Commentary: Following Governor Martinez’s veto of modest legislation to require the State to publish a simple report at the end of each year identifying how many New Mexicans with disabilities are waiting for services, advocates for the disabled today expressed disappointment and sharply criticized the decision. Senate Bill 36 (SB 36), “Developmental Disabilities Annual Reporting”, was passed in both by the Senate and the House of Representatives without a single dissenting vote. Despite the measure’s obvious and broad support for a vulnerable group of residents, and even though it incurred no cost to the State, SB 36 inexplicably drew the Governor’s veto.
“It is not every day that Democrats and Republicans come together in a unanimous, bipartisan effort to help a particular group of New Mexicans who face difficult circumstances in their daily lives. But we did that by passing SB 36. The Governor’s veto shows a continued disregard of the fact that thousands of disabled New Mexicans and their families are waiting ten years or more for crucial services that are provided by law under our state’s DD waiver program. The Legislature and advocacy groups needed this modest bill so that everyone can begin to get a full view of the scope of problem, which is a serious one. It seems like we don’t want to know, what we don’t want to know,” said the sponsor of the legislation, Senator Bill Soules (D- 37 – Dona Ana).
SB 36 would have required the state Department of Health to provide an annual report to the Legislative Finance Committee, which crafts the State’s budget, and to the Legislative Health and Human Services Committee, on the supports and services delivered to New Mexico residents under the Developmental Disabilities Medicaid waiver program (DD waiver). Elements of the report would have included the numbers of persons with disabilities on the waiting list for services, and financial data on the program. Such a public report today does not exist.
Under Gov. Martinez’s administration, the waiting list for services for people with developmental disabilities has grown by 44%. According to the Legislative Finance Committee, there were 4,555 persons on the DD waiver waiting list when she took office in 2011. Today that list has grown to approximately 6,500, the highest number in the history of the DD waiver program. During four of the six legislative sessions in office, Gov. Martinez has requested no additional funds to move people with disabilities off the waiting list and into services.
Jim Jackson, executive director of Disability Rights New Mexico, said “we are disappointed by the Governor’s veto of SB 36. A short annual report, which this bill would have created, would be very useful in keeping the needs of people with developmental disabilities in front of the Legislature and the public. Such a report of facts would have provided the information legislators need to make good decisions about what they could do each year to reduce the waiting time for services. That should be a priority.”
The Governor’s record on developmental disability issues has been controversial. Just one year ago, the State finally agreed to a settlement with the disability community after a federal judge found unconstitutional violations in the Martinez administration’s introduction of a new system for gauging – and denying – benefits and services.