DAILY LOBO
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wednesday The Independent Voice of UNM since 1895
January 19, 2011
Dealing with the deficit
Martinez outlines changes for administrative cuts, death penalty
by Shaun Griswold shaun24@unm.edu
by Shaun Griswold
SANTA FE — The 60-day legislative session kicked off Tuesday, and UNM officials will monitor 77 bills that could impact the University’s financial and administrative future. If passed, some legislation would reorganize several administrations, prohibit public officials from lobbying during a certain period after vacating their posts, create a task force to study family workplace procedures and extend the Lottery Scholarship application process. Marc Saavedra, UNM’s Government and Community Relations director, said in a mass e-mail that University officials have their work cut out for them. “We are anticipating a long and grueling 60-day session during which state lawmakers will deal with many tough issues,” he said. Saavedra said the University is supporting Gov. Susana Martinez’s recommendation of a 1.8 percent cut to UNM’s Instructional and General fund. The Legislative Finance Committee’s recommendation, which comes from the Legislature, is for a 3.8 percent I&G cut. Senate Majority floor leader Michael Sanchez (D-Belen) sponsored SB 1, which would authorize the state to sell short-term revenue bonds to supplement the nearly $400 million deficit in the general fund. If passed, the bill would assist operations at New Mexico universities. “It’s intended to assist operations so there won’t be furloughs, salary cuts or outright dismissal of teachers and professors,” Sanchez told the Daily Lobo. Sanchez said this is the first year he has ever had to plug a significant budget gap. “There is a real need and this solves the budget need, but it’s going to be hard to pass,” he said. Sanchez said if the money is appropriated, then it will be divided into each university’s general fund where school administrators will decide in what areas the money will be spent. He said it is unclear at this point how much money each university would receive. Junfu Han / Daily Lobo Financial details will not be available until the bill makes Gov. Susana Martinez addresses the N.M. Legislature in her inaugural State of the State address. it past committee hearings and the Legislative Finance Com- Martinez laid out her plans to reinstate the death penalty, cut administrative education funds mittee determines the budget’s finer details, Sanchez said. and imprison corrupt politicians. Albuquerque’s Bill O’Neill (D-Albuquerque) sponsored HB 62, which would give students a 16-month winVisit DailyLobo.com for a dow to receive the Lottery Scholarship after graduating from legislative session photo high school. Current legislation requires students to engallery. roll immediately after see Bills page 5
DL
shaun24@unm.edu
SANTA FE— During her inaugural State of the State speech at the Roundhouse, Gov. Susana Martinez laid out her plan for bold change. She called for administrative cuts in education, pro-business legislation and to reinstate the death penalty. “By working together, we will take our state in a new direction,” she said. “Embracing bold change over the status quo, choosing progress over complacency and putting aside partisan differences to achieve lasting results for New Mexico families.” Martinez said public education will endure administrative cuts to offset a more-than-$400 million state deficit and ensure there are no classroom cuts. “By making cuts elsewhere, my budget only requires the education bureaucracy to trim 1.5 percent from the administration,” she said. Aside from administrative cuts, her education initiative, “Kids First, New Mexico Wins,” focuses on quickly identifying and helping the worst-performing public schools and students, ensuring students pass with sufficient skills and rewarding teachers who perform well. The governor also presented ideas to promote public safety, including expanding DNA collection from some to all felony arrests, strengthening DWI penalties and imprisoning corrupt officials. “Corruption is a crime, not an ethical dilemma,” she said. “When public officials are found guilty of corruption, they should be immediately removed from office, receive mandatory prison time and be forced to surrender their pension.” She also asked lawmakers to create legislation that will reinstate the death penalty, require identification at the polls and reform immigration policies. Martinez also offered support for the Legislative Finance Committee’s budget proposal because it offered no tax increase. She promised to veto any tax increase proposal. Solving the state’s nearly $400 million deficit was the running theme throughout her speech. She suggested possible solutions including reducing the state’s film subsidy from 25 to 15 percent, eliminating clear cap-and-trade regulations to promote energy exploration in the state and opening an Office of Business Advocacy to promote small businesses and sell the state’s private jet.
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Ortega classroom ‘disaster’ after leak by Tricia Remark tremark@unm.edu
English students walked into a mess of fallen tile and water their first day of class Tuesday in Ortega Hall Room 121, after a leak damaged parts of the ceiling, a UNM official said. Student Chris Jackson said he wasn’t concerned about his safety during class because he didn’t see active leaks, but the mess was still an eyesore. “I felt like I walked into a disaster area,” he said. Large parts of the tiled ceiling fell to the ground and on desks, and a pool of water gathered in the center of the classroom. Students sat in desks around the class’ perimeter to avoid water and plaster. Mary Vosevich, Physical Plant Department director, said the damage could be a result of work
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done on the building to increase its water-heating efficiency. She didn’t provide a specific estimate about how much repairs would cost, but said it could be hundreds of dollars. She said she doesn’t know whether UNM or the contractor working on Ortega Hall will foot the bill. “If we had some kind of failure, it would be covered with our insurance,” she said. “It could be something with the contractor, but that’s not yet determined.” Vosevich said the classroom should be clean for classes today. She said UNM doesn’t have plans to remodel Ortega Hall in the near future, but PPD is working on making older buildings, including Ortega Hall, more energy efficient. “The Physical Plant is focusing on building functionality, particularly in the times of reduced budgets,” she said.
Robert Maes / Daily Lobo Students in Ortega Hall 121 sit along the classroom wall to avoid pools of water and scattered ceiling tiles. A Physical Plant Department representative said the leak and damage could have resulted from recent maintenance work on the building.
Jets of steel
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