Governor Oversteps Authority In Spending $1.75 Billion In Federal Pandemic Relief

 

RPNM: GOVERNOR CONTINUES TO OVERSTEP HER AUTHORITY IN SPENDING OF $1.75 BILLION IN FEDERAL PANDEMIC RELIEF   CHIEF EXECUTIVE BYPASSES REPUBLICAN LEADERSHIP INPUT IN CLANDESTINE PLAN   Albuquerque, June 29—RPNM today sided with New Mexico House Republicans in denouncing Gov. Lujan Grisham’s back room politics in discussing how $1.75 billion in federal COVID relief should be spent. The Governor has wrongly been using her position and influence to decide how to allocate such monies.   House GOP leaders have released a memo detailing negotiations between Lujan Grisham and Democratic leaders with no input from GOP lawmakers and with no transparency.   The following is a statement from Republican Party of New Mexico Chairman Steve Pearce on the latest revelations:   “The Governor continues to overstep her authority and take away the authority of our legislature. She is acting in an authoritarian manner and refuses to accept the principle of checks and balances. She cannot decide on her own how to allocate such funding. It’s the legislature’s job to decide how to spend. The Governor is acting like a dictator and is ignoring the role of the legislative branch of government. This clandestine behavior is wrong, insulting and demonstrates a lack of transparency in our state’s political system.”