Employees Retirement Association (PERA) pension – completed its arduous Roundhouse journey with the House of Representatives passing it 48-17 [...]

Can an across-the-board, 2 percent tax solve New Mexico’s crazy-quilt tax structure that has confused nearly every taxpayer in the state?
Two veteran Roundhouse Republicans on Thursday (Jan. 31) introduced bills in the current 60-day legislative session that call for wiping out nearly every tax in the state and replacing it with a 2 percent consumption [...]