Cut Political Hires To Reduce Budget
Committees Committee to consider Bill Thursday
Santa Fe— State Senator John Ryan is still fighting to limit the number of political hires a governor can have in an administration.
Senator Ryan says the limit on political hires will reduce the size of state government and the budget. He believes his bill should be considered pertinent or “germane” to this budget-related session. It will be presented to the Committees Committee Thursday for its permission to be debated this session.
“The number of political hires is out of control. The legislature has oversight authority and needs to get a handle on how many political hires a governor can have in an administration,” Senator John Ryan said today. “There needs to be a limit on the number, otherwise our state budgets will continue to grow and grow without the legislature’s consent. It is a budget issue. It is a clear balance of power issue.”
Senator Ryan said his bill should be allowed to be considered this budget session. The Senate Committees Committee will take up the bill Thursday morning.
During last year’s special session on the budget, Senator Ryan passed a bill to cut 102 of the governor’s political hires, but Governor Bill Richardson vetoed the provision out of the budget. The but were supposed to be done by executive order, but the reduced positions have not been released to the public.
Senator Ryan said there has been criticism of how much the over 500 political appointees of Governor Bill Richardson are costing the state in light of the budget crisis. Senator Ryan’s bill would reduce the number of political positions to around 400, including those required by law, and would save tens of millions of dollars.
Senator Ryan said the average salary and benefits for the political appointees is $105,000 per position, so there could be a potential savings of $10 million dollars to future budgets if his new bill is allowed to be debated this session.
He said former Governor Gary Johnson had only 167 exempt positions his final year in office while Richardson has over 500.
Committees Committee to consider Bill Thursday
Santa Fe— State Senator John Ryan is still fighting to limit the number of political hires a governor can have in an administration.
Senator Ryan says the limit on political hires will reduce the size of state government and the budget. He believes his bill should be considered pertinent or “germane” to this budget-related session. It will be presented to the Committees Committee Thursday for its permission to be debated this session.
“The number of political hires is out of control. The legislature has oversight authority and needs to get a handle on how many political hires a governor can have in an administration,” Senator John Ryan said today. “There needs to be a limit on the number, otherwise our state budgets will continue to grow and grow without the legislature’s consent. It is a budget issue. It is a clear balance of power issue.”
Senator Ryan said his bill should be allowed to be considered this budget session. The Senate Committees Committee will take up the bill Thursday morning.
During last year’s special session on the budget, Senator Ryan passed a bill to cut 102 of the governor’s political hires, but Governor Bill Richardson vetoed the provision out of the budget. The but were supposed to be done by executive order, but the reduced positions have not been released to the public.
Senator Ryan said there has been criticism of how much the over 500 political appointees of Governor Bill Richardson are costing the state in light of the budget crisis. Senator Ryan’s bill would reduce the number of political positions to around 400, including those required by law, and would save tens of millions of dollars.
Senator Ryan said the average salary and benefits for the political appointees is $105,000 per position, so there could be a potential savings of $10 million dollars to future budgets if his new bill is allowed to be debated this session.
He said former Governor Gary Johnson had only 167 exempt positions his final year in office while Richardson has over 500.
No comments:
Post a Comment