Legislative gridlock nixes capital outlay spending

By Todd G. Dickson

Las Cruces Bulletin

Experienced Doña Ana County lawmakers are describing the 60-day session that ended Saturday, March 21, as exhausting and unproductive as gridlock restricted the number of bills passed and thwarted capital outlay funding from projects ranging from roads and senior centers to school and higher education improvements.

Senate President ProTempore Mary Kay Papen said it was the worst session in her 15 years in the Legislature.

“We kept trying to do something, but there were some things we were not willing to do and the governor (Susana Martinez) was insisting on doing it her way,” Papen said. “It was the ‘my way or the highway’ session, really.”

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