Commentary: Democratic leaders in the New Mexico Senate today called on Governor Susana Martinez to immediately place their package of jobs legislation on the call of the Legislative Session in order to address the jobs crisis. The package of 14 bills introduced by Senate Democrats would create more than 24,000 new jobs now and stimulate economic growth. The senators emphasized the urgency of the state’s job crisis, with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reporting that New Mexico continues to have the highest rate of employment at 6.7%.
“The biggest crisis New Mexicans face today is the lack of jobs. We are calling on the Governor to rule these bills germane so that the legislature can pass them, and get people back to work. The agenda we hear from House Republicans and the Governor does little to address jobs crisis and the economic activity in New Mexico. There are too many symbolic bills, including so-called right-to-work and other measures. We all worry about crime, but New Mexicans need us to pass legislation now to create jobs,” said Senator Michael Padilla.
The 2016 Democratic jobs package includes legislation for resident business set-asides for state contracts, solar tax credits, general obligation bonds, minimum salary for certain school personnel, and capital reauthorizations, among other measures.
Democrats pointed out that House Republicans and the Governor now are trying to divert the attention of the people of New Mexico away from the worst economic performance under their watch of any state in the nation by focusing exclusively on crime and other issues.
New Mexico is not following the national trend on jobs. Job losses include at those at Sprint, HP, Google, Virgin Galactic, and in copper mining. Senate Democrats said this was more evidence that the state needs to pursue new policies and change direction.
Senate Democratic JOBS 2016 Package
SB 10 – Resident Business Set-Aside Act (Padilla) Number of Jobs =_15,000
SB 13 – Solar Market Development Tax Credit Changes (Stewart/Barnes) Number of Jobs=_500
SB 31 – Technology Readiness Gross Receipts Credit (Cisneros) Number of Jobs =_100
SB 50 – Direct Care Provider Cost of Living Increase (Rodriguez) Number of Jobs=_500
SB 51 – Family Infant Toddler Provider Rate Increase (Rodriguez) Number of Jobs=_500
SB 82 – Expand NM-Grown Produce in School Lunches (Cisneros) Number of Jobs=_100
SB 86 – Kinship Caregiver Payment Project (Lopez) Number of Jobs =__500
SB 131 – Job Creation Program Measurement (Papen) Number of Jobs=__100
SB 122 – General Obligation Bond Projects (Cisneros) Number of Jobs=__5,000
SB 133 – Small Business Investment Tax Credit (Campos) Number of Jobs=__500
SB 151 – High-Wage Tax Credit Eligibility (Ivey-Soto) Number of Jobs=__100
SB 152 – Minimum Salary for Certain School Personnel (Ivey-Soto) Number of Jobs=__100
SB 172 – Capital Outlay Reauthorizations (Cisneros) Number of Jobs=_1,000
Total Number of Jobs=_24,000