Senate Democrats are criticizing as irresponsible and disheartening a veto of emergency court funding by Republican Gov. Susana Martinez.
Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth of Santa Fe said Thursday in a statement that the governor is ignoring urgent warnings from the judiciary that courts soon will run out of money to pay juries. Jurors currently receive about $50 day.
Sen. Nancy Rodriguez of Santa Fe calls the veto disheartening and says state court budgets cannot be stretched further.
Martinez says more discussion of court efficiencies is needed and that the New Mexico Board of Finance will reconsider an emergency funding request it turned down in December. House Republicans have introduced a bill to fill the budget shortfall in the judiciary.
The Administrative Office of the Courts says it needs an additional $1.6 million to pay for juries during the fiscal year ending in June. The state Supreme Court says it will start furloughing staff and close for nine days if it does not receive an additional $80,000 soon to pay salaries.
___
1:20 p.m.
New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez has vetoed emergency funding for jury trials while ensuring payment for the current legislative session.
Legislation finalized by the Republican governor on Thursday ensures that more than 400 legislative employees receive pay checks and postpones decisions about a funding crisis in the state judiciary.
Vetoed provision of the bill would have provided $800,000 to bolster funding for jurors and court interpreters that could be exhausted in early March. Martinez says the jury funding should not be approved without further public discussion of how courts can operate more efficiently.
A veto message from the governor excoriates lawmakers for not making deeper cuts to their own operating budget, amid plunging state revenues linked to a downturn in the oil and natural gas sectors and a stagnant economy.
Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.