New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez used the line-item veto to strike nearly 200 local projects from the state’s capital outlay program.
The Republican governor’s action removed a total of $23 million of projects from the annual legislation allocating proceeds from the sale of 10-year state energy severance tax revenue bonds.
The revised capital outlay bill now provides $107 million of the severance tax bond proceeds to the 280 remaining projects.
The legislation provides $30 million for a highway interchange construction project in western Albuquerque.
Martinez said she vetoed the projects because the allocation process was driven by politics rather than need.
“Legislators divided up the funding among themselves and doled the dollars out to various projects within their district, regardless of whether the local community identified the project as useful or necessary,” she said.
Martinez signed legislation placing three general obligation bond proposals on the November ballot.
The measures would provide $139 million of proceeds for libraries, higher education, and senior citizen centers.
