This spring the New Mexico State Legislature met for 60 days, and in addition to considering and passing many good public policy initiatives – legislators sent a bi partisan budget to Governor Martinez for her signature. The Governor signed parts of the budget, but she vetoed the ENTIRE higher education budget as a political maneuver to have a special session and we need you to act.
In addition to tuition hikes, financial instability, and the closure of some campuses across the state, this line-item veto directly impacts health care in our communities: UNM Cancer Center, Carrie Tingley Children’s Hospital, and behavioral health services across the state are all funded through this budget. These patients are in danger of losing specialized, life-saving care.
Equally frightening, this veto effectively cuts or potentially ends all sexual assault prevention programs and sexual assault services on college campuses across the state.
So what else does it mean to veto the entire higher education budget? It means that universities and colleges across the state right now have no funding to operate beginning July 1. And they are already seeing the consequences – including staff and faculty leaving and admission applications dropping dramatically.
The Governor has called a special legislative session for May 24 to address this and other budget concerns, and we have one message to our legislators: override the veto!
Please sign this petition to tell our legislators that you support the override of the veto, and call on Susanna Martinez to stop playing games with crucial services!
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