Republican & Democrat Lawmakers Tout Jobs Council Initiatives In House Budget

Santa Fe, NM In a show of bipartisanship, Republican and Democrat lawmakers in the House
and Senate held a press conference today to tout the bipartisan Jobs Council initiatives included
in the House budget that passed earlier this week. Speaker Don Tripp, Senate Pro-Tempore Mary
Kay Papen, Rep. Larry Larraaga and Rep. Kenny Martinez all agreed that the Jobs Council
initiatives are important in moving the state forward.
We need to diversify our economy and make it less reliable on federal dollars coming out of
Washington, Speaker Tripp said. These initiatives are proven job creators for our state.
The initiatives echo recommendations from the bipartisan Jobs Council, which is dedicated to
creating 160,000 jobs for New Mexico.
I was a part of the Jobs Council from the beginning because I understood that we needed jobs
for our state, said Representative Martinez. It is good to see Republicans and Democrats
coming together on job creation.
Among other things, the House budget calls for a $35 million increase for the closing fund; $1.6
million for tourism advertising; $7.5 million for the Job Training and Incentive Program (JTIP),
which covers the cost of hiring and training new worker; a $600,000 increase will go to the New
Mexico MainStreet program, which helps revitalize downtowns across the state.
These issues are not Democrat or Republicanthey are New Mexican, Senator Papen said. I
hope we can continue to find agreement on these issues as the Senate considers the House
budget.
The budget also calls for a total increase of $250,000 for the Economic Development Partnership
to market the state to businesses and $400,000 for the Technology Research Collaborative in
order to bring products developed in our labs and universities to the private sector in New
Mexico.
Larraaga touted the budget that passed on Tuesday.
I'm proud of my colleagues for supporting a budget that aims to improve our schools, protect
our children and help create a vibrant private-sector economy, said Larraaga, chairman of the
House Appropriations Committee. We've come a long way since the days of record deficits.
With this budget, we can show New Mexicans that we are serious about putting our families
first.
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