Going into the 2023 legislative session, we at the Rio Grande Foundation had three goals. 1) Use the state’s massive $3.6 billion surplus to reform the “pyramiding” and business service taxation inherent in New Mexico’s gross receipts tax; 2) Push for SOME kind of serious education reform to improve upon New Mexico’s abysmal 52nd position […]
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RGF tracked all of the bills in the 2021 Legislature and rated them based on their impact on your freedoms. You can find out about those bills and how your legislators did here at our Freedom Index site. The following are some of the very worst bills that passed the 2021 New Mexico Legislature SB […]
The following appeared in Las Cruces Sun News on Sunday, January 24, 2021. To say that this is an unprecedented legislative session in New Mexico is an understatement. After some public debate over how and when the Legislature was going to meet, the Democrats who overwhelmingly control both houses have decided to plow forward with an entirely […]
As the first-ever “virtual” New Mexico legislative session kicks off we believe it is important for New Mexico policymakers to have some basic information about New Mexico’s economy. New Mexico tax burdens are not low relative to neighboring states. The chart below is from the Federation of Tax Administrators. With far heavier tax burdens than […]
Populists on both sides of the political aisle may believe that not having lobbyists in the Roundhouse for the 2021 Legislative session will be a good thing. RGF’s Paul Gessing sat down with KOB TV to discuss why the lack of lobbyists (both citizens AND professionals) and the information they provide could result in “half-baked” […]
Paul interviews Jason Espinoza, the new state director of the National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB). Jason has been a long-time advocate for businesses in New Mexico’s Legislature and NFIB is one of the stalwart advocates of free markets and limited government in the entire country. Jason and Paul discuss some of the less-well-publicized issues that […]
(Albuquerque) The Rio Grande Foundation has tracked floor votes in New Mexico’s Legislature from the perspective of individual freedom (both economic and under the US Constitution) for several years. Final results for the 2019 Legislature are available now. Unlike most legislative “scorecards,” the Foundation’s Freedom Index tracks hundreds of bills (more than 800 bills were […]
On this week’s episode Paul interviews Paige McKenzie who worked for the Rio Grande Foundation tracking and rating bills for the Foundation’s Freedom Index during the 2019 session. Paul and Paige discuss in some detail the way the Freedom Index is compiled and what the information means. Paige spent the entire session in the Roundhouse […]
Paul and Wally discuss the end of the 2019 legislative session. What happened and what does it mean for New Mexico, especially the Four Corners and rural New Mexico which were directly attacked by a Legislature that focused on urban issues in New Mexico’s biggest cities. [powerpress]
Paul and Dowd discuss some questions that Paul raised in a recent piece about the upcoming 2019 legislative session. With Republicans largely on the sidelines how will debates over spending, tapping the permanent fund, and marijuana legalization work out? Are Democrats serious about gross receipts tax reform? Dowd covers recent data showing that the Farmington […]