Budget Train Keeps on Rollin'. Despite Opposition from Almost All the State's Public Employee Unions, Senate Finance Committee Balances Budget on Backs of Employees! Call Senators and the Governor Today!
House Bill 854received a unanimous do-pass recommendation from the Senate Finance Committee todayyesterday. The Budget train appears on a track for final passage in the next couple of days. This measure was heard in the Senate Finance Committee last night. The likelihood of derailing this train in this regular session of the legislature is dim. But contact senators with your opposition anyway!.
One argument made in the committee last night was that the federal stimulus rebate that all tax payers will receive will more than make up for the cut in pay for school employees! The member who voices this reason as a rationale for her vote, Senator Nancy Rodriguez, received assurances from the staff that, yes, most school employees will see a little increase in take-home pay, even after the 1.5% increase in retirement withholdings because it's before taxes and the stimul rebate will be there. What the good Senator and staff don't seem to get (or conviently forget) is that the stimulus is a decrease in federal taxes and withholdings for April through December of this year and the retirement withholding is a 1.5% deduction in gross pay for two full years beginning July 1, 2009!! They also don't seem the get the fact that the idea of the federal stimulus rebate was to put more comsumer spending power into the economy (and workers' pockets) not to make donations to state government so that it can avoid putting money into the economy. We wonder if the committee will ask all New Mexicans, including themselves, to "donate" their stimulus rebate to the state and to "keep on giving" for a year and a half after the stimulus runs out. If you have a member on the committee you might want to ask them. Legislators feel the budget deficit is simply too severe to change course. However, continue to ask senators to kill this measure. Continue calling all to ask all Senators to raise revenues, not cut teacher and other school employee pay! This is still some chance to ask the Governor to veto this measure or to change in the almost certain special budget session the legislature that will occur when new revenue projections are made and when the full effect of the federal stimulus package are known; this session could happen next month or perhaps as late as July or September. House Bill 854, sponsored by Representative Saavedra, is a part of the budget package and will cut school employees' and state employees' pay by 1.5% for two years. House Bill 854increases the employee contribution to the pension fund 1.5% and reduces what the state is paying into the pension fund 1.5%. The measure would take hundreds of dollars out of the average school employee's pocket. House Bill 854, well intentioned thought it might be, targets a select group of employees for a pay cut.
"Choose a new revenue source to use to balance the budget. Don't single out public employees with a 1.5% pay cut to balance the budget. Do not pass House Bill 854. Don't use the excuse that public employees can pay for this with their federal stimulus rebate. That's not fair. Other New Mexicans aren't being forced to "donate" their rebate to the state, and, besides that rebate runs out at the end of the year!"
Call Governor Richardsontoday and ask him to veto HB 854 if it passes (and it probably will!). Use this simple message:
"Veto HB 854. It undoes your hard work in increasing teacher and other school employee salaries over the last six years. This is bad economic development. It is a hypocritical use of federal stimulus incentives to avoid allowing school employees the full advantages of the intent of the stimulus package! Don't single out public employees with a 1.5% pay cut to balance the budget. Do not pass House Bill 854. Don't use the excuse that public employees can pay for this with their federal stimulus rebate. That's not fair. Other New Mexicans aren't being forced to "donate" their rebate to the state, and, besides that rebate runs out at the end of the year!"
In addition to being, on its face, a highly unfair targeted tax increase, the plan to dock workers 1.5% is a direct hit to the New Mexico economy. It targets It targets New Mexico families and only New Mexico families. Further, the vast majority of the affected workers make between $15,000 and $70,000/year. These are working class and middle class families who spend the money they take in, helping to keep the New Mexico economy moving. Follow this Link to Send a message opposing HB 854 to Senators and the Governor
Tax Bill for Sufficiency Funding will Die in Committee without Outpouring of Support!
House Bill 346, which provides the funding for the formula set out in HB 331, passed the House on Friday. This measure raises gross receipts taxes by .75% to fund public schools.HB 346 passed on a near party line vote. HB 346 has been referred to the Senate Corporations and Transportation Committee. Contact members of this committee in support of HB 346. This bill may be heard in committee on Wednesday. Call Committee members today; there are not enough yes votes to keep this measure alive in committee right now! Call today. Using the revenues form House Bill 346 or Senate Bill 412 and the new funding formula laid out in House Bill 331, there is sufficient revenue to meet the constitutional requirement to fund schools sufficiently. House Bill 331, sponsored by Representative Mimi Stewart changes our state's outdated funding formula. The bill would base school funding on student needs including poverty, ELL, enrollment growth and other factors. House Bill 331passed the House Monday on a near party-line vote with most democrats voting for the bill and most republicans voting against. The measure next goes to the Senate Education Committee for a hearing; if it survives there it will move to the Senate Finance Committee where it died last year without a hearing. Follow this link to find your Senator and office phone number. Contact all Senators with the message that this important measure at least deserves a hearing in the Senate Finance Committee this year. Any reason to oppose tax increases for public schools should have been removed when a recent poll found New Mexicans willing to pay higher taxes for public schools. NEA New Mexico and the other members of the New Mexico Education Partners funded a poll released last Friday. The poll found that the majority of New Mexico's registered voters (59%) support increasing New Mexico's gross receipts tax by three-quarters of one percent for additional public school education. When told that school funding would be cut without the tax increase, even more voters supported the increase. Registered voters who were opposed or undecided about the tax measure were asked a follow up question in which they were informed that due to the state budget deficit, public school funding will probably be reduced starting this year. They were then asked whether they support or oppose the three-quarter of one percent gross receipts tax increase for public school education. In total, 64% of registered voters either initially support the tax or support the tax measure after being informed that public school funding will probably be reduced this year.
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