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FRI: Farmington to receive $100K in emergency funds from state to cope with mass shooting, + More

Community members sing during a prayer vigil at Hills Church, Monday, May 15, 2023, in Farmington, N.M. Authorities said an 18-year-old man roamed through the community firing randomly at cars and houses Monday, killing three people and injuring six others including two police officers before he was killed. (AP Photo/Susan Montoya Bryan)
Susan Montoya Bryan
/
AP
Community members sing during a prayer vigil at Hills Church, Monday, May 15, 2023, in Farmington, N.M. Authorities said an 18-year-old man roamed through the community firing randomly at cars and houses Monday, killing three people and injuring six others including two police officers before he was killed.

Farmington to receive $100K in emergency funds from state to cope with mass shooting - Associated Press

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has approved giving emergency funding to help Farmington residents still reeling from a mass shooting that killed three people.

Her office announced the governor signed an executive order Thursday authorizing $100,000 for mental health resources or other measures to help the city's public health.

"While the wider public's attention shifts after just a week or two, the trauma left behind by these tragedies in communities is long-lasting, and it's critical we support them throughout the entire recovery process," Lujan Grisham said in a statement.

Farmington Mayor Nate Duckett expressed gratitude for the governor recognizing the "physical, emotional, and financial" toll the May 15 shooting has had on the community.

Farmington police said 18-year-old Beau Wilson went on a shooting rampage in the neighborhood where he lived, randomly discharging more than 190 rounds before police fatally shot him.

Gwendolyn Dean Schofield, 97, and her daughter Melody Ivie, 73, were shot and killed when they pulled over in their car to help 79-year-old Shirley Voita, who had also been killed by gunfire.

New Mexico reaches $500M settlement with Walgreens in opioid case – Associated Press

New Mexico has settled with Walgreens for $500 million over the pharmacy chain's role in distributing highly addictive prescription painkillers.

The agreement was signed in March, and state officials confirmed that a confidentiality provision on the agreement was lifted Friday.

The settlement is in addition to $274 million in settlements obtained in the case last fall from Albertsons, CVS, Kroger and Walmart. Attorneys representing the state say that, in all, New Mexico's opioid litigation has brought in more than $1 billion.

They argued at trial last year that Walgreens failed to recognize suspicious prescriptions and refuse to fill them.

"I'm optimistic this will help in the fight against the opioid crisis and provide the treatment New Mexicans so desperately need," Luis Robles, one of the attorneys who worked on the case, told the Santa Fe New Mexican.

Over the past few years, drug manufacturers, distribution companies, pharmacies and other companies with roles in the opioid business have reached settlements totaling more than $50 billion with local, state and tribal governments.

In May, West Virginia announced its settlement with Kroger, bringing that state's total opioid litigation dollars to more than $1 billion. West Virginia state has lost more lives to opioid overdoses per capita than any other.

Most of the settlement money from the opioid litigation is required to be used to fight the crisis, which has been linked to more than 560,000 deaths in the U.S. over the past two decades, including more than 70,000 a year recently.

In recent years, most of the deaths have been connected to fentanyl and other illicit synthetic opioids, not prescription painkillers, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

After vetoes, lawmakers want to bring back hundreds of millions in tax cuts - By Austin Fisher, Source New Mexico

New Mexico’s governor vetoed most of the tax reforms passed by state lawmakers last session, and now a panel in charge of tax policy wants to bring them back in 2024.

Senate Majority Floor Leader Peter Wirth (D-Santa Fe) said Thursday some legislators are frustrated with the partial vetoes of the tax package by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, but it gives them a roadmap for the next session.

“The work we did in laying this out are pieces that can be put into a new tax package,” Wirth said at the first interim meeting of the Revenue Stabilization and Tax Policy Committee on Thursday at the state capitol in Santa Fe.

In her April 7 veto message, Lujan Grisham wrote she had “grave concerns about the sustainability” of the tax package, and that it would “impact our ability to fund important services and programs that our citizens depend on, such as education, health care, public safety, and infrastructure.”

