Thursday, February 21, 2002
Governor on Budget: Only 'If Pigs Could Fly'
By David Miles Journal Capitol Bureau
Gov. Gary Johnson on Wednesday gave his most blunt assessment yet on whether he'll sign the Legislature's budget: When pigs fly.
The governor illustrated his point by twirling a toy pig with flapping wings over his head as he spoke to more than 200 people attending an Association of Commerce and Industry lunch in Albuquerque.
"I don't think that I can sign the budget," said Johnson, who is in his final year in office. "If pigs could fly, maybe I could sign this budget."
Some legislators say the Republican governor is pushing the state to the brink of a constitutional crisis, and a possible government shutdown, by refusing to compromise with Democrats on a spending plan for the coming fiscal year.
The speech Wednesday was his first since legislators concluded their 30-day session Feb. 14, with the governor saying the second budget lawmakers sent him was "actually worse than the first," which he vetoed.
Johnson used the pink plastic pig as a prop throughout the speech. "Still not flying," he said at one point, looking down at the battery-powered pig, which flies on a tether.
Many in the audience laughed at the governor's antics, but Senate President Pro Tem Richard M. Romero, D-Albuquerque, was among those not amused.
Romero later called Johnson's display "immature and irresponsible."
"I think it was insulting, and it just shows his continued disdain for the Legislature," Romero said.
Johnson said after the speech that he had twirled the porker in jest. "I meant it as being funny, really funny," he said.
Johnson has until March 6 to act on the nearly $3.9 billion budget bill and other legislation that made it to his desk.
Johnson complained that the Legislature's budget failed to rein in state spending on Medicaid, which is projected to grow by $60 million in the coming year while state revenues grow only $8 million. He proposed nearly $47 million in savings on the projected costs and the Legislature sent him $19.5 million in savings.
"There is no Medicaid fix," Johnson said.
Johnson also balked at overall spending included in the budget bill, although the lawmakers' version increased general fund spending by 0.6 percent.
On another piece of legislation, Johnson restated his intention to use his line-item veto authority to nix any public-works projects that he doesn't feel are necessary to preserve public safety and health.
Those capital-outlay projects are part of nearly $323 million contained in two capital-outlay bills. They are called "pork" by critics, but the communities proposing the projects, such as senior centers and road repairs, consider them critical.
Johnson said the line-item vetoes would be retaliation for legislators sending him a budget he deemed unacceptable.
"I may butcher the pig," the governor said. "No balanced meal, no desserts. No budget, no pork."
The governor said he still has no plans to call legislators back to Santa Fe for a special session to resolve the budget deadlock.
Johnson stood behind his plan, assuming he vetoes the budget, to keep state government operating at current spending levels after the fiscal year ends June 30, despite likely legal challenges over his ability to spend state money without legislative approval.
"We have a stalemate here that's going to have to get answered by the courts," he said.
During a question-and-answer session, former Republican Gov. David Cargo said the state Constitution gives only the Legislature the authority to appropriate state funds. Cargo predicted that a legal standoff would end in a government shutdown.
"You're going to have a closed-down government, and I think it's irresponsible," said Cargo, who served from 1967-70.
Johnson vowed that state government would continue operating.
"It is my constitutional obligation to enforce the laws of New Mexico, and I intend to do that," Johnson said. "So I do not intend to shut down state government."
Democratic leaders agreed Wednesday with Cargo's assessment that the governor cannot appropriate state funds.
"There's really no need for a long constitutional crisis," Romero said. "We need to come to agreement."
House Speaker Ben Lujan, D-Santa Fe, said taxpayers would have to foot the bill of a costly legal battle.
He said Johnson should use his line-item veto authority to trim the budget rather than nix the entire spending plan.
"The Legislature did its part to produce a fair and balanced budget that adequately addresses Medicaid," Lujan said.
On still another issue, Johnson said he hasn't formed an opinion on a bill to let voters decide whether to break up the Albuquerque Public Schools district into at least three smaller districts.
However, Johnson also doubted that smaller districts would bring about cost savings or greater efficiency.
"I'm skeptical this will have any benefit," Johnson said of the school district legislation.
