Gov. Susana Martinez personally thanked local legislators on Tuesday morning for their work in helping pass a capital outlay package in last week’s special session.
Martinez met with Mayor Gregg Hull, Sens. Craig Brandt and Reps. Jason Harper, Tim Lewis and Paul Pacheco at Rio Rancho City Hall, expressing her appreciation to the lawmakers for their help with the capital outlay deal. She also thanked Rep. Jane Powdrell-Culbert, who arrived later.
The Legislature passed a $295 million capital outlay package during the special session. It awaits the governor’s signature.
She signed a third measure, a funding bill for the state’s court system and state Health Department, last week.
The governor said the jobs package will help strengthen the city’s and the state’s private sector, which she said is necessary in case of cuts to federal funding.
“When Washington isn’t working out as well as it should, sometimes that money starts to be cut,” she said. “So we have to make sure that our private sector, businesses, small businesses, people who put their own money on the line, are also thriving at the same time.”
Of the capital outlay deal, more than $2 million will be used to purchase rights-of-way for Paseo del Volcan. Martinez complimented the local legislative delegation for its work pooling together money for the project, comparing its work to the multimillion dollar Paseo del Norte/Interstate 25 interchange project.
Martinez also applauded efforts to set aside $300,000 for improvements for Rio Rancho water systems, saying having a modern water infrastructure is crucial for economic development.
Harper, chair of the legislative Ways and Means Committee, thanked Martinez and his fellow representatives for passing the capital outlay package.
“In the end, New Mexico families won,” he said.
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