REGULATORY REFORM

The legislative branch of government must protect its legislative powers and prerogatives by ensuring that the rulemaking authorities reflect the intent of the legislature. The legislature represents the voice of the people of New Mexico, and our charge to the bureaucrats is to enforce legislative action without addition or enhancement. It’s time to rein in these out of control agencies and special interest groups. Harsh rules are being promulgated or developed that will drive away the very industries which our state relies on for its lifeblood. Bureaucrats and special interest agendas, not elected officials, are driving the decision making process that will affect this state for a long time to come.

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ETHICS REFORM

There has been a push for ethics reform of elected officials over the past few sessions. Although 60% of people surveyed said they’d like to see ethics reform, there has been a lack of consensus amongst the legislature. Not only that, but most of the ethics reform that has been proposed is written by special interest groups. Republicans take the lead on this issue by presenting a true ethics reform package in a three point plan: political campaign reform, legislative reform, and governmental reform.

TRUTH IN TAXATION AND LEGISLATION

It is important that your tax dollars be used for their intended purpose. In recent years, funds that were to be used to fund certain programs are now being diverted for other uses. For example, the road fund is running short of funds by nearly $500 million all while a transportation commission is talking about raising the gas tax, motor vehicle excise tax, and other fees and taxes on drivers. The general public is not in favor of raising taxes and/or fees to pay for the construction of our roadways. So the question remains: how do we make-up for these types of shortfalls in our state funds?

HEALTH CARE

The state of health care in New Mexico has been the topic of discussion for several years now. Late this summer, the Mathematica group and the Health Care for All Task Force concluded their work and presented three plans for health care options in New Mexico – unfortunately for the residents of this state, all three plans resemble each other and are pushing in the direction of universal health care. In a recent U.S. News & World Report article, the three New Mexico Medicaid plans were all within the top 30 out of 100 plans throughout the country. On top of that, the state also offers five health care plans for a variety of consumers, all with varying levels of care.

In a recent poll, nearly 44% of New Mexicans said that controlling the cost of health care is one of their top priorities for the legislature. This shows that what New Mexico needs is not to change course completely, but to provide solutions from containing the costs of health care in the state to providing incentives to individuals for the purchase of their own health coverage. We do not need Washington, DC ideals with a single payer system – we need coverage that is more convenient and cost effective.

WATER

Our water is our most precious resource. We must do all that we can to protect and preserve this commodity while at the same time wisely developing the water that we do have so that it’s impact can be maximized throughout the state.