Prior to the governor’s vetoes, the tax package would have decreased the state’s annual revenue by more than $1.1 billion, according to the Legislative Finance Committee’s presentation on Thursday. Legislative Finance Committee Economist Jennifer Faubion said the governor’s vetoes cut that reduction in revenue to $235 million.

The leftover money now sits in the state government’s reserves, said Charles Sallee, interim director of the Legislative Finance Committee. Those state reserves total $3.7 billion, according to the presentation Thursday.

“So you’ll have that in new money going forward, and the money piling up in treasury” could be used for one-time expenses, too, Sallee said.

Wirth said the tax committee during this interim should put together an “omnibus package” to consider during the upcoming 30-day session in 2024, “so we don’t start from scratch.”

He said the governor and the New Mexico Department of Finance and Administration need to tell lawmakers “where the administration is going, so we can work with that number and use pieces here to put together a package that works within that number.”

“We’ve got to get LFC and the governor and DFA on the same page when it comes to the size of the package,” he said. “That’s why we ended up with this veto.”

Rep. Derrick Lente (D-Sandia Pueblo), chair of the House Taxation and Revenue Committee, said the vetoes were “a learning experience for many of us” but are now in the rearview mirror.

Lente said he wants to negotiate with the executive branch on another tax package, “but not being led by the executive themselves, knowing we are a separate but equal branch of government.”

“We are the ones that are closest to our communities, we are the ones that are voices for our communities,” Lente said.

New Mexico enjoys revenue windfall, as economists warn of uncertain future — Susan Montoya Bryan, Associated Press

Mind-blowing is how legislative analysts describe New Mexico's budget numbers, saying during a briefing Thursday that projected revenues have been outpacing previous spending at levels never seen before.

Still, they warned members of the revenue and tax policy committee that some of the one-time funding will dry out, and lawmakers will have to decide whether to continue paying for health care, education and other social programs that have been expanded during the boom.

Staff with the Legislative Finance Committee also reiterated that oil and gas development has been driving New Mexico's historic numbers, and more still needs to be done to diversify the state's economy to weather the industry's volatility as well as prepare for a future when energy markets might shift more toward renewable sources.

"These are historic revenues that we have not ever seen before," said Charles Sallee, interim director of the Legislative Finance Committee. "It gives us an opportunity to make sure that wherever you decide to spend the money on, that it counts, that it results in something. Government's job is not just to spend money to spend money."

He talked about increased reserves that allowed the Democratic-led legislature to boost one-time spending on a wide range of projects during the most recent legislative session. Despite some vetoes, Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed off on a state budget that boosted spending by 14%.

Sallee said his staff would be embarking on another round of forecasts this summer that will look decades down the road at both the possibilities and constraints of increasing spending over the coming years.

Economists with the Legislative Finance Committee also warned that a recession could be on the horizon. They have been monitoring rising inflation and brinkmanship in Washington over the national debt ceiling given New Mexico's heavy reliance on federal funding and bank failures around the country.

Some lawmakers asked about recommendations for potential tax changes that could help help boost economic development and create new revenue streams for the state.

Sen. Ron Griggs, a Republican from Alamogordo, noted that tax revenues from solar and wind development amount to a fraction of what oil and gas brings in. He told fellow lawmakers that continuing production in a way that is environmentally conscious would ensure revenues for decades.

"If we don't have oil and gas revenues, what happens to New Mexico? I mean you and I can't afford to suck that up on personal income tax or something so we have to look at that," he said.

Sallee acknowledged that New Mexico has been blessed with record revenues that have allowed the state to "punch well above our weight" when it comes to spending. Replacing those revenues to maintain spending would mean imposing high taxes on what amounts to a very poor population, he said.

Democratic Sen. Bill Tallman of Albuquerque asked whether lawmakers should be concerned. Sallee said yes, noting that lawmakers will have to consider "that these revenues are not going to be at the same level for the next generation."

