Senate Minority Leader Ingle on Budget Cuts to Avoid Tax Increases

Senator Proposes Reducing State Spending to Avoid Tax Increases

Click here for Sen. Ingle interview: www.newmexicorepublicansenators.blogspot.com

Click here for Sen. Ingle on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9V5ih40O-9Q

Santa Fe--Senate Minority Leader Stuart Ingle is proposing various ways New Mexico could live within its means so taxes would not have to be raised to balance the state’s budget. The bill and amendment would help the state address its budget shortfall.

“We can’t spend money we do not have, we are not like the Federal Government,” Senator Ingle said. “Nobody likes having to do this, but we have to remember there had been very large increases to education and teacher salaries in recent years.


Senator Ingle is proposing an amendment to the House’s budget will that would save the state $300 million in costs by reducing state spending across the board by 5.7%.

The budget the House passed last week increases taxes by over $300 million.

Senator Ingle also has proposed SB 246 Public Employee Pension Contribution Increase. It would save the state over $72 million by requiring state employees to increase their contributions to their retirement funds while the state’s contribution for the employees would decrease by the same amount, 2.64%. This shift would be temporary for fiscal year 2011 and would affect the Educational Retirement Board and various plans in the Public Employees Retirement Association. As example, employees earning $55,000 a year would pay an additional $1,000 into their PERA retirement plan for fiscal year 2011.