Oops! Budget Shortfall “Not an honest mistake” — John Arthur Smith

According to Rob Nikolewski over at Capitol Report New Mexico, Governor Richardson’s budget secretaries appeared before the Legislative Finance Council (LFC) this morning and announced that their estimate for recurring revenue for the fiscal year just completed (2010) is down by $32.5 million and off by $159.3 million for fiscal year 2011. The most interesting part of the interview is where Senate Finance Committee Chair John Arthur Smith calls out the Richardson Administration for looking at the revenue through “rose colored glasses.”

It looks like more (needed) belt-tightening is on the way for state government as (I hope) there is no appetite among legislators for tax hikes in an election year. If legislators want to get serious about solving the budget problem without raising taxes, they need look no further than here.