New Mexico rolls out education campaign for recreational marijuana use — Susan Montoya Bryan,  Associated Press

After more than a year of recreational marijuana sales, New Mexico is rolling out its first campaign to educate people about responsible use.

The first batch of billboards is now going up around the state while TV, radio, print and digital advertisements will be running through the month of June. The media buy is worth $400,000.

The state Cannabis Control Division confirmed Wednesday that it started working on the campaign last year, but the contract for the work was finalized only recently. An Albuquerque-based marketing company won the contract following a competitive bidding process.

The "Yes & Know" campaign is built around the phrase "Yes — cannabis is legal. Know — the rules."

"We recognize the need for education in this new cannabis industry. This campaign opens the conversation for responsible storage and safe cannabis consumption," said Linda Trujillo, who heads the state Regulation and Licensing Department, which oversees the cannabis division.

New Mexico is among more than 20 states nationwide that have legalized marijuana for adults. Sales began in April 2022, after lawmakers passed legislation that had been championed by Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. The state already had a medical marijuana program.

In the first year of recreational sales, New Mexico issued around 2,000 cannabis licenses — including licenses to more than 630 retailers and over 500 manufacturers.

Sales for the first year topped $300 million, with monthly sales marking their highest levels in March, April and May, according to data from the Cannabis Control Division.

The new campaign suggests that users start with low doses and go slow, saying cannabis effects everyone differently. It also tells people to keep cannabis away from kids and pets, to not store it in cookie jars or take it across state lines or drive impaired.

The state Transportation Department earlier this year held a summit to increase awareness of the risks associated with driving under the influence of cannabis and to look at evidence-based approaches for preventing impaired driving.

While police in New Mexico's largest city have not noticed a significant increase in cannabis-related crashes or other crimes, Albuquerque police spokesman Gilbert Gallegos said the department was working to get more officers trained to conduct such investigations.

APS superintendent will leave in June 2024KUNM, Albuquerque Journal

The superintendent of New Mexico’s largest school system is stepping down.

Albuquerque Public Schools announced Scott Elder would leave his post when his current contract expires on June 30th next year. He has been in the superintendent job since July 2020 when he took over as interim. The school board made him permanent in March 2021.

The district and Elder issued a joint prepared statement yesterday/Wednesday after a closed-door meeting. Elder said he is proud of his service to APS and the community.

“I am particularly proud of the progress APS has made, despite the challenges we faced and the unique issues created by the pandemic,” he wrote.

APS Board President Yolanda Montoya-Cordova said in a statement that Elder has led APS through challenging times “and we are grateful for that leadership.”

There are 70,000 students in APS and 12,000 staff. The Albuquerque Journal reports Elder was in charge of “right-sizing” the district, which included consolidating two elementary schools. He and his staff also notified the Attorney General about suspicions that then-Rep. Sheryl Williams Stapleton had violated the state procurement code and the General Conduct Act.

Elder has been with the district for over 30 years.

APS said Elder will assist the board in planning for the selection of his successor.

Disaster recovery efforts boost initiative to map acequias in the state - By Megan Gleason,Source New Mexico

Numerous acequias are scattered across New Mexico. Tracking them all down is a difficult feat the state has been working on for years. Source New Mexico’s Megan Gleason reports that last year’s massive disasters have provided a push to get more of the mapping work done.

With the aid of the nonprofit New Mexico Acequia Association the state could soon have new, updated data on acequias in different parts of the state.

The Office of the State Engineer estimates there are around 2-thousand acequias in New Mexico dating back centuries.

The office has a map that shows the ones the state is aware of, though it may not be complete. About 73% of the acequia systems listed are unnamed.

Historic fires and flooding tore apart acequias on both ends of the state last year. Stewards strained to find help, facing damage that would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to fix.

As the Acequia Association helps the disaster-ridden areas, executive director Paula Garcia says their team is gathering information, like names and locations of acequias, and filling holes in their last rough map.

Learn more from Source New Mexico at KUNM.